A Stage-Based Expert System for Teen Dating Violence Prevention
Condition: Violence; Bullying
MeSH terms: Bullying
Intervention: Teen Choices: A Program for Healthy Nonviolent Relationships; Health In Motion
Intervention description: A 3-session online, multimedia TTM-based intervention for teen dating violence prevention. For most students, the intervention seeks to reduce risk for dating violence by facilitating progress through the stages of change for using healthy relationship skills; daters are encouraged to use those skills in their dating relationships, and non-daters in their peer relationships, as relationships with peers serve as the foundation for experiences in romantic relationships. For victims of dating violence experiencing fear, the intervention does not focus on healthy relationship skills; instead, it seeks to facilitate progress through the stages of change for keeping oneself safe in relationships.; A 3-session online, multimedia, TTM-based intervention which targets physical activity, screen time, and healthy eating for obesity prevention. Health In Motion sessions were administered following the baseline, 6-month, and 12-month assessments to increase the benefits of study participation for Comparison schools and students.
Phase: Phase 2
Study type: Interventional
Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Enrollment: 3901.0
Sex: All
Healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Keywords: Violence; Bullying; Social skills; Prevention & control; Adolescent

Summary:

      Male-to-female intimate partner violence accounts for 26% of violence-related injuries in
      women presenting in hospital emergency departments and 33% of all female homicides.
      Adolescence provides an excellent "window of opportunity" for the prevention of intimate
      partner violence. Patterns of relating in intimate relationships are still relatively
      undifferentiated and open to influence. However, the evidence supporting traditional,
      school-based programs for the prevention of teen dating violence is mixed. A major problem
      with existing programs is that they are "one size fits all," making it difficult to meet the
      diverse needs of students-boys and girls, individuals who are dating and those who are not,
      individuals who have experienced dating violence as a victim, perpetrator, or both, and those
      who have not. Perhaps most importantly, these interventions neglect individual differences in
      readiness to use healthy, non-violent ways of relating to stay violence-free. In Phase I the
      objective was to use expert system technology to integrate best practices for teen dating
      violence prevention with the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM), the "stage
      model," to develop an interactive, multimedia computer-administered change program that
      delivers individualized intervention sessions and exercises tailored to stage of change and
      other individual characteristics. In Phase II, the objective was to complete development of
      the intervention package and assess its efficacy in a randomized clinical trial involving
      3,901 teens from 20 Rhode Island high schools randomly assigned to intervention or
      comparison. Among youth exposed to risk for dating violence, efficacy was assessed by
      comparing the intervention and comparison groups on dating violence perpetration and
      victimization at follow-up. Among youth not exposed to risk for dating violence, efficacy was
      assessed by comparing intervention and comparison on peer violence perpetration and
      victimization.
    

Eligibility criteria:

        Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Attending one of 20 participating schools

          -  In grade 9, 10, or 11

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  Parent submitted opt-out form