An evaluation of a secondary school primary prevention program on violence in intimate relationships.

A large-scale primary prevention program for wife assault and dating violence was evaluated, employing a measure of attitudes, by means of the London Family Court Clinic Questionnaire on Violence in Relationships. The target audience comprised all students in four high schools. A brief intervention, including a large group presentation on wife assault and dating violence, followed by classroom discussion facilitated by community professionals was instituted. Attitudes, knowledge and behavioral intentions were assessed prior to intervention, immediately afterward, and at five to six weeks postintervention, in a stratified classroom level random sample of the participants. Significant positive attitude, knowledge, and behavioral intention changes were found at posttest, and the majority of these were maintained at delayed follow-up. Striking sex differences were found, with females consistently showing better attitudes than males. A 'backlash' effect was noted among a small number of males after the intervention. It was hypothesized that this group may already be involved in abusive behavior and require secondary, rather than primary, prevention. Students reported a high level of awareness of and experience with violence in their own and their friends' dating and family relationships, and overwhelmingly endorsed primary prevention of relationship violence in the schools.

Emerging strategies in the prevention of domestic violence.

Responses to domestic violence have focused, to date, primarily on intervention after the problem has already been identified and harm has occurred. There are, however, new domestic violence prevention strategies emerging, and prevention approaches from the public health field can serve as models for further development of these strategies. This article describes two such models. The first involves public health campaigns that identify and address the underlying causes of a problem. Although identifying the underlying causes of domestic violence is difficult--experts do not agree on causation, and several different theories exist--these theories share some common beliefs that can serve as a foundation for prevention strategies. The second public health model can be used to identify opportunities for domestic violence prevention along a continuum of possible harm: (1) primary prevention to reduce the incidence of the problem before it occurs; (2) secondary prevention to decrease the prevalence after early signs of the problem; and (3) tertiary prevention to intervene once the problem is already clearly evident and causing harm. Examples of primary prevention include school-based programs that teach students about domestic violence and alternative conflict-resolution skills, and public education campaigns to increase awareness of the harms of domestic violence and of services available to victims. Secondary prevention programs could include home visiting for high-risk families and community-based programs on dating violence for adolescents referred through child protective services (CPS). Tertiary prevention includes the many targeted intervention programs already in place (and described in other articles in this journal issue). Early evaluations of existing prevention programs show promise, but results are still preliminary and programs remain small, locally based, and scattered throughout the United States and Canada. What is needed is a broadly based, comprehensive prevention strategy that is supported by sound research and evaluation, receives adequate public backing, and is based on a policy of zero tolerance for domestic violence.

Children's observations of violence: I. Critical issues in child development and intervention planning.

Children are often the unintended or indirect victims of wife abuse as witnesses of this violence in their family. Current research on these children and a conceptual framework to understand how this violence affects their development are outlined. The implications of this research are discussed in terms of several intervention strategies. The importance of primary prevention programs in school systems is stressed.

Biofeedback treatment of atopic dermatitis: controlled case studies of eight cases.

To investigate the feasibility of a behaviorally oriented intervention program with atopic dermatitis, 12 patients were exposed to a fixed sequence of treatment phases including a no-treatment baseline phase, a phase incorporating nonspecific treatment factors, and a phase involving frontal electromyographic (EMG) feedback and relaxation instructions. Photographic analyses of involved skin areas revealed significant remission of dermatological problems across the entire program, although significant changes could not be attributable to any specific phase. Ratings of itching level decreased within but not across treatment sessions, and variable correlations across subjects were found between frontal EMG and itching level. MMPI results from the dermatitis subjects were within normal limits. Overall, the results provided mixed support for the hypothesis that atopic dermatitis may be amenable to intervention through behaviorally oriented treatment procedures.