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Children as Citizens: Engaging Adolescents in Research on Exposure to Violence

Children as Citizens: Engaging Adolescents in Research on Exposure to Violence. Research for the Real World Seminar National Institute of Justice January 25, 2011 Felton Earls, MD Harvard University. The Child as Citizen. History of Childhood in the 20 th century

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Children as Citizens: Engaging Adolescents in Research on Exposure to Violence

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  1. Children as Citizens: Engaging Adolescents in Research on Exposure to Violence Research for the Real World Seminar National Institute of Justice January 25, 2011 Felton Earls, MD Harvard University

  2. The Child as Citizen • History of Childhood in the 20th century • International Convention on the Rights of the Child • Childhood in a global context • Children’s engagement in civic life of community • Children’s voting Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol 633, January 2011

  3. The Cycle of Science • Observation • Theory • Measurement • Experimentation • Application

  4. Homicides 1990-1996 (I dot per homicide) Low Birth weight 1990-1996 (I dot per 5 incidents) Homicide map

  5. PHDCN Design Community Survey: complete assessment of demographic and social characteristics Chicago’s neighborhoods (1995 and 2001) Multi-cohort Longitudinal Study: three waves of assessment of behavioral and cognitive development (ages 0-18, 1995-2002) Systematic Social Observation: recording physical and social characteristics of neighborhood environments through direct observation (1995 and 2001) Neighborhood Experts Survey: roles and responsibilities in neighborhood social and economic activities (1996) Adult Health Survey: assessment of physical and mental health (2001-2002)

  6. Longitudinal multi-cohort study

  7. Multilevel analytical model

  8. Concept of “Collective Efficacy” Combines notions of trust and cohesion with shared expectations for intervening on behalf of commonly held goals (e.g., supervision and monitoring of children) Situational rather than global—task-specific construct Does not assume that strong ties are a necessary precondition for social efficacy Moves beyond stocks of “social capital” by incorporating agency (in this case, taking action and engagement in social control)

  9. Measurement of Collective Efficacy Social Control -- would neighbors take action if… • children skipping school • children spray-painting graffiti • child showing disrespect to adult • fight in front of your house • city going to close down local library or fire station Social Cohesion/Trust: • close-knit, trust, people get along and share same values • supervise and care for children • People around here willing to help their neighbors

  10. Collective EfficacyAcross 343 Neighborhoods

  11. From Observationto Experimentation

  12. 153 Pre-Exposure Covariates • Demographic background (17) • Family history and home environment (34) • Temperament (10) • Health and physical development (5) • Social support (6) • Peer influences (10) • Vocabulary and reading proficiency (3) • School-related factors (21) • Behavioral patterns (32) • Prior ETV (1) • Neighborhood characteristics (14)

  13. Odds Ratios for Perpetration of Serious Violent Behavior in Youth Exposed and Exposed to Firearm violence

  14. Young Citizens - Chicago • Participated in the St Xavier conference on child rights (February 1997) • Consulted on the measurement of exposure to violence (MY ETV) • Engaged in extended dialogue on articles of the CRC, with a focus on Article 26 (standard of living) • Designed survey to measure quality of life • Proof of concept established

  15. Theoretical synthesis • Social Ecology • Collective Efficacy • Self Efficacy • Human Capability • Communicative Action

  16. From Chicago to Moshi • Catastrophic projections of the HIV pandemic • Adolescents at especially high risk • Evidence from PHDCN that collective efficacy is a protective factor for age of sexual initiation • Proof of concept established for YCP • Tanzania as a peaceful, integrated and democratic society

  17. The Young Citizens Program of Moshi: A cluster randomized control trial based on public deliberation and social action to promote HIV community competence Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health

  18. A Cluster Randomized Control Trial (CRCT) of a Community-Based Young Citizen Program Kilimanjaro District East Africa-Tanzania Moshi Municipality . Tanzania

  19. Administrative units of municipal government A. The 15 ward (blue lines) and 61 communities(red lines, 60 of which are residential) boundaries are outlinedB. The Intervention communities (YC1) in yellow and the Control communities(YC2) in blue. The remaining 31 communities are not colored. The 30 RCT communitieswere matched on selected demographic variables and randomly assigned to treatment and waiting control arms. B. A.

  20. Anti-Retroviral (ARV) Treatment Prevents HIV from Replicating within CD4 CD4 ARV “Dawa” HIV Over the 16-week period of Module 4, the 15 YC drama groups performed (both MacroWorld and MicroWorld skits) once or twice a week across their communities to an average of 50 citizens per session.

  21. Items in the Intergenerational Closure Scale* that distinguished the treatment and control mitaa Young adolescents ages 10-14 in the neighborhood: can converse with adults openly and freely about HIV/AIDS can teach adults scientific facts about HIV/AIDS can be as effective as adults in educating the community to control HIV/AIDS can decrease discrimination toward persons who are HIV positive *(Cronbach’s alpha estimate= 0.77)

  22. Items composing the Self-Efficacy Scales that distinguished adolescents in treatment and control mitaa Deliberative Efficacy (5 items) reliability= .78 p.<.004 to express my opinions to other children my age to make my ideas understood when other children disagree with me to use talking and reasoning to solve problems I have with other children that others will value me even if they disagree with my opinions to express my opinions to adults Communicative Efficacy (4 items) reliability =.80 p.<. 002 to make adults listen to me to ask assistance from adults about how to solve any problems to ask adults for advice about sexually transmitted diseases to talk with others on any issue that troubles me

  23. Sustainability Integration of the YCP into local government has lead to: • Building HIV competent communities (2007-----) • Building malaria competent communities (2010-----) • Safety audit (Morse, 2008)

  24. From Moshi to Home Sweet Home February 2008

  25. Target Recovery Areas and Geographical Extent of Katrina

  26. 2007 New Orleans Police DepartmentReported Homicides, 12 months of 2007

  27. Research Design

  28. Ruby Nell Bridgesfirst day at school November 14,1960 William Frantz Elementary School Upper 9th Ward, NOLA

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