An Evaluation of the Positive Action Program for Youth Violence Prevention: From Schools to Summer Camps
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An Evaluation of the Positive Action Program for Youth Violence Prevention: From Schools to Summer Camps Megha M. Patel1 · Jessica L. Liddell1 · Regardt J. Ferreira1,2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract New Orleans has experienced some of the highest per capita rates of homicide in the nation. In response, the City of New Orleans developed the NOLA FOR LIFE murder reduction strategy, one aspect of which is the implementation of Positive Action, a character building program for youth. The Positive Action program has offered promising results for curbing youth violence when implemented in school-based settings. However, given the city’s mostly charter-based school system, summer camps are among the few entry points available through which to implement city-wide youth initiatives. During the 2016 summer camp session, an evaluation was conducted to determine whether incorporating the Positive Action curriculum into a 6-week summer camp results in youth experiencing positive changes in peer self-esteem, the ability to get along with others, bullying behavior, and normative beliefs about aggression. This evaluation compares youth that received the Positive Action curriculum during summer camp with those that received the traditional summer camp curriculum. A multi-method approach of quantitative pre-and post-surveys of youth and focus group interviews with camp teachers were employed. Results from the quantitative data suggest few statistically significant findings, while qualitative data suggests that Positive Action may be effective at reducing violent norms and behavior. Implications for social workers and the need for adapting school-based violence reduction interventions for non-traditional settings are discussed. Keywords Positive Action · Summer camps · Violence prevention · Curriculum evaluation · Behavior change · Youth violence
Introduction Since 1979, New Orleans has consistently maintained a per capita murder rate at least seven times the national average of five murders per 100,000 people (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017; City of New Orleans Health Department, 2013). The high rate of homicide in New Orleans has long been an issue for the city, with many community members and policymakers citing gang violence, inadequate police presence, and socioeconomic factors as major contributing factors (Vargas & Martin, 2012). In 2011, the year after Mayor Mitch Landrieu took office, the city of New Orleans had registered 199–55 murders per 100,000 * Megha M. Patel [email protected] 1
School of Social Work, Tulane University, 127 Elk Place, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Department of Social Work, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2
people. This followed a decade in which New Orleans had reported the highest per capita murder rate in the country each year, excluding 2005 which was not reported due to Hurricane Katrina (Christie, 2013; City of New Orleans Health Department, 2013; New Orleans Police Department, 2016). In an
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