School Safety

This is a voluntary afterschool program for middle school aged youths to inform them about substance use and prevent them from starting or continuing alcohol use. The program is rated Effective for reducing alcohol use frequency, and Ineffective for reducing heavy alcohol use and improving alcohol resistance self-efficacy (the self-confidence to resist alcohol).

This is a school-based, small-group program designed to prevent social aggression and increase empathy, prosocial behavior, and social problem-solving skills among fifth-grade females. The program is rated Effective for reducing antisocial problem-solving strategies and improving prosocial problem-solving strategies, and Ineffective for increasing empathetic behaviors and prosocial behaviors with peers and for reducing aggressive/hostile social behavior with peers.

This is a school-based education program designed to teach students about domestic violence, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and legal rights. The program is rated Effective for increasing knowledge of dating violence and the law. The program is rated Ineffective for reducing dating violence perpetration, dating violence victimization, and the acceptance of person-on-person aggression.

This is a school program to address student misbehavior and repair harm. The program is rated Ineffective. Middle schoolers in the treatment group had a statistically significant higher likelihood of disciplinary referrals and out-of-school suspensions, compared with comparison group students, which was the opposite of what was intended. There were no statistically significant differences in disciplinary referrals or suspensions between high schoolers in the treatment and the comparison groups.

This is a framework of recommended practices for integrating police into the educational environment to enhance a safe school climate. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in treatment and control school students’ delinquency, victimization, exclusionary discipline, relationships with adults, perceptions of police, nor school bonding, connectedness, and safety. Treatment school students had statistically significant increases in rule clarity.

This is a group-based learning approach that seeks to enhance peer relations by increasing opportunities for positive social integration between adolescents. The program is rated Promising. Students in intervention schools reported they were less willing to use alcohol, had fewer deviant peer affiliations, lower perceived student stress and emotional problems, and had higher academic engagement, compared with students in control schools. These differences were statistically significant.

This is an anti-bullying program for adolescents in Spain, which is designed to decrease bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization both in the classroom and virtual environments. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant decrease in bullying and victimization and cyberbullying and cybervictimization for the treatment group, compared with the control group.

This is a schoolwide, multicomponent intervention to reduce and prevent aggression and bullying among students. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant intervention effect on teachers’ ratings of students’ physical, verbal, and relational aggression and victimization. However, there was no statistically significant intervention effect on students’ self-reports of physical and relational aggression and victimization.

The program aims to increase school/community competence in responding to and preventing student emotional and behavioral health crises. This program is rated Promising. Compared with control schools, intervention schools had statistically significantly lower rates of suspensions and office referrals and had conducted more threat assessments and crisis interventions. However, there were no significant effects on bullying, juvenile justice referrals, and emotional or behavioral health incidents.

This is an interactive, one-hour, online training course that educates school personnel on identifying, reporting, and preventing child sexual abuse (CSA). This program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge about CSA for teachers who participated in the training, compared with teachers who did not participate.

A classroom-based intervention, delivered by teachers, designed to prevent emotional and behavioral disorders in high-risk children. The program is rated Effective. Intervention group children showed statistically significant improvement in behaviors, social and behavioral competence, and student-teacher relationships, compared with control group children. Intervention group teachers showed statistically significant improvements in instructional practices, compared with control group teachers.

This is a school-based prevention program that targets fifth- and sixth-grade boys’ early aggressive behaviors to avoid later antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood. The program is rated Promising. The program was found to have a statistically significant effect in reducing both aggression in the boys and their tendency to interpret others’ actions as hostile. The program also improved the boys’ ability to respond in appropriate, non-aggressive ways to a variety of scenarios.

This is a preschool-based program designed to strengthen teachers’ classroom-management strategies and develop children’s social and problem-solving skills. The program is rated Promising. Across multiple measures, there was a statistically significant reduction in conduct problems and increase in prosocial behavior among participating children, compared with non-participating children. However, some measures showed no statistically significant effect of the program.

This is a universal, school-based social-emotional learning program aimed at reducing violence and encouraging academic success among middle school students. The program is rated Ineffective. While the program had a statistically significant impact on reducing physical aggression, there was no statistically significant impact on sexual-violence victimization and perpetration, peer victimization, bullying victimization and perpetration, cyberbullying, or homophobic name calling.

This is a school-based, social–emotional learning program for elementary school students. Teachers incorporate 25-40-minute lessons within the usual classroom curriculum. The program is rated Ineffective. The treatment group displayed a statistically significant reduction in hyperactivity; however, there were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups on measures of conduct problems, peer problems, social–emotional competence, or disruptive behaviors.

This is a classroom-based intervention that facilitates the development of social–emotional competence among students through “mindful attention” training. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed statistically significant increases in social–emotional competence, empathy, and perspective-taking; and decreases in aggressive and oppositional behaviors, fight starting, and rule breaking, compared with nonparticipants. However, there was no impact on measures of kindness.

This program is a multiyear classroom curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade incorporating professional development for teachers, school staff, and leaders with literacy-based, skill-building, social–emotional learning programs. This program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant effects on emotional support, positive classroom climate, and emotion-focused interactions. However, the program did not have effects negative classroom climate and classroom supportiveness.

This is a semi-structured, school-based intervention program developed for pre-kindergarten students seeking to improve emotional and behavioral problems and promote social skills development. The program is rated Promising. Evaluation results showed no differences regarding parent-rated behavioral problems or social skill, but teacher ratings of child behavioral problems and social skills statistically significantly improved in the intervention group.

This is a short-term intervention program designed to assess children in transition to kindergarten. The goal of the program is to increase school-readiness and to develop early literacy and social and self-regulation skills. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group displayed statistically significantly lower levels of oppositional and aggressive behavior as well as statistically significantly higher levels of self-regulation.

This is a high school-based, relationship abuse prevention program. The goal of the program was to identify students’ knowledge of abusive behaviors and teach them about relationship abuse and resources for its prevention. The program was rated Ineffective. There was no statistically significant impact on recognition, use, and knowledge of adolescent relationship abuse resources, and intentions to intervene, but participants had greater increases in recognition of sexual coercion.

This is a school-based trial that incorporated three programs: a Classwide Social Skills Program, a Connections Partner Reading Program, and a combination of both programs. The program is rated Ineffective. There were statistically significant improvements on teacher- and parent-rated measures of externalizing problems. But there were no statistically significant effects on inappropriate classroom behavior and teacher- and parent-rated social skills.

This is a preventative, school-based program for students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades (ages 9–12) that sought to reduce rates of bullying and victimization within elementary schools. The program is rated Effective. Evaluation results suggest that the program statistically significantly reduced bullying and victimization rates at schools that implemented the program compared with a control group of schools that did not.

This is a school-based intervention designed to promote nonviolent goals and beliefs and to discourage aggression. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant impacts on individual norms for aggression or nonviolence, goals and strategies supporting aggression or nonviolence, or beliefs supporting fighting or nonviolence.

This is a community-based, schoolwide intervention aimed at children in grades 1 through 3 that targets socially competent behaviors and risks for peer victimization. The program was rated Promising. The program was shown to have statistically significant, positive effects on physical and relational victimization and social competence, but not on social responsibility or physical aggression.

This is a school-based intervention program focused on reducing instances of bullying and victimization, while increasing the safety of students in grades 3–5. The program is rated Promising. In all outcomes, the treatment schools showed statistically significant reductions in bullying, victimization, and witnessed aggression, as well as statistically significant increases in perceptions of safety at school.

This is a school-based intervention program delivered to urban elementary students, with the participation of parents and teachers, to address disruptive behaviors. The program was rated Effective. In both studies, authors found that the intervention had a statistically significant effect on behavior problems exhibited by children.

The program is a preventative, group-based training intervention for parents and kindergarten teachers of young children with externalizing problem behaviors. The program seeks to reduce problem behaviors and ultimately prevent delinquency later in life. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group mothers and teachers reported statistically significantly fewer child problem behaviors, compared with the control group. However, there was no effect of observer-rated problem behaviors.

This is a school-based intervention involving administrators, teachers, staff, and parents that aims to improve relationships and school climate to enhance student achievement. The program is rated Promising. Students in treatment schools reported statistically significant reductions in the frequency of angry feelings and acting out, and greater disapproval of misbehavior, compared with students in control schools. There were no statistically significant differences in substance use.

A health education program for 7th and 8th graders designed to delay sexual behavior and promote healthy dating relationships. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to statistically significantly reduce emotional and physical dating violence victimization. However, the program did not have a statistically significant effect on physical perpetration of dating violence.

This is a universal, school-wide prevention strategy aimed at reducing behavior problems that lead to discipline referrals and suspensions, and change perceptions of school safety. The program is rated Effective. Students in the SWPBIS schools received statistically significantly fewer school suspensions than students in schools that did not receive SWPBIS training. Perceptions of safety improved in the schools that implemented SWPBIS, but declined in the schools that did not implement SWPBIS.

This is a school-based intervention to improve the social-emotional and behavioral skills of young children at risk for mental health disorders and substance abuse. This program is rated Promising. The program had a statistically significant, positive effect on children’s task orientation, behavior control, assertiveness, and peer social skills. The program was also associated with a statistically significant decline in the average number of suspensions and office disciplinary referrals.

This is a school-based, conflict resolution program designed to teach students how to manage conflicts constructively. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of using constructive strategies, such as negotiating, and lower likelihood of using detrimental strategies, compared with the control group. There were no statistically significant effects on the use of smoothing or withdrawing as conflict resolution strategies.

This is a peer-mediation program designed to handle conflicts both in and out of school and to help maintain drug-free schools. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group had statistically significantly fewer assaults, expulsions, discipline referrals, absences, a greater improvement in self-efficacy, and statistically significantly improved in academic performance, compared with the control group.

This is a school-based intervention designed to reduce violence and improve interpersonal behavior in youth. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant positive effect knowledge of psychosocial skills and fewer self-reported and teacher-reported behavior problems, disciplinary incidents, conflict mediation referrals, and suspensions, compared with the control group. However, there was no statistically significant effect on attitudes toward guns and violence.

This was an antibullying program for all students involved: victims, passive bystanders, and bullies. The program is rated Promising. Elementary, middle, and high school treatment groups experienced statistically significant greater proportions of students reporting no participation in bullying-related roles at the posttests. The elementary student treatment group saw statistically significant reductions in bullying and victimization but no statistically significant change in bystander behavior.

This is an antiviolence program designed to prevent child maltreatment by providing education, resources, and support to parents to improve their parenting skills. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group parents reported a statistically significant reduction in using harsh discipline strategies and increase in appropriate developmental expectations, compared with control group parents at the 3-month follow up. However, there was no statistically significant difference in nurturing.

This is a school-based program designed to improve conflict resolution in children. The program is rated Promising. Participants had a statistically significant lower level of aggressive interpersonal negotiation strategies, conduct problems, aggressive behavior, hostile attribution bias, and depressive symptoms, and a higher level of competent negotiation strategies and prosocial behavior, compared with nonparticipants. There was no statistically significant difference in aggressive fantasies.

This is a school-based program designed to improve students’ school attitudes and reduce delinquency. The program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant positive effect on participants’ attainment of higher rates of supportive behavior and spontaneous prosocial behavior, compared with students who did not participate. There were no statistically significant effects on negative behavior, harmoniousness, substance/alcohol use, property damage, theft, or victimization.

This is a software program designed to teach adolescents to avoid violence. The program is rated Ineffective. Students in the treatment group demonstrated a statistically significant higher level of self-awareness and higher intentions to use nonviolent strategies, as well as diminished beliefs in violence, compared with the control group students. However, there was no statistically significant difference in aggressive behavior between groups, which is the main goal of the program.

This is a school-based program designed to teach students to cope with daily challenges. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in this program showed a statistically significant improvement in number of coping skills, and in impulse control, peer popularity, and conflict resolution, compared with students who did not participate. However, there were no statistically significant differences in substance or alcohol use or in assertiveness with adults.

This is a universal school-based prevention program that trains children by offering them a variety of solutions to problems. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students demonstrated statistically significant improvements on measures of problem solving, understanding consequences, and self-regulation, compared with the improvements made by control group students. However, there was no statistically significant effect on social competence.

This is a schoolwide bullying prevention program that seeks to reduce bullying perpetration and victimization by increasing staff awareness and students’ social–emotional skills. The program is rated Ineffective.. Despite some statistically significant findings, there were no statistically significant differences between students in intervention and control schools in self-reported bullying victimization, observed nonphysical bullying, self-reported bullying perpetration, and gossip victimization.

This is a prevention program for elementary school students, which is designed to reduce aggressive and violent behavior. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in aggressive behavior, rule-breaking behavior, social problems, or attention problems.

This is an early childhood curriculum designed to increase social-emotional competence and coping skills in young children. The program is rated Promising. Children in the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in social-emotional competence and positive coping skills and fewer problem behaviors, compared with children in the control group.

This is a school-based violence prevention and character education program designed to improve student behavior and minimize aggression. The program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant positive effects on risk and protective factors related to student violence for students in grade 3. There were also statistically significant positive effects on factors related to alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and violence for students in grades 9 through 12.

This is a cognitive-based intervention for aggressive children and for their parents to increase the children’s competence, study skills, social skills, and self-control during the transition to middle school. The program is rated Promising. There were mixed results on self-reported delinquency, but treatment group children showed a statistically significant reduction in substance use and improvement in aggressive behavior, compared with control group children.

This dual intervention aims to reduce peer violence and sexual harassment in middle schoolers by emphasizing consequences and increasing surveillance of unsafe areas. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group had statistically significant reductions in sexual victimization and in violence victimization and perpetration compared with those in the control group. There were no statistically significant effects on sexual harassment perpetration, or knowledge, attitudes, or intentions.

This was a universal prevention program designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children. The program is rated Ineffective. Intervention students had a statistically significant lower likelihood of using aggression while negotiating, needing adult intervention in conflict resolution, and showing more socially competent behavior and prosocial goals. However, the differences between the groups were small and there were no statistically significant differences in antisocial behavior.

This program for middle school students is designed to provide conflict-resolution strategies and skills to reduce aggressive behavior and prevent violence. The program is rated Promising. Overall, findings were mixed. Results indicated a statistically significant reduction in violent disciplinary code violations and favorable attitudes toward violence for participants, compared with the control group. However, there were no differences between groups in drug use, anxiety, or aggression.

This is a program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children in elementary school. The program is rated Effective. Youth who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical aggression; in initiation of alcohol and tobacco; and in use over time of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; compared with control youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups in initiation of illicit drugs.

This is a program that aims to reduce behavior problems in children and increase their social and problem-solving skills. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group children demonstrated statistically significant improvements in conduct problems, social competence, and problem-solving skills, compared with control group children, at the posttest.

This prevention program promotes emotional and social competencies and reduces aggression and behavior problems in children. The program is rated Effective. Statistically significant findings included lower peer-ratings for aggressive, hyperactive, or disruptive behavior for intervention children, compared with control children. Further, intervention classrooms showed higher quality climate, levels of interest and enthusiasm, and ability to stay focused, compared with control classrooms.

This program uses a curriculum-based approach to improve youth academics, behavior, and character. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group students reported statistically significantly less substance use, sexual activity, violent behavior, serious violence-related behavior, and bullying behavior, compared with control group students. There were no statistically significant differences in measures of disruptive behaviors.

This is a classroom management strategy designed to reduce aggressive and disruptive classroom behavior and create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning for students, ages 6 to 10. The program is rated Promising. At the 14-year follow up, the treatment group had statistically significant reductions in levels of alcohol-related disorders and antisocial personality disorder compared with participants in the control group.

This is a charter middle school that serves predominately low-income, minority students (grades 6–8) in Harlem who are usually 2 or 3 years behind grade level. The program is rated Effective. Students who were admitted to the school showed statistically significant improvements in English Language Arts scores, math scores, and attendance rates, compared with students who were not admitted. However, there were no significant differences between groups on matriculation.

This is a competency-enhancement program targeting elementary school children who are at high risk for early development of conduct problems. The program is rated Promising. Participation in the program was associated with statistically significant improvements in children’s academic competence and social skills and in adults’ parenting skills, compared with the control group at the 3-year follow up. However, there were no significant differences between groups in aggressive behavior.

This is a comprehensive, long-term prevention program that seeks to prevent chronic and severe conduct problems in high-risk children in first through 10th grades. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group children demonstrated a statistically significantly fewer number of conduct problems and improvement in social cognition, compared with control group children. However, there were no statistically significant effects on academic progress or social competence.

This school-based program delivered to elementary school students to reduce bullying and victimization was designed for national use in the Finnish comprehensive schools. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions for self-reported bullying and victimization and peer-reported victimization for KiVa schools compared with control schools; however, there were no significant differences between treatment and comparison schools on peer-reported bullying.

This violence prevention program seeks to reduce negative child behavior for school-aged children. The program is rated Ineffective. Overall, there were no differences on teacher and student reported aggression in students. The studies also found mixed statistically significant differences among age groups with students in grades 3-5 displaying less aggressive behavior, but also lower prosocial behavior. The evidence suggests the program did not have the intended effect on students.

This is a school-based prevention program for students between the ages of 12 and 16, which is designed to increase peer support, improve conflict-resolution skills, and decrease acceptance attitudes toward aggression and violence. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students reported a statistically significant lower likelihood of using negative conflict-resolution skills (e.g., verbal or physical aggression), compared with comparison group students, at the posttest.

This interactive classroom curriculum is designed to reduce youth dating violence by addressing bullying, unsafe sexual behavior, and substance use. The program is rated Ineffective. The program had small, statistically significant effects on decreasing dating violence and sexual harassment/assault victimization. However, there were no significant effects on sexual harassment/assault perpetration, peer violence perpetration or victimization, sexual activity, substance use, or prosocial attitudes.

This is a prevention program for middle and high school students, which is designed to stop or prevent dating violence perpetration and victimization. This program is rated Effective. The intervention group showed statistically significant reductions in psychological, physical, and sexual abuse perpetration, and physical abuse victimization, compared with the control group at the 4-year follow up; however, there were no significant differences between groups on sexual abuse victimization.

This is a planning and implementation system that helps community stakeholders come together to address adolescent behavior problems such as violence, delinquency, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant lower levels of risk factors and a lower likelihood of initiation of delinquent behavior for intervention communities, compared control communities, but mixed results in substance use initiation.