Effective Violence Prevention Methodologies

This paper will briefly describe the similarity and the difference between two methodologies which are being used very effectively in two applications to prevent violence. Both make use of social skills and employ a structured mediation process to achieve the objective of solving conflicts in a peaceful non-violent manner and of preventing violent acts from occurring.

In one application, the methodology is employed to resolve disputes between two or more parties peacefully and to avoid violence during the process. This application is called Conflict Resolution.

The methodology of Conflict Resolution is always applied retro-actively and as mentioned refers to a strategy that serves to mediate and resolve disputes and conflicts between two or more adversaries and to decrease hostile emotions between those involved to prevent violence. Usually this methodology is executed by a conflict resolution facilitator or mediator. Although social skills are used, the main emphasis is placed on employing a structured process to mediate and resolve the conflict and to negotiate a settlement to which all partners can agree with the understanding that an acceptable peaceful resolution was reached to everyone's satisfaction.

In the other application, the methodology is used to modify and shape the behavior of the young and adults to prevent conflict and violence in their relationships with others. This application is pro-active and is called Social Skills Training or Character Education, also Behavior Modification, especially when persons at risk are involved. The Society for Prevention of Violence (SPV) added to its Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons & Activities curriculum* a Ready-to-Use Violence Prevention Skills Lessons & Activities curriculum** to provide lessons that teach social and violence prevention skills to create a unique methodology for an extensive and much needed Violence Prevention Education. The SPV promotes these curricula to be taught in sequence starting with social skills.

The methodology of Social Skills Training and Violence Prevention Education is being taught to persons of all ages, starting at a very young age. This pro-active discipline emphasizes the teaching of Social and Violence Prevention Skills by using a uniquely structured mediation process which implants firmly in the minds of those who are being educated how to use these skills effectively to avoid and when unpreventable to resolve conflicts without violence by means such as, making wise decisions, solving problems in a peaceful manner, side stepping arguments, guarding emotional responses and others. In fact, evaluations of the effectiveness of this teaching methodology indicate improvement in social behavior and a better understanding of violence promoting situations. Social Skills are used in both situations. Violence Prevention Skills can be added to Social Skills Training to achieve a more extensive Violence Prevention Education. Following are some examples of the Skills:

Social Courtesy Skills such as:
Thank you, please, I am sorry, etc.

Social Skills to conquer emotions such as:
Anger, frustration, fear, failure, desire, bullying, etc.

Social Skills to communicate such as:
Listening, making friends, choosing friends, sharing possessions, tolerating
diversity, showing respect for others, etc.

Social Skills to comprehend feelings such as:
Compassion, empathy, fairness, love, joy, sadness, etc.

Social Skills to learn understanding such as:
Soliciting information, avoiding the spread of rumors, getting all facts before
making a judgment, deciding right from wrong, etc.

Social Skills to enable problem solving such as:
Judging situations, making decisions, being attentive, observing details, etc.

Violence Prevention Skills to promote peaceful behavior such as:
Abstaining from chemical substances, conquering depression, preventing suicide,
understanding adverse family dynamics, being careful with guns, avoiding crime
and delinquency, shunning gangs, resisting peer pressure, rejecting to fight,
controlling violence behaviors such as date rape, etc.

The structured processes for Conflict Resolution and for Social Skills Training and Violence Prevention Education are similar in structure, but use different steps. In applying Conflict Resolution, the steps used by the mediator are:

1) Set the stage.
2) Gather facts about what happened.
3) Identify solution preferred by each party.
4) Evaluate every option.
5) Create common options.
6) Generate and negotiate agreement.

The steps for the uniquely structured mediation process used in the lessons of the SPV curricula1,2 for Social Skills Training and Violence Prevention Education are:

1) Establish the need for the Skill.
2) Identify real life situations where the Skill is needed to find peaceful solutions.
3) Identify Skill Components required to solve such situations.
4) Model one of those situations and show how to solve it by using the identified Skill Components.
5) Have students role play similar situations requiring this Skill.
6) Follow up with discussions.
7) Have students practice similar situations.
8) Emphasize the importance of the Skill.

In conclusion, the structured processes of the methodologies used for retroactive Conflict Resolution and for pro-active Social Skills Training and Violence Prevention Education differ substantially when actually applied as a means to prevent violence, eventhough both methodologies are derived by using similar reasoning namely a mediation process and the same social skills. To mediate Conflict Resolution, social skills are used to decrease aggressive attitude and to motivate civilized behavior of all parties in order to make it possible to resolve the dispute peacefully without present and future violence. The steps of the structured process are followed to assist the mediator to settle the conflict.

To learn Social Skills Training and Violence Prevention Education, social and violence prevention skills are taught and rehearsed in the appropriate manner by following the steps of the structured mediation process shown above, which are explained in more detail in the lessons of the SPV curricula.* ** Adopting this process for teaching the skills, a methodology is created that prepares those who are trained to use it to be instantly ready to apply it by selecting a skill which provides the mental dexterity to prevent violence and the wisdom to find a way to a peaceful solution when confronted with an emergency. Real life situations can present imminent danger that could lead to violence if not resolved peacefully by a trained individual.

* Begun, Ruth Weltmann. Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons & Activities. Center for Applied Research in Education. West Nyack, New York: 1995 and 1996.

** Begun, Ruth Weltmann, and Huml, Frank J. Ready-to-Use Violence Prevention Skills Lessons & Activities. Center for Applied Research in Education. West Nyack, New York: 1998 and 1999.

Source: Begun, Ruth Weltman. Newsletter, Society for Prevention of Violence. Vol 27, No. 2. Fall 2001.