Youth violence has been thrust upon the national scene as a critical public health issue following recent multiple incidents of school violence. One area of study that has received considerable research attention is the effect of the mass media on youthful violence. Youth are exposed to various messages, positive and negative through a variety of media channels. In contrast to the negative effects of viewing aggressive and violent acts, media can be used to promote pro-social behavior. A number of national social marketing media campaigns have been launched in recent years that have successfully targeted adolescent drug use, tobacco use, drunk driving, and other public health problems. One limitation, however, of national, social marketing media campaigns is perceived lack of relevance to certain populations. This is particularly true of rural populations. Although rural areas are equally at-risk for youth violence compared to urban locations, they are likely to view national media campaigns, which tend to focus on urban or suburban target audiences, as less relevant to their communities. Lack of message relevance in such campaigns can be overcome by creating media campaigns that are localized. Specifically tailored rural media campaigns, that use rural rather than urban images, that are implemented by local people, and that incorporate local data and local references, may be more effective in rural locations than standard urban-style campaigns. Furthermore, media campaigns that incorporate local peers may be more effective than those not using peers. We have successfully used this approach for reduction of adolescent drug use. This study will experimentally test the effects of two different levels of a community-based anti-violence media campaign. The project will target violence reduction among middle school students in rural communities. The community-based antiviolence media campaign makes use of marketing and media methods to change normative attitudes/beliefs, and self-efficacy for avoiding interpersonal aggression and aggressive behaviors. It targets both intrapersonal attitudes and beliefs about violence and aggression, as well as targeting individual level violence and community change in awareness and attitudes toward violence. This project proposes a three-group experimental design testing the effectiveness in six rural communities (two communities per group) of 1) a Community-Based Rural Media Campaign (COMM), 2) a Community-Based Peer Rural Media Campaign (COMMPEER), and 3) Controls. A two-year anti-violence media campaign will be administered to groups 1 and 2. Pre-test, post-test and follow-up surveys will assess the effects of various levels of the media campaign on attitudes toward aggression and violence, and aggressive and violent behaviors among youth.
| Swaim, Randall C; Kelly, Kathleen (2008) Efficacy of a randomized trial of a community and school-based anti-violence media intervention among small-town middle school youth. Prev Sci 9:202-14 |
| Swaim, Randall C; Henry, Kimberly L; Kelly, Kathleen (2006) Predictors of aggressive behaviors among rural middle school youth. J Prim Prev 27:229-43 |
| Swaim, Randall C; Henry, Kimberly L; Baez, Nicholas E (2004) Risk-taking, attitudes toward aggression, and aggressive behavior among rural middle school youth. Violence Vict 19:157-70 |
