Rise up! A Youth-Informed Video Program For Young Children To Stay Safe From Community Violence

Overview

Gun violence is the number one reason children die in the U.S. In big cities, most of these cases come from shootings related to assaults and homicides. There aren't many effective ways right now to prevent kids from either becoming victims or getting involved in gun violence themselves. This study aims to create a video program (Rise Up! Against Violence) for middle schoolers that teaches them about guns and the real-life consequences of violence. The videos will be made by high school students who have personally experienced gun violence, since they may be better able to connect with and influence younger kids. The Rise Up! program will be tested in schools in high-violence communities in Houston and Memphis.

Community gun violence is the leading cause of firearm injury and death in urban youth in the United States and yet upstream primary prevention efforts are sparse. The goal of this proposal is to develop and test a novel youth-informed video-based program to effectively influence young adolescents to avoid risky behaviors leading to gun violence. Through an innovative iterative process by first seeking the perspective of youth with lived experience with gun violence regarding salient topics and messaging. Next, by garnering the valuable input and guidance of experienced community-based violence interrupters and a multidisciplinary team of other violence content experts to create a series of videos that will resonate with young adolescents. The videos will include awareness about consequences of gun use, peaceful conflict resolution skills, hope for the future, and gaining adult support, in addition to other topics. The investigators will seek community feedback to ensure relatability and cultural humility. The video series will be delivered as a program ("Rise Up Against Gun Violence") including guided discussions, and will be implemented and rigorously tested in diverse community settings in high-risk neighborhoods in Houston and Memphis. The investigators hypothesize that the program, developed using a holistic and community-based approach, will influence adolescent attitudes, awareness, and behavior change regarding violent conflict and gun carrying, and ultimately change social norms regarding risks of gun use. This is an upstream and novel prevention strategy for community gun violence.