Prosocial coping by youth exposed to violence

Abstract

Chronic exposure to violence encourages youth to cope with challenges via a mixture of asocial, depressive and antisocial, aggressive tactics rather than prosocially in ways that benefit self without harming others. Youth exposed to violence are, therefore, not only at high risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but also for externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, school dropout, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and delinquency. Despite violence exposure, high-risk youth may cope prosocially with controllable and uncontrollable life challenges if supported at school by a prosocial coping-skills program (PCS) that takes place each week for 45 minutes in small groups (6–8, members) with equal numbers of members skilled (competent) and less skilled (high-risk) at prosocial coping. Each PCS session: begins with information exchange among members about feelings, thoughts, and experiences; is structured by group rules that promote prosocial coping during sessions; includes activities that assess and rehearse prosocial coping with real-life emotional, social, and achievement challenges; is data driven and tailored to members' diverse skill levels. PCS may enable school-based prevention of behavior problems and adverse life outcomes from first grade through high school.