Pushing the Boundaries of Education: Evaluating the Impact of Second Step®: A Violence Prevention Curriculum with Psychosocial and Non-Cognitive Measures
Abstract
The Second Step® violence prevention curriculum was implemented in a large urban school district as part of a comprehensive three-year initiative to impact students at-risk for violence and substance abuse. An outcome evaluation was conducted to assess the intervention's effectiveness on students’ attitudes and on behaviors important for accountability. Results indicated improvements in students’ prosocial attitudes and behaviors that were consistent across two large cohorts of students. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.
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Studies scored as serious or critical employed designs that were often confounded by existing baseline differences.
“those scored as ‘serious’ or ‘critical’ employed designs that were often confounded by existing baseline differences”
From School‐Based Interventions for Reducing Disciplinary School Exclusion. An Updated Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Neace and Muñoz 2012
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- Authors
- Neace, W. P., & Muñoz, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Bellarmine University (US)
- Jeffco Public Schools (US)
- Corresponding author
- Neace, William P.
- ORCID
- Muñoz, Marco A.
- Venue
- Child & Youth Services
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2012-01
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 46-69
- ISSN
- 0145-935X (ISSN-L)
- 1545-2298
- OpenAlex
- W1987693829
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 3.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Child & Youth Services (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Education for Peace and Conflict Resolution
- Keywords
- Second Step program, school-based intervention, at-risk students, substance use prevention, prosocial attitudes, prosocial behavior, psychosocial outcomes, non-cognitive outcomes, urban school districts, program evaluation
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