Results from a Multi-Site Evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. Program

Abstract

Despite a long history of youth gang problems in the United States, there remains a paucity of evaluations identifying promising or effective gang prevention and intervention programs. One primary prevention program that has received limited support is Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.). An earlier national evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. core middle school curriculum reported modest program effects but, importantly, found no programmatic effect on gang membership or delinquency. This manuscript presents results from a second national evaluation of the revised G.R.E.A.T. core curriculum that utilizes a randomized field trial in which classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Approximately 4,000 students attending 31 schools in seven cities comprise the initial sample. Analyses of one-year post-treatment data indicate that students receiving the program had lower odds of gang membership compared to the control group. Additionally, the treatment group also reported more pro-social attitudes on a number of program-specific outcomes.