STUDENTS AGAINST VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE
Research Shows SAVE Chapters Improve School Environments

• For the combined sample containing students participating in Students Against Violence Everywhere SAVE in five schools, the results of the survey data showed no statistically significant changes on any of the four major scales measuring Motivation to Fight, Perceived Ability to Fight, Victimization and Perpetration.
• However, school-by-school analysis revealed that there was a decrease in Motivation for Fighting in 3 out of 5 schools.
• In 4 out of 5 schools, Perceived Ability to Fight also decreased. Perpetration decreased among the students surveyed in 3 out of 5 schools participating.
• In conclusion, the combined sample demonstrated a slight indication of increasing aggressive behaviors and attitudes among the SAVE students, however those increases seem to be driven by students at one school.

Note:It is also possible that the slight increase could be smaller than more significant increases in control groups (if used).

According to the Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence at the George Washington University, "SAVE employs a proactive, prevention-oriented approach to decreasing the potential for violence in schools and communities. It is based on strong research that recognizes the role that young people can play in helping each other avoid risky behaviors. It is also based on a theoretical model derived from scientific research called, "the peer group identification/social rewards," that explains that peers are critical influences on youth and can be both a positive and a negative influence. Adolescents seek the social rewards of "fitting in" and strive to avoid the social sanctions of deviating from group standards. SAVE capitalizes on the tremendous influence peers have on each other by involving youth in all phases of the design and delivery of programs, reinforcing the social norm of nonviolence through messages and materials, and modeling in their own activities the social rewards that result from positive behavior."

National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere SAVE: Youth Voices... Grown-Up Choices! Toll Free 866-343-SAVE For more information contact cwray@nationalsave.org   /   Copyright 2007