An innovative psychodynamically influenced approach to reduce school violence.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
F C Sacco
Publications and source records attributed to F C Sacco.
Creating a peaceful school learning environment: a controlled study of an elementary school intervention to reduce violence.
OBJECTIVE: The impact of a manual-based antiviolence program on the learning climate in an elementary school over 4 years was compared with the outcome in a control school. METHOD: The two schools were matched for demographic characteristics. The intervention in the experimental school was based on zero tolerance for bullying; the control school received only regular psychiatric consultation. Disciplinary and academic achievement data were collected in both schools. RESULTS: The experimental school showed significant reductions in discipline referrals and increases in scores on standardized academic achievement measures. CONCLUSIONS: A low-cost antiviolence intervention that does not focus on individual pathology or interfere with the educational process may improve the learning environment in elementary schools.
Achievement↗
The application of traditional martial arts practice and theory to the treatment of violent adolescents.
Components of an effective treatment program for violent adolescents, and the complex problems posed by youth gangs, are discussed. It is proposed that traditionally taught martial arts can provide a useful alternative for such dysfunctional adolescents. The literature on the use of martial arts in the treatment of violence is reviewed, and the program philosophy is described. The program utilizes a commitment to respect and self-control, with an emphasis on leadership and community service using the traditional model of a gentle warrior. Oversight is provided by trained instructors, whose psychological and philosophical approach stresses nonviolence. The program also assists youths in coping with the complexities of an often dysfunctional family environment. Clinical examples detail the application of such a program in specialized martial arts schools, residential treatment, and public school classes.
Adolescent↗
School violence reduction: a model Jamaican secondary school program.
Violence in United States' schools is epidemic. Solutions are rare. Community mental health centers are now being challenged to become part of the solution. The Montego Bay Secondary School project presents an example of how violence reduction can be achieved using almost no physical resources and the special effect, called the "Bruno Effect", created by one Jamaican police officer with the consultation of a psychodynamically-led training and intervention team. The "Bruno Effect" resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of physical attacks from an observed 5 fights per day (3 out of the 5 involved knives and cutting) to 1 per week. The violence rate returned immediately to its former level as soon as "Bruno" left the school. The dramatic violence reduction appears related to establishing an adult protective shield. Results stem from the unique personality of the adult protector, as well as a combination of the special role of the police and the outside intervention team.
Adolescent↗
Peacekeeping and peacemaking: the conceptual foundations of a plan to reduce violence and improve the quality of life in a midsized community in Jamaica.
Thomas Jefferson noted that social ills breed economic ills and vice versa. An endless regress can occur with violence and mayhem as a chorus: Every community in the world has its own thresholds and patterns of violence, and communities experience varied levels of deterioration of safety with a reciprocal increase in violence. The United States, having undergone 200 years of social evolution as an independent nation, has a spiraling problem with violence. Jamaica, with only recent independence from British sovereignty, is an ideal crucible for the study of evolution of violence in a very young democracy and, hopefully, to identify problems and provide some solutions. Having gained independence from British rule in 1962, Jamaica immediately demonstrated a facile experimentation with forms of government that differed dramatically from what had been previously experienced under the rather rigid, autocratic British administration. In its 33 years of independence, this country has gone through some extraordinary shifts. An initial courtship with Communist theory led to a destructive liaison with Fidel Castro's version of Marxism. During this brief interlude, the intellectual ideals of equality and peace came into direct contrast with facts of a failing Communist regime. During this period, there was a steady exodus of wealthy Jamaican families for whom heavy taxation threatened financial ruin. The prime minister, the Honorable Michael Manley, a highly sophisticated left-wing intellectual liberal, soon realized the political cost of the alliance with his Caribbean neighbor, Fidel Castro, who was then and is now dedicated to old-fashioned, state-controlled Communism. He attempted to return to a free-market democracy with financial foundations that were, by then, very shaky. To succeed in a project to reduce violence and improve the quality of life, the entire community needs to be involved. From our work in countries where community projects were primarily financed by federal and state agencies, we were aware that the participation of private citizens in projects was essential for success. Commitment has an added intensity when personal time and funding is involved. Prime Minister Manley enthusiastically embraced and inspired this project, believing that it embodied the fundamental principles of democratic involvement to which he was committed. When the authors personally presented their plan to him, he accepted it immediately and with an obvious personal sense of urgency. Illness led him to resign the post of Prime Minister in 1993, but his successor, Mr. P.J. Patterson, has continued in the same committed, democratic mode.
Developing Countries↗
A clinical and interactionist perspective on the bully-victim-bystander relationship.
The authors propose a dialectical conceptual framework for the bully-victim-bystander interaction often seen in school violence. A clinical and interactional typology is proposed for the detection of children falling into these patterns, with the goal of affording early and vigorous intervention and consultation opportunities with teachers and school administrators.
Adolescent↗