This school-based randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of 2 expressive writing interventions among youth living in high-violence urban neighborhoods. Seventeen classrooms (n = 258 seventh graders; 55% female; 91% African American/Black) from 3 public schools were randomized to 3 conditions in which they wrote 8 times about a…

To enhance the positive adjustment of youths with high incidence disabilities, a better understanding of the factors that influence their use of effective responses in challenging situations is needed. In this qualitative study, adolescents described individual and peer factors that would influence their use of effective nonviolent or aggressive…

This qualitative study focused on the identification of problem situations associated with adolescent dating experiences and relationships, including those that placed youth at risk for dating violence perpetration or victimization. Interviews were conducted with 44 African American middle and high school students in an urban school system.…

We discuss how the five core competencies for healthy adjustment in adolescence (a positive sense of self, self-control, decision-making skills, a moral system of belief, and prosocial connectedness) are represented in theories of aggression and youth violence. We then discuss research supporting the relation between these core competencies and…

Effectiveness of Responding In Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) was evaluated in rural schools serving an ethnically diverse student population. Although results were not consistent across all measures and time points, several significant intervention effects were found on self-report measures of aggression, victimization, life satisfaction, and…

This study examined the relation between witnessing violence and drug use initiation among 6th graders attending middle schools in 5 rural counties and investigated the extent to which family support and parental monitoring moderated this relation. Data were obtained from 1,282 adolescents at 2 time points during the 6th grade. Witnessing violence…