Effects of an integrative school-based intervention on child protection against violence: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Considering that one in two children is estimated to have experienced violence in the last year according to the World Health Organization, the school has an undeniable and unique protective and preventive role. #EscuelaSinViolencias is the first programme to comprehensively target violence against children in the context of primary school in Spain through the solid theoretical approach of Developmental Victimology. The objective of this study was to assess its impact on the children’s psychological, family and school well-being and their knowledge of Children’s Rights and violence in 971 girls and boys from third to sixth grade. It also tests school staff’s knowledge, preparedness to detect and respond to possible cases of violence and perception of the family and school environment as protective in 110 participants. A pre-post design with a control group was used. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were conducted. A significant increase in school well-being among students in experimental schools compared to control schools was found, as well as increased knowledge of Children’s Rights and access to report. School staff from experimental schools reported significant increases in knowledge of violence against children and in preparedness to deal with potential cases. At the same time, their perception of the family and school environments as protective decreased slightly but significantly. This programme is the first to address violence in a comprehensive manner with an empirical study that validates its positive impact for the integral protection of children.