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Has G.R.E.A.T. been proven effective?
The National Institute of Justice commissioned a nationwide long-term evaluation
of the G.R.E.A.T. Program in 2006. Led by the University of Missouri-St. Louis,
this rigorously designed, double-blind, multisite study of the G.R.E.A.T. middle
school curriculum concluded in 2012. This evaluation follows an earlier (1995−2000)
study that returned promising but inconclusive results and led to a rigorous programmatic
review that resulted in substantial program modifications. Results of the current
study are currently undergoing final analysis and peer review before full publication
of the results and conclusions. However, articles by the evaluation team examining
data from the one-year post-program follow-up have been published in professional
journals, and the investigators recently released a report discussing the initial
analysis of the full study. Digital copies of all reports and journal publications
related to the evaluation can be found on the University of Missouri-St. Louis Web
site at
http://www.umsl.edu/ccj/About%20The%20Department/great_current.html.
The most recent report notes that at both the one-year and four-year post-program
surveys, the G.R.E.A.T. students, compared to non-G.R.E.A.T. students, showed statistically
significant positive program effects on the following measures:
- More positive attitudes toward police
- More positive attitudes about police in classrooms
- Less positive attitudes about gangs
- More use of refusal skills
- Higher collective efficacy
- Less use of hitting neutralizations
- Less anger
- Lower rates of gang membership
- Higher levels of altruism
- Less risk-seeking
The report concludes: “Our multicomponent evaluation found that the G.R.E.A.T. Program
is implemented as it is intended and has the intended program effects on youth gang
membership and on a number of risk factors and social skills thought to be associated
with gang membership. Results one year post program showed a 39% reduction in odds
of gang joining among students who received the Program compared to those who did
not and an average of 24% reduction in odds of gang joining across the four years
post program.” ¹
¹ Finn-Aage Esbensen, Dana Peterson, Terrance J. Taylor, and D. Wayne Osgood. 2012.
Is
G.R.E.A.T. effective? Does the program prevent gang joining? Results from the National
Evaluation of G.R.E.A.T. St. Louis, MO: University of Missouri-St. Louis.