ERIC Number: ED577232
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 81
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Preventing Youth Violence and Dropout: A Randomized Field Experiment. NBER Working Paper No. 19014
Heller, Sara; Pollack, Harold A.; Ander, Roseanna; Ludwig, Jens
National Bureau of Economic Research
Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth remains a top policy priority in the United States, although identifying successful interventions for adolescents--particularly males--has proven challenging. This paper reports results from a large randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged male youth grades 7-10 from high-crime Chicago neighborhoods. The intervention was delivered by two local non-profits and included regular interactions with a pro-social adult, after-school programming, and--perhaps the most novel ingredient--in-school programming designed to reduce common judgment and decision-making problems related to automatic behavior and biased beliefs, or what psychologists call cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We randomly assigned 2,740 youth to programming or to a control group; about half those offered programming participated, with the average participant attending 13 sessions. Program participation reduced violent-crime arrests during the program year by 8.1 per 100 youth (a 44 percent reduction). It also generated sustained gains in schooling outcomes equal to 0.14 standard deviations during the program year and 0.19 standard deviations during the follow-up year, which we estimate could lead to higher graduation rates of 3-10 percentage points (7-22 percent). Depending on how one monetizes the social costs of crime, the benefit-cost ratio may be as high as 30:1 from reductions in criminal activity alone. [A full list of sponsors of this project can be found on NBER's web site: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19014.ack.]
Descriptors: Prevention, Violence, Dropouts, Randomized Controlled Trials, Intervention, Disadvantaged Youth, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Behavior Modification, Cognitive Restructuring, Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Economically Disadvantaged, Minority Group Students, Crime, Neighborhoods, Public Schools, African American Students, Hispanic American Students, Males, Graduation Rate, Urban Schools, Adolescents, At Risk Students, Statistical Analysis, Qualitative Research
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Elementary Education; Secondary Education; Grade 8; Grade 9; High Schools; Grade 10
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH); Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (DHHS/PHS)
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Location: Illinois (Chicago)
Grant or Contract Numbers: R21HD061757; 5U01CE00194902
What Works Clearinghouse Reviewed: Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
WWC Study Page: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/study/85481
IES Cited: ED575971