Laura Plybon

Neighborhood Types and Externalizing Behavior in Urban School-Age Children: Tests of Direct, Mediated, and Moderated Effects

We evaluated the association of neighborhood types and externalizing behavior problems in 99 predominately African-American urban children (M = 10.7 years), and the extent to which qualities of the family environment mediated or moderated these associations. Three distinct neighborhood types were identified using cluster analysis of census and crime data. Results showed that children living in very poor neighborhoods with moderate crime levels had more behavior problems than children living in relatively low crime, low poverty areas. Family stress mediated the association between neighborhood type and behavior problems. Family cohesion moderated the association of neighborhood type and adjustment: children living in the most impoverished neighborhoods with high levels of family cohesion demonstrated fewer behavior problems relative to their peers in low-cohesive households in the same area, and similar levels of behavior problems relative to children in highly cohesive homes in low crime, low poverty areas.

An Evaluation of Sisters of Nia: A Cultural Program for African American Girls

In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of a cultural intervention for increasing cultural values and beliefs Fifty-nine African American girls in early adolescence participated in a 15-session cultural program or in an activity comparison group Measures of ethnic identity, gender roles, and relational aggression were administered at pretest and posttest There were significant increases in ethnic identity and a marginally significant increase in androgynous gender roles for girls in the intervention group but not the comparison group Findings also revealed that the intervention decreased relational aggression Implications for early adolescent African American girls’participation in culturally enhanced prevention programs are discussed

Examining the Link between Neighborhood Cohesion and School Outcomes: The Role of Support Coping among African American Adolescent Girls.

Using data from a sample of 84 urban, female, African American adolescents (mean age = 11.86 years), the present investigation examines neighborhood cohesion and parent and adult social support coping, singly and cooperatively, as resources for school achievement outcomes. Results support previous findings that positive perception of the neighborhood is directly and positively related to increased feelings of school self-efficacy and higher grades. Parent support coping predicted increased school self-efficacy. Furthermore, as neighborhood cohesion increased, the use of adult support coping increased. Further analyses demonstrated that students who were failing reported an increased use of teacher support coping as compared to students with passing grades. The authors discuss the implications of these findings in regard to mentoring programs.

Socioeconomic Status and Blood Pressure Reactivity in Healthy Black Adolescents

Adolescents in low-socioeconomic-status environments are more susceptible to illnesses, such as hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. This study examined the influence of both neighborhood- and family-level socioeconomic status (SES) on blood pressure (BP) reactivity in a healthy sample of 76 black adolescents. It was hypothesized that a higher level of parental education and/or income would reduce the elevated BP reactivity associated with living in poorer neighborhoods. Census-derived data were obtained using each participants address. Neighborhood level of SES was based on percentage of households below the poverty line, female-headed households, owner-occupied housing, percentage vacant housing, and average number of persons per household. Family level of SES was based on self-reported level of parental education and annual family income. Adolescents participated in a competitive video game to establish their BP reactivity scores. As predicted, adolescents who lived in poorer neighborhoods had lower diastolic BPs if their parents were more (versus less) educated (P<0.05; 7+/-8 versus 13+/-6 mm Hg). Adolescents who lived in poorer neighborhoods also had significantly lower diastolic BP reactivity (P<0.05) if their family had a higher (versus lower) annual income (7+/-7 versus 12+/-8 mm Hg). These data are the first to demonstrate the buffering effect of family SES on the negative health consequences of living in low-SES neighborhoods in healthy black adolescents.

The Impact of a Culturally Enhanced Drug Prevention Program on Drug and Alcohol Refusal Efficacy among Urban African American Girls

This study examined the utility of the Specific Event Drug and Alcohol Refusal Efficacy scale (SEDARE) as an outcome of a culturally enhanced drug abuse prevention program for urban African-American girls in early adolescence. The SEDARE captures the perceived likelihood that youth will use drugs and alcohol in specific situations. Ninety-two girls participated in the program. Girls in the intervention group had higher drug refusal efficacy as measured by the SEDARE than girls in the comparison group. Girls varied in situations they perceived they could refuse drugs and alcohol. Findings are discussed with implications for drug abuse prevention programs for urban African-American girls.

Overview of RIPP-6

This chapter provides an overview of RIPP-6, the 25-session violence prevention curriculum designed for the first year of either middle school (6th grade) or junior high school (7th grade). After the essence and core components of RIPP are described, a description of the manual and the strategies used in the program are presented. A short summary of the goals for each session is provided, followed by a sample workshop. The standardized RIPP-6 instructor manual (approximately 200 pages) is available through the RIPP Project Office and is intended to be used in tandem with the guidance in operations and evaluation that is provided in this monograph.

Knowing whether RIPP Is Working in Your School

This chapter is designed to help individuals implementing the RIPP program determine whether it is producing its desired effects. Although many books conclude with a chapter about evaluation, we placed this chapter closer to the beginning because we believe that it is important to think about evaluation from the very beginning. Too often, evaluation is an afterthought. When this happens, evaluation is likely to be viewed as burdensome, as opposed to something that will improve the entire project. Our hope is that placing this chapter directly after training and before the program descriptions will increase the chance that efforts to prevent youth violence will include a fully integrated evaluative component.

Getting RIPP Running

The task of setting up a violence prevention program may seem a little overwhelming. This may be especially true for schools that are about average in student disruptions and where staff may not perceive that there is much of a problem. Unfortunately, in many such schools the number of student conflicts may be growing and many disagreements may be close to escalating into fights. There are thus good reasons for being proactive and establishing a program such as RIPP within a school before serious problems develop. This chapter was designed to assist in that process. Based on our experiences with RIPP, we have identified six conditions that appear particularly important in making the program effective. Specifically, these conditions are (1) a schoolwide commitment to preventing violence; (2) a core group of school staff who serve as advocates for RIPP; (3) a qualified, full-time violence prevention facilitator; (4) adequate training for the violence prevention facilitator in RIPP and peer mediation; (5) willingness by the school staff to incorporate the RIPP and peer mediation programs throughout the school year; and (6) establishing and evaluating objectives for implementing RIPP.

Selecting and Training Beacons of Nonviolence

In this chapter, we describe the key issues related to selecting and training individuals to implement the RIPP program. As with all school—based health—promotion and social competence programs, adequate selection, preparation, and support of staff is essential. This chapter begins by defining the role of the prevention facilitator. Then, it describes some of the criteria for identifying individuals suited for this position. Finally, we provide an overview of the amount of time and type of activities required for training RIPP facilitators.

Adaptation of RIPP For Cultural and Community Differences

In the previous chapters we’ve discussed the implementation and evaluation of RIPP in an urban and a rural school system. Will RIPP work in other communities? This is a particularly important question for those who are considering implementing RIPP in their community. Although RIPP was developed for a primarily low—income, urban, African—American population, RIPP is not a culture—specific program. This is evidenced by our ability to successfully adapt this program to a vastly different student population in a rural system. Similarly, although RIPP has been evaluated with high—risk populations, the program is not restricted to such populations. The recent outbreak of school shootings in communities considered low—risk, such as Littleton, Colorado, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, has raised our nation’s awareness of the need for violence prevention programs across communities of varying risk levels. Increasingly, schools across the country are realizing the need to address the issue of violence, as well as develop school norms for nonviolence. We believe that the theoretical model upon which RIPP is based and the intervention techniques will be an appropriate violence prevention program for middle and junior high schools that represent different types of communities, cultures, and risk levels.