1. Phases of Program Development
Building a Strong Relationship: A Prevention Program for At-Risk Male Youth Adrianne McCullars, M.S., Candice Selwyn, M.S., Mai A. Var, M.S., and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Alabama
Background
Throughout the United States, intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts individuals, families, and communities.
In 2012, for Alabama alone, there were 20,863 violent offenses reported, with 14% being domestic violence related (ACJIC, 2012).
Risk factors for experiencing IPV include younger age, lack of education or employment, a history of childhood trauma, and poverty (Cunradi, Caetano, & Schafer, 2002; Schumacher et al., 2001).
Additionally, evidence indicates that dating violence among teenagers is growing at a faster rate than among any other population in the U.S. (Smith & Donnelly, 2001).
Program Aim
The aim of the current project was to develop an evidence-based intervention to reduce IPV in high-risk adolescent dating relationships, based on the criteria for prevention programs put forth by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
Participants were 17 incarcerated adolescent males, ages 13 to 17, residing in an alternative sentencing program for low-to-medium risk offenders, targeted due to the number of risk factors these adolescents likely exhibited.
Session 1 – All About Relationships
Intro to BSR program
Identifying types of relationships
Healthy versus Unhealthy relationships
Green, yellow, red signals
Session 2 – SCOPE
Scoping yourself and any intimate partner out
Handling difficult emotions
Taking a time out and using “I” statements
Giving and receiving criticism
Session 3 – Building a S.T.R.O.N.G. Relationship
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Effective speaking and listening
Resolving conflict effectively
Session 4 – Less Stress and Finding More Life Purpose
Stress symptoms and relief
Progressive muscle relaxation
Values and life planning
Reduction of IPV
Develop better relationship skills
Learn better emotion regulation skills
Develop better conflict management skills
Learn stress reduction skills
Phases of Program Development
Phase I
Collaboration with a residential alternative sentencing program for juvenile delinquents (i.e. Camp Martin), to recruit program participants and develop an appropriate intervention for this high-risk population.
Phase II
Adaptation of Building a Lasting Love (BALL: Langhinrichsen-Rohling & Turner, 2012), a four-session group curriculum for high-risk adolescent females previously shown to reduce perpetration of psychological abuse and severity of IPV victimization within romantic relationships. BALL was adapted for use with adolescent males and renamed Building a Strong Relationship by the program developers.
Phase III
Pilot of the four sessions with 17 males, who completed anonymous evaluations of the specific session materials. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent, the mean rating for the piloted sessions was 5.0 (n = 17), suggesting significant enthusiasm from the males within the pilot group.
Focus groups to gain specific feedback on the materials and content of the intervention. Preliminary data from the focus groups resulted in material and content changes to the group intervention.
Phase IV
Implementation of revised four-session BSR intervention with program participants. The BSR was developed by Dr. Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling.
Contact: For further information, contact Dr. Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Psychology Professor, University of South Alabama at
Presented at the Annual Society for Prevention Research (SPR, 2014) conference, Washington, D.C.
Research supported by OJJDP grant to the Youth Violence Prevention Program at the University of South Alabama