Resolve It, Solve It

RESOLVE IT, SOLVE IT

OVERVIEW

Resolve It, Solve It is a community- and school-based media campaign designed to reduce violence and aggression. Six rural communities were randomly assigned to the experimental and control conditions. The program was found to have positive impacts for violent intentions and person-directed physical aggression, but not self-efficacy in violence-related situations, verbal aggression, or object-directed, physical aggression. In a female-only analysis, the program was found to have positive impacts for person-directed physical aggression. In a male-only analysis, the program was found to have impacts for verbal aggression and perceived school safety.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Resolve It, Solve It is a week-long media institute at Colorado State University for high school juniors to help to create a violence prevention campaign for their home communities. Three types of public service announcements (print, radio, and television) run in the communities assigned to the experimental condition. The messages are designed to promote the following: respect for individual differences, conflict resolution, and positive, prosocial interactions. Items are marketed with the Resolve It, Solve It tagline such as key chains and book covers.

EVALUATION OF PROGRAM

Swaim, R. C., & Kelly, K. (2008). Efficacy of a randomized trial of a community and school-based anti-violence media intervention among small-town middle school youth. Prevention Sciences, 9, 202-214.

Evaluated Population: Rural seventh and eighth graders (N=1,492) in six middle schools in communities in Kentucky, Louisiana, Illinois, Idaho, and California participated in the study. Most were white (67%), followed by African American (10%) and Mexican American (10%), mixed race/ethnicity (7%), American Indian (2%) and other race/ethnicity (2%), Asian or Pacific Islander (1%), and other Latino (<1%) students. Forty-seven percent of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Approach: Communities were randomly assigned to receive the anti-violence media intervention or to a control condition. The authors measured self-efficacy in violence-related situations, and violent intentions. They measured violent behavior, verbal victimization, physical victimization, and perceived school safety. Students were followed from middle school into high school.

Results: Overall, impacts were found only for violent intentions, person-directed physical aggression, and not for self-efficacy, verbal assault, person-directed physical assault, object-directed physical assault, verbal victimization, and perceived safety.

For male students, impacts were found for verbal victimization, violent intentions, and perceived school safety.

For female students, impacts were found for person-directed physical aggression verbal assault, violent intentions, and perceived safety.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

http://anti-violencemedia.com/

SUMMARY & CATEGORIZATION

References:

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated Participant Ages: Adolescents (12-14), Youth (15-21)

Program Components: Community/Media, School-based

Measured Outcomes: Behavioral Problems

KEYWORDS: Community or Media Campaign; Aggression/Violence/Bullying; Rural; Middle School; White/Caucasian; Self-Efficacy; High School; School-based; Community-based; Co-ed; Adolescents (12-17); Youth (15-21); Behavioral Problems.

Program Last Updated 2/12/10

		© Child Trends 2003