A multidisciplinary youth violence-prevention initiative: impact on attitudes.

Background: In a previous report, enhanced resource commitment at a Level I trauma center was associated with improved outcomes for most major categories of injured patients, except those with gunshot wounds, which disproportionately affected the young (ages 15 to 24 years). We hypothesized that a primary violence-prevention initiative geared toward changing attitudes about interpersonal conflict among at-risk youths can be effective.

Study Design: Between May 2002 and November 2003, 97 youths (mean age 12.6 years) were recruited from one of two Police Athletic League centers in the catchment area of our Level I trauma center. Participant attitudes about interpersonal conflicts were surveyed with six previously validated scales before and after a hospital tour with a video and slide presentation graphically depicting the results of gun violence. Mean differences in scores between pre- and postintervention surveys were assessed.

Results: Of the 97 participants, 48 (49.4%) completed the intervention program with both the pre- and postintervention tests, with a mean of 25.8 days between tests. There was a statistically significant reduction in the Beliefs Supporting Aggression scale (mean -0.38 U; 95% CI, -0.23 to -0.54; p < 0.01), and a trend toward reduced Likelihood of Violence (mean -0.17 U; 95% CI, 0.01 to -0.34; p = 0.06).

Conclusions: A multidisciplinary violence-prevention outreach program can produce short-term improvement in beliefs supporting aggression among at-risk youth. Longterm impact of this attitude change needs to be examined in future studies.