Connecting Youth Violence Prevention, Positive Youth Development, and Community Mobilization

Several disconnects serve to weaken the use of evidence based programming in community settings. Communities face the need to address the challenges of multiple risk behaviors faced by adolescents in their communities, but must also work to support successful transitions to adulthood and the broader positive development of their youth. The stronger integration of positive youth development and prevention of youth risk at the community level may offer an opportunity to support the implementation and ongoing development of evidence-based practices (EBPs). This article provides an overview of the VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development Institute's community mobilization effort in Richmond, Virginia and reports preliminary findings from our integrated mobilization efforts. First, we review the role of our Community Advisory Council in their collaborative work to support positive youth development and reduce risk for youth violence. Next, we present examples of institute efforts in providing technical assistance relevant to supporting the use and development of EBPs. We then discuss the adaptation of an evidence-based program to target positive youth development. We also present overviews from qualitative investigations examining barriers and supports that inform and are relevant to the implementation of EBPs. Finally, we consider ways in which community efforts inform and shape institute efforts to develop EPBs. Taken together, these activities provide examples of how community-based mobilization efforts can integrate and inform the implementation of EBPs and the role and use of prevention science as a tool in supporting effective programming to promote positive youth development and prevent youth violence.     

Fresh Start: A Multilevel Community Mobilization Plan to Promote Youth Development and Prevent Violence

While much has been written about community mobilization for health, few detailed expositions of the formation of community mobilization, especially focused on youth violence prevention exist. The Columbia Center for Youth Violence Prevention, in collaboration with the UNIDOS Inwood Coalition, developed a Community mobilization plan to guide youth violence prevention in Inwood. The plan was developed within the context of an evidence-based organizing framework-Communities that Care (CTC) and takes a multi-level approach to service coordination that includes activities at the Individual, Family, Block, Organizational and Built Environment levels. This article describes how the Community mobilization plan was created, illustrates the use of evidence-based practices to lead to the development of the plan, outlines the plan's community/organizational activities, and summarizes the principles and processes that can be replicated in other communities seeking to start their own community mobilization efforts to reduce youth violence.     

Essential Elements for Community Engagement in Evidence-Based Youth Violence Prevention

In the field of youth violence prevention, there has been increasing emphasis on “evidence based” programs and principles shown through scientific research as reaching their intended outcomes. Community mobilization and engagement play a critical role in many evidence‐based programs and strategies, as it takes a concerted effort among a wide range of people within a community to alter behavior and maintain behavioral change. How do concerned individuals and groups within a community engage others within and outside of that community to effectively plan, develop and implement appropriate EB programs as well as evaluate the outcomes and impacts of locally developed programs yet to be proven? The authors discuss five elements essential for community engagement in evidence‐based youth violence prevention based on their work in a university‐community partnership through the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (API Center), a National Academic Center for Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention Center supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They include: (a) aligning EBPs with a community's shared vision and values; (b) establishing an inclusive environment for the planning, implementation and evaluation of EBPs; (c) nurturing collaboration for increased effectiveness and efficacy of EBPs; (d) building adequate leadership and community capacity to develop and sustain EBPs; and (e) building a learning community for evaluation and self‐reflection. The authors propose placing greater emphasis on “evaluative thinking” and organizational capacity for evaluation as we pursue evidence‐based practices for youth violence prevention. This is especially important for ethnic groups for which an evidence base is not well established.     

Impact Challenges in Community Science-with-Practice: Lessons from PROSPER on Transformative Practitioner-Scientist Partnerships and Prevention Infrastructure Development

At present, evidence-based programs (EBPs) to reduce youth violence are failing to translate into widespread community practice, despite their potential for impact on this pervasive public health problem. In this paper we address two types of challenges in the achievement of such impact, drawing upon lessons from the implementation of a partnership model called PROSPER. First, we address five key challenges in the achievement of community-level impact through effective community planning and action: readiness and mobilization of community teams; maintaining EBP implementation quality; sustaining community teams and EBPs; demonstrating community-level impact; and continuous, proactive technical assistance. Second, we consider grand challenges in the large-scale translation of EBPs: (1) building, linking and expanding existing infrastructures to support effective EBP delivery systems, and (2) organizing networks of practitioner-scientist partnerships-networks designed to integrate diffusion of EBPs with research that examines effective strategies to do so. The PROSPER partnership model is an evidence-based delivery system for community-based prevention and has evolved through two decades of NIH-funded research, assisted by land grant universities' Cooperative Extension Systems. Findings and lessons of relevance to each of the challenges are summarized. In this context, we outline how practitioner-scientist partnerships can serve to transform EBP delivery systems, particularly in conjunction with supportive federal policy.     

Community Readiness for Change and Youth Violence Prevention: a Tale of Two Cities

This case study identifies a situation in which there exists a set of preconditions for the successful application of evidence based practice to bear on the community based problem of youth violence. The concept of readiness to change and its impact on the success or failure of interventions designed to change harmful or dangerous behavior among individuals is well established and understood in intervention research. In recent years this concept has been discussed and developed in the community intervention and harm reduction literatures. The current study is one of a community where an attempt was made to identify community levels of harm, develop a strategic plan to reduce the source of harm, and develop, implement, and evaluate youth violence prevention interventions. Over more than 5 years of involvement by university based researchers and community partners, the effort was largely unsuccessful. The events of this project are discussed within the context of the Community Readiness Model Edwards et al. (J Community Psychol 28(3): 291-307, 2000) and we present a narrative that helps to highlight the reasons for the relative lack of success of the effort. We suggest additional strategies and actions that might have helped to overcome the lack of readiness of this particular community to reduce the harms associated with youth violence. Suggestions that may improve chances for a more successful set of outcomes for other communities in similar states of readiness to change and with similar challenges are given.     

Mobilizing Communities for Implementing Evidence-Based Youth Violence Prevention Programming: A Commentary

Evidence-based programs have struggled for acceptance in human service settings. Information gleaned from these experiences indicates that implementation is the missing link in the science to service chain. The science and practice of implementation is progressing and can inform approaches to full and effective uses of youth violence prevention programs nationally. Implementation Teams that know (a) innovations, (b) implementation best practices, and (c) improvement cycles are essential to mobilizing support for successful uses of evidence-based programs on a socially significant scale. The next wave of development in implementation science and practice is underway: establishing infrastructures for implementation to make implementation expertise available to communities nationally. Good science, implemented well in practice, can benefit all human services, including youth violence prevention.     

Urban American Indian Community Perspectives on Resources and Challenges for Youth Suicide Prevention

American Indian (AI) youth have some of the highest rates of suicide of any group in the United States, and the majority of AI youth live in urban areas away from tribal communities. As such, understanding the resources available for suicide prevention among urban AI youth is critical, as is understanding the challenges involved in accessing such resources. Pre‐existing interview data from 15 self‐identified AI community members and staff from an Urban Indian Health Organization were examined to understand existing resources for urban AI youth suicide prevention, as well as related challenges. A thematic analysis was undertaken, resulting in three principal themes around suicide prevention: formal resources, informal resources, and community values and beliefs. Formal resources that meet the needs of AI youth were viewed as largely inaccessible or nonexistent, and youth were seen as more likely to seek help from informal sources. Community values of mutual support were thought to reinforce available informal supports. However, challenges arose in terms of the community's knowledge of and views on discussing suicide, as well as the perceived fit between community values and beliefs and formal prevention models.     

Quality Improvement as a Tool for Translating Evidence Based Interventions Into Practice: What the Youth Violence Prevention Community can Learn from Healthcare

Health care has been working for the past 2 decades to improve the translation of evidence based practice (EBPs) into care. The strategies used to facilitate this, and lessons learned, can provide useful models for similar work taking place in youth violence prevention. This article discusses the history of evidence translation in health care, reviews key strategies used to support translation of evidence based practice into care, and suggests lessons learned that may be useful to similar efforts in youth violence prevention and intervention services.     

Community Mobilization and Community-Based Participatory Research to Prevent Youth Violence Among Asian and Immigrant Populations

Many community mobilization activities for youth violence prevention involve the researchers assisting communities in identifying, adapting, and/or tailoring evidence-based programs to fit the community needs, population, and cultural and social contexts. This article describes a slightly different framework in which the collaborative research/evaluation project emerged from the community mobilization activities. As will be discussed, this collaborative, sustained partnership was possible in the context of the Center on Culture, Immigration and Youth Violence Prevention's (UC Berkeley ACE) community mobilization activities that brought the issue of youth violence, particularly among immigrant and minority populations, to the forefront of many of the community partners' agendas. The East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC) was one of the partners that came to the table, which facilitated the community-based engagement/mobilization. UC Berkeley ACE collaborated with EBAYC to evaluate an after-school program and an alternative probation program serving a diverse youth and immigrant population, including African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. This article describes UC Berkeley ACE's community mobilization activity and the collaborative partnership with EBAYC, discusses how the evaluations incorporated community-based principles in design and practice, and presents some findings from the evaluations.     

Developing a Community Science Research Agenda for Building Community Capacity for Effective Preventive Interventions

Research has shown that prevention programming can improve community health when implemented well. There are examples of successful prevention in local communities, however many continue to face significant challenges, demonstrating a gap between science and practice. Common strategies within the United States to address this gap are available (e.g., trainings), but lack outcomes. Building community capacity to implement high quality prevention can help communities achieve positive health outcomes, thereby narrowing the gap. While there is ample research on the efficacy of evidence-based programs, there is little on how to improve community capacity to improve prevention quality. In order to narrow the gap, a new model of research—one based in Community Science—is suggested that improves the latest theoretical understanding of community capacity and evaluates technologies designed to enhance it. In this article, we describe this model and suggest a research agenda that can lead to improved outcomes at the local level.     

Levels of Community Engagement in Youth Violence Prevention: The Role of Power in Sustaining Successful University-Community Partnerships

Previous research indicates that communities can be engaged at various levels in research to reduce youth violence. In this paper, we argue that the method of power sharing among partners is a central factor distinguishing different levels of engagement. Using cases from the Nashville Urban Partnership Academic Center of Excellence, we identify community initiation and community collaboration as distinct approaches to community engaged violence prevention research. The power relationships among partners are analyzed to highlight differences in the types of engagement and to discuss implications for establishing and sustaining community partnerships. Also, the implications of levels of engagement for promoting the use of evidence-based practices are discussed.     

Moving Toward Comprehensiveness and Sustainability in a Social Ecological Approach to Youth Violence Prevention: Lessons from the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center

Youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting communities across the United States. The use of a social ecological approach has helped reduce its prevalence. However, those who have put the approach into practice often face challenges to effective implementation. Addressing social ecology in all its complexity presents one obstacle; the ability of private non-profit and public agencies to sustain such comprehensive efforts presents another. Here, we provide an example of our efforts to prevent youth violence. We worked with the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) and two communities on O`ahu. We provide a case example from the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) of our work, in collaboration with two communities on O`ahu, to develop and implement a youth violence prevention initiative that is becoming both comprehensive and sustainable. We illustrate the incremental nature of what it means to be comprehensive and we underscore the importance of reaching sustainability as the project unfolds.     

The Role of Families and Care Givers as Risk and Protective Factors in Preventing Youth Violence

This paper reviews research which discusses the risk and protective functions that families and other caregivers provide in influencing the development of aggressive behavior in youth. Currently, there is an emphasis on providing violence prevention programs in the school environment, typically with little parental or caregiver involvement. By enhancing the role of families and caregivers in youth violence prevention programs, we assert that an unique opportunity exists to both address specific risk factors for violence while enhancing the protective features of the family. Relatedly, the risk literature on youth violence indicates that the most influential risk factors (i.e., the family, community, and peers) have their principle impact on youth aggression outside the school. We suggest a shift in the focus of violence prevention programming that is more inclusive of families as both a risk and protective agent. In support of this position, relevant theory and reviews of exemplary family-involved programs are offered. Challenges to involving youth caregivers are identified and recommendations for overcoming those challenges suggested. Last, recommendations for future research and public policy in the prevention of youth violence are offered.     

VIOLENCE,MEMORY, AND THE DYNAMICS OF TRANSNATIONAL YOUTH FORMATIONS

This editorial introduces and contextualizes five scholarly papers on ‘Violence, Memory, and the Dynamics of Transnational Youth Formations.’ The topic of this special issue is conceptually organized around theories of postcolonial and diasporic citizenship and probes the extent to which these theories have shaped the discursive field of ‘youth formations’. We outline how an emerging scholarly field on youth cultures, youth activism and youth political organizations has responded to the new challenges of globalization and transnational mobilization. As experiences and memories of violence give shape to these mobilizations as well as the social imaginations characterizing youth movements, this special issue takes an interest in drawing connections between different youth formations. In establishing such a comparative lens, we contribute to ongoing discussions in Sikh Studies on youth issues in relation to violence, discrimination and transnational mobilization.     

Structural and Community Change Outcomes of the Connect‐to‐Protect Coalitions: Trials and Triumphs Securing Adolescent Access to HIV Prevention,Testing, and Medical Care

Connect to Protect (C2P), a 10‐year community mobilization effort, pursued the dual aims of creating communities competent to address youth's HIV‐related risks and removing structural barriers to youth health. We used Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT) to examine the perceived contributions and accomplishments of 14 C2P coalitions. We interviewed 318 key informants, including youth and community leaders, to identify the features of coalitions’ context and operation that facilitated and undermined their ability to achieve structural change and build communities’ capability to manage their local adolescent HIV epidemic effectively. We coded the interviews using an a priori coding scheme informed by CCAT and scholarship on AIDS‐competent communities. We found community mobilization efforts like C2P can contribute to addressing the structural factors that promote HIV‐risk among youth and to community development. We describe how coalition leadership, collaborative synergy, capacity building, and local community context influence coalitions’ ability to successfully implement HIV‐related structural change, demonstrating empirical support for many of CCAT's propositions. We discuss implications for how community mobilization efforts might succeed in laying the foundation for an AIDS‐competent community.     

Building Schools’ Readiness to Implement a Comprehensive Approach to School Safety

Research consistently finds that a comprehensive approach to school safety, which integrates the best scientific evidence and solid implementation strategies, offers the greatest potential for preventing youth violence and promoting mental and behavioral health. However, schools and communities encounter enormous challenges in articulating, synthesizing, and implementing all the complex aspects of a comprehensive approach to school safety. This paper aims to bridge the gap between scientific evidence and the application of that evidence in schools and communities by defining the key components of a comprehensive approach to school safety and describing how schools can assess their readiness to implement a comprehensive approach. We use readiness and implementation data from the Safe Communities Safe Schools project to illustrate these challenges and solutions. Our findings suggest that (1) readiness assessment can be combined with feasibility meetings to inform school selection for implementation of a comprehensive approach to school safety and (2) intentionally addressing readiness barriers as part of a comprehensive approach may lead to improvements in readiness (motivation and capacity) to effectively implement a comprehensive approach to school safety.     

Together Helping Reduce Youth Violence for Equity (ThrYve): Examining the Development of a Comprehensive Multisectoral Approach to Youth Violence Prevention

Comprehensive approaches to youth violence prevention are needed to simultaneously address multiple risk factors across socioecological levels. ThrYve (Together Helping Reduce Youth Violence for Equity) is a collaborative initiative focused on addressing broader factors influencing youth violence, including social determinants of health. Using a participatory approach, the development of ThrYve is examined through an empirical case study. Through a Systems Advisory Board (SAB), ThrYve deploys multiple strategies that support cross-sector collaboration involving over 40 partners across 13 community sectors. Based on the Institute of Medicine’s model for public health action in communities, the SAB identified 87 change levers (i.e., program, policy, practice changes) to support community and systems-level improvements. As a result of the collaborative process, in the first couple of years, ThrYve facilitated 85 community actions and changes across sectors. The changes aligned with identified risk and resilience needs of the youth served in the community. The findings further support prior research, which suggests disparities related to gender may influence risk and resilience factors for youth violence. The study also indicates the importance of continuing to examine academic performance as a factor related to youth resilience.     

Effects of workshop trainings on evidence-based practice knowledge and attitudes among youth community mental health providers

Enhancing the public health impact of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in usual care settings is a key priority of the National Institute of Mental Health. Longitudinal data from community mental health providers (N = 268) participating in a series of state-sponsored workshops in modular approaches to EBPs for youth are presented. EBP workshop attendance for youth anxiety resulted in increased knowledge for EBPs for anxiety (and not other conditions) and EBP workshop attendance for youth disruptive behaviors resulted in increased knowledge for EBPs for disruptive behaviors (and not other conditions). Providers' tendencies toward incorrectly classifying non-EBP therapies as evidence-based increased over time, suggesting that providers over-generalize the EBP label as a result of attending these types of workshops. Regarding EBP attitudes, most measures of attitudes improved when providers attended a workshop. Additionally, an overly inclusive view of what constitutes an EBP at intake was related to significant decreases in openness to trying EBPs over time, whereas more positive attitudes at intake was related to achieving a more refined view of what constitutes an EBP over the course of attending trainings. Study limitations and implications for implementation of EBPs in usual care settings are discussed.     

Examining the Prevalence and Predictors of Injury From Adolescent Dating Violence

Medical needs of youth who experience dating violence are not well understood because of limited past research examining the prevalence and predictors of injuries and medical help seeking. To address these gaps, the current study described the prevalence and predictors of injuries from dating violence from grades 8 through 12 in a large sample of youth. Results indicate that one third to one half of youth who experienced any physical and/or sexual dating violence also sustained an injury. Prevalence of injury was highest in the 8th grade and was significantly higher for females than for males across grades 8 through 11. Youth who experienced greater amounts of violent victimization in their relationships (physical, sexual, and psychological) were at the highest risk for injury. Results also suggest that victims at highest risk for injury are girls, White youth, those experiencing multiple types of violence, and those who also engage in perpetration. Given the high prevalence of injury among youth who report dating violence, healthcare professionals may be in a unique position to screen and counsel youth about dating violence. Because the highest prevalence of injury occurred before high school, prevention programs should start early and selected prevention may be used for youth at highest risk for injury.     

Oppression and empowerment: perceptions of violence among urban youth

Youth violence in the United States has emerged as a major concern for communities, policymakers and community researchers. This paper reports on the efforts of a child mental health clinic to build a community consensus around addressing violence that affects youth and all members of the community. We describe and give case examples regarding our approach to acquiring the perspectives of the community, particularly that of youth, discuss key themes and implications that emerged from our work, and offer preliminary recommendations for designing a youth violence prevention initiative in a disenfranchised community. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.