Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-90).

No description available.

Youth violence in the Baton Rouge inner-city area continues to create heightened concerns for the communities as well as the financial and healthcare systems. Even though violence prevention programs are in place in the area, no decline has been recorded in those who are being affected by violence. Due to lack of research in this field, a need for a sound research study exists to understand how Youth Peace Olympics (YPO) community-based program may be related to changes in attitudes about aggression and violence. A correlational cross-sectional research design was used to evaluate participants' beliefs about aggression, measured using the Normative Beliefs about Aggression instrument by the organization at the beginning and end of the summer program, in addition to secondary data that was provided to me (n=50). Social cognitive theory and the social development model were used as the theoretical framework for the study. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in retaliation approval of aggression scores (pretest M = 2.24, posttest M = 1.91; t[49] = 4.07, p =.000) and marginal statistically significant decrease in general approval of aggression scores (pretest M = 1.48, posttest M = 1.31; t[49] = 1.96, p = .055). Age, gender, and ethnicity were not found to be related to pretest attitudes or pretest/posttest changes in attitudes regarding retaliation approval or general approval of aggression at statistically significant levels. The potential for positive social change is to provide researchers and community-level stakeholders with preliminary program evaluation data related to attitudes about aggression/violence approval.

In the United States Armed Forces, 30% of women in the military suffer physical assault each year; in 2009, there were 22 reported cases of sexual assault in the U.S. Central Command. Aggravated assault, gang violence, sexual assault, homicide, and suicide can damage the morale of military personnel at a deployed site and collectively cost millions of dollars over time. Interpersonal violence in the United States military is destructive to the military system and directly diminishes mission readiness. This study was designed to illuminate the environmental, cultural, and political influences that affect interpersonal safety among military women in the deployed environment of Afghanistan with the goal of discovering mechanisms to improve interpersonal safety for that population. Grounded theory was used to analyze data obtained from U.S. military women in Bagram, Afghanistan and their environment concerning interpersonal safety. This information was used to generate a relational social theory based on themes, patterns, and relationships; the theory of US Military Interpersonal Safety, Violence Prevention, and Response. This theory is intended to improve interpersonal safety as well as prevent and counter violence in the deployed setting. Applying this theory is expected to promote better assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of violence prevention and response healthcare programs meant to mitigate violence and assist military members who have been victims of violence. This study promotes positive social change by identifying precursors of interpersonal violence in a deployed environment and creating a strong foundation for understanding how to prevent interpersonal violence and create response programs to address this issue.