Description

This study will evaluate, via a cluster-randomized controlled trial, the effectiveness of an innovative community-centered intervention that promotes thriving and resiliency to reduce community violence. In collaboration with community partners, this study will implement a Community Resiliency Collective Efficacy Intervention (CRCEI) to engage community members in dialogue on neighborhood transformation, racial and gender equity, community leadership, and organizing for social change. Facilitating discussion and community organizing within neighborhoods about child and youth thriving is expected to increase individual and neighborhood levels of collective efficacy and reduce community violence. Using a community-partnered participatory approach, this study will use a Community Thriving Matrix tool to engage youth and adult community members in ongoing dialogue on neighborhood transformation, community leadership, and organizing for social change. This focus on envisioning and creating neighborhoods in which children and adolescents can thrive is expected to translate to increased individual and neighborhood levels of collective efficacy as well as violence reduction. Comparison neighborhoods will receive health education sessions as a control intervention. The proposed study involves diverse neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh region and collecting survey data from youth (ages 13-19 years) and adult community participants (both male and female identified). Interviews with a sub-sample of community residents and facilitators and community site leads as well as observations of intervention delivery will provide qualitative information on processes of program implementation. This study will provide the first rigorous evaluation of this community-level prevention approach.