. Violence in the United States is the third leading cause of death for young people (aged 10 to 24 years), and violent acts have immediate, enduring, and disturbing impacts on individuals, families, and communities. Youth violence is a problem in other countries in our hemisphere as well, and one area of particular concern is Central America. For the past nearly eight years, our research team has been working with partners across Central America to develop Miles de Manos (MdM; ?Thousands of Hands?), a universal, multi-modal, evidence-informed and community-based youth violence prevention intervention. MdM has been widely disseminated throughout the region, and has been adopted as a key component of the national education plans of Honduras and El Salvador, despite the lack of an evidence base demonstrating its effectiveness. This project proposes a randomized controlled trial in Honduras, conducted in collaboration with the Honduran Secretary of Education and ChildFund International, experienced in-country experts in the implementation of MdM through work funded by USAID.
The aims of the proposed project are:
Aim 1. To examine the effectiveness of a culturally specified youth violence prevention program on improving effective parent and teacher behavior management practices and reducing both youth problem behaviors and youth association with peers and adults involved in problem behaviors.
Aim 2. To investigate potential mediators of any outcomes due to the intervention, and specifically to conduct a test of the social learning theory underlying the intervention.
Aim 3. To investigate potential moderators of any outcomes due to the intervention. Potential benefits of the project include filling in gaps in knowledge about community-based violence prevention programs both in Honduras and the U.S. Finding effective ways to improve the health, safety, and social cohesion of community members has the potential to benefit both countries in numerous ways, including reducing the personal and social disruptions and traumas that come from living in and leaving communities that become marked by violence.
/RELELVANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH. Violence in the United States is the third leading cause of death for young people (aged 10 to 24 years), and violent acts have immediate, enduring, and disturbing impacts on individuals, families, and communities. Youth violence is a problem in other countries in our hemisphere as well, and one area of particular concern is Central America. The proposed study seeks to examine the impact of Miles de Manos (MdM; ?Thousands of Hands?), a universal, multi-modal, evidence-informed and community-based youth violence prevention intervention, on youth violence in Honduras. Potential benefits of the project include filling in gaps in knowledge about community-based violence prevention programs both in Honduras and the U.S.; finding effective ways to improve the health, safety, and social cohesion of community members has the potential to benefit both countries in numerous ways, including reducing the personal and social disruptions and traumas that come from living in and leaving communities that become marked by violence.
