The R-CITY Youth Violence Preventive Intervention: Primary Outcomes from a School Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• School Mental Health
• Violence Prevention

Background:

• Student experiences of racism and discrimination negatively impact wellbeing and behavior.
• Educational systems often lack bias prevention and equity promotion in violence prevention.
• A gap exists in integrating equity into social-emotional learning (SEL).

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the added benefits of R-CITY (Reducing Racism and Violence through Collaborative Intervention with Teachers and Youth) when supplementing the Second Step SEL program.
• To evaluate the impact of equity-focused teacher coaching and lessons on student behavior and teacher capacity.
• To determine if R-CITY improves equity-specific outcomes and reduces aggression.

Main Methods:

• A school-level randomized controlled trial in 27 elementary and middle schools.
• Comparison condition: Standard Second Step SEL program.
• Intervention condition: Second Step SEL program augmented with R-CITY equity components (coaching and lessons).

Main Results:

• Augmenting Second Step with R-CITY showed significant reductions in observed physical aggression.
• Teachers reported increased general teaching self-efficacy.
• Sensitivity analyses indicated reduced teacher-reported racial discomfort, but no effects on observed teacher practices or suspension disproportionality.

Conclusions:

• Supplementing traditional SEL with R-CITY's equity focus yields significant incremental benefits.
• Evidence suggests improvements in student aggression and teacher capacity.
• Further research is needed on cost-effectiveness and specific equity outcomes.