Community violence and its emotional, behavioral and academic consequences: development of an educational intervention

This Project addresses community violence, its consequences on emotional, behavioral and academic outcomes, and the role of self-regulation processes, in first grade Secondary School students from neighborhoods in Montevideo highly affected by community violence. It proposes the development of an educational intervention - through the principles of community based participatory research – consisting of the development of a teachers ́ manual for the implementation of workshops for adolescents in the subject matter ̈ECA ̈, and teacher training activities. The effects of the intervention will be studied using a mixed methods design, including quantitative and longitudinal (quasi-experimental design) and qualitative case studies. We aim to advance knowledge on the consequences of community violence exposure, and the interrelation of the variables studied, allowing for a better understanding of the academic and behavioral problems observed in adolescents in Uruguay. On the other hand, we aim to benefit the adolescents that take part in the intervention
on their academic achievement, internalizing, externalizing and posttraumatic stress symptom levels, and self-regulation, enhance teachers ́ training and provide a sustainable intervention program which can be copied in the future.