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Friendship and fighting: A developmental approach to the study of risk and prevention of violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Robert L. Selman ,
Lynn Hickey Schultz ,
Michael Nakkula ,
Dennis Barr ,
Caroline Watts  and
Julius B. Richmond
Robert L. Selman*
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
Lynn Hickey Schultz
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
Michael Nakkula
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
Dennis Barr
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
Caroline Watts
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
Julius B. Richmond
Affiliation:
Harvard University and the Judge Baker Children's Center
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Robert Selman, PhD, Graduate School of Education; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
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Abstract

This article describes the evolution of a psychosocial intervention, pairing, from its initial utilization as an interpersonally oriented therapy for severely emotionally disturbed pre- and early adolescents in a special needs school, to its current usage as a public school prevention technique for at-risk youngsters, both aggressive and withdrawn, who are living under conditions of poverty and limited community supports. The evolution of the intervention is described parallel to both the evolution of its theoretical foundations and its associated empirical analysis and evaluation. Given that our approach to both intervention and basic research is clinical-developmental (each part of the discipline influencing the other), the facilitation of greater social competence through the intervention provides the impetus for our research inquiry into the nature of psychosocial development. A generic evaluation model that integrates both outcome behavior and psychosocial development is described as it is applied to the evaluation of this specific intervention's effectiveness.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , October 1992 , pp. 529 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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