Conferenza del prof. Doug Perkins

17.07.2013

Conferenza del Doug Perkins (Vanderbilt University)

"Youth violence prevention, coalitions,&  political action: A city-wide organizational network analysis".

Mercoledì 17 Luglio dalle 11.30 alle 12.30 - aula DPSS 1

Prof. Douglas D. Perkins, Program in Community Research&  Action,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

Abstract: Coalitions of schools, human services & other public & private nonprofit&  voluntary organizations have been organized
throughout the U.S., often with Federal support, to address a variety of public health issues, including substance abuse and youth violence prevention (YVP). The vast majority of such coalitions&  individual organizations engage in direct social services, public education & information sharing, &  school & community-based prevention programs, that focus on individual responsibility&  have largely been proven ineffective at reducing rates of substance abuse, violence or other crimes in the targeted communities, let alone in the local population as a whole. This study analyzes qualitative and quantitative data from 5 years of interviews, organizational network collaboration, and coalition participation to identify the intervention orientations and actual approaches to YVP by 99 public and nonprofit organizations in one U.S. city. The number of different YVP strategies implemented by both coalition participants and nonparticipants increased substantially throughout the five years of the study. In Year 1, only positive youth development interventions and education about violence were used by more than a third of the sampled organizations and no single approach was used by a majority.By year 5, those approaches, plus mentoring, and providing activities were done by a majority, and counseling youth organizing youth events, and sponsoring programs were also common strategies. Advocacy for policy change was rarely used.
Participation in the coalition made little difference in strategies adopted, but may have increased mentoring. Participants espoused an
unexpectedly weak and declining primary prevention orientation, which is explained by their preference for secondary and tertiary
prevention. Organization type was more predictive of strategies used. Social network analysis shows that collaboration was fairly dense and stable over time, with no critical gatekeepers but some peripheral organizations, including those serving immigrants and refugees. Active coalition participation declined in Years 3-5, particularly among organizations that were core network collaborators. Implications for YVP policy and organizational and coalition practice are discussed.