Objective: To quantify the effectiveness of school-based violence prevention programsfor children identified as at risk for aggressive behavior.//
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Electronic databases and bibliographies were systematically searched and authorsand organizations were contacted to identify randomized controlled trials.Standardized, weighted mean effect sizes were assessed by meta-analysis.//
Setting: Elementary, middle, and high schools.//
Participants: Children at risk for aggressive behavior.//
Main Outcome Measures: Violent injuries, observed or reported aggressive or violent behaviors, and school or agency responses to aggressive behaviors.//
Results: Of the 44 trials identified, none reported data on violent injuries. For the 28 trials that assessed aggressive behaviors, the pooled difference between study groups was −0.36 (95% confidence interval, −0.54to −0.19) in favor of a reduction in aggression with intervention. For the 9 trials that reported data on school or agency responses to aggression, the pooled difference was −0.59 (95% confidence interval, −1.18to 0.01). Subgroup analyses suggested greater effectiveness in older students and when administered to mixed-sex groups rather than to boys alone.//
Conclusions: School-based violence prevention programs may produce reductions in aggressive and violent behaviors in children who already exhibit such behavior. These results, however, need to be confirmed in large, high-quality trials
