Green Dot
Green Dot High School Strategy (Green Dot) is a school-based programme for children between the ages of 14 and 18. It is delivered in secondary school and aims to teach young people the knowledge and skill necessary to intervene safely when faced with concerning behaviours and engage in pro-social behaviours to prevent harm from happening.
- Green Dot aims to instil in students intrinsic motivation to recognise and respond to behaviours that may constitute dating violence, sexual violence, bullying, or other behaviours that may be immediate precursors to these types of violence.
- The programme is designed to target all students in a school setting ages 14 to 18.
- Green Dot is delivered to groups of children/young people. The number of sessions is dependent on the size of the population, with the length of sessions ranging from one to six hours. Using a wide array of individual and group activities such as brief lectures, group discussions, role play, individual writing prompts, small group discussions, use of videos, and multiple choice polling questions
EIF Programme Assessment
Child outcomes
This programme can affect outcomes for children in Active and healthy, physical and mental wellbeing.
According to the best available evidence for this programme's impact, it can achieve the following positive outcomes for children:
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
Lower sexual violence perpetration rates
based on study 1
Lower sexual violence victimisation rates
based on study 1
This programme also has evidence of supporting positive outcomes for couples, parents or families that may be relevant to a commissioning decision. Please see About the evidence for more detail.
Who is it for?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to the following age-groups:
Adolescents
How is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to implementation through these delivery models:
- Group
Where is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation in these settings:
How is it targeted?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation as:
- Universal
Where has it been implemented?
- Sweden
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Brazil
Ireland provision
Ireland evaluation
About the programme
What happens during the delivery?
How is it delivered?
- Green Dot is delivered over multiple years.
- Sessions last between one and six hours duration each
- The programme is delivered to groups of 25-35 young people
What happens during the intervention?
Green Dot aims to instil in students intrinsic motivation to recognise and respond to behaviours that may constitute dating violence, sexual violence, bullying, or other behaviours that may be immediate precursors to these types of violence. It aims to equip students with knowledge and skills to intervene in order to: reduce harm after possible violence has started, reduce the likelihood that it will happen again, and reduce the likelihood that it will happen at all. The intervention also intends to teach realistic pro-social behaviours that would establish two school norms: (1) dating violence, sexual assault and bullying will not be tolerated, and (2) everyone is expected to do their part.
The programme consists of two parts:
- Annual 50-minute Green Dot speeches delivered schoolwide for four years;
- A five-hour bystander training ( starting Y2) delivered to ‘student leaders’ identified by the educators and school staff.
What are the implementation requirements?
Who can deliver it?
What are the training requirements?
How are the practitioners supervised?
What are the systems for maintaining fidelity?
Is there a licensing requirement?
There is no licence required to run this programme.
How does it work? (Theory of Change)
How does it work?
- The programme aims to teach young people the knowledge and skills necessary to intervene safely when faced with concerning behaviours and engage in pro-social behaviours to prevent harm from happening in the first place.
- In the short term, young people will be able to show increased recognition of warning signs for interpersonal violence including sexual assault and dating violence, increased bystander intervention behaviours, and increased pro-social behaviours that make interpersonal violence less likely in their peer environment.
- In the longer term, young people will be less likely to perpetrate or experience interpersonal violence.
Intended outcomes
- Connected, respected and contributing
Contact details
Kristen Parks
Alteristic
parks@alteristic.org
About the evidence
Green Dot High School Strategy’s (Green Dot) most rigorous evidence comes from a cluster-RCT which was conducted in the US.
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child outcomes, relating to:
- Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
This programme is underpinned by one study with an Level 2+ rating, hence the programme receives a Level 2+ rating overall.
Study 1
| Citation: | Coker et al., 2017; Cook-Craig et al., 2014 |
| Design: | RCT |
| Country: | United States |
| Sample: | Twenty-six high schools were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 13 schools, 8 228 students at baseline) or to a control group (n = 13 schools, 8 281 students at baseline). At baseline, both groups reported similar sociodemographic characteristics, that is, more than half (54%) were female, almost a third were freshman students, almost half (45%) were in receipt of free or reduced meals, and the majority (more than 80%) of their respective samples were White. |
| Timing: | Post-test (conducted annually for four years) |
| Child outcomes: |
|
| Other outcomes: | |
| Study rating: | 2+ |
Coker, A. L., Bush, H. M., Cook-Craig, P. G., DeGue, S. A., Clear, E. R., Brancato, C. J., Fisher, B. S., & Recktenwald, E. A. (2017). RCT testing bystander effectiveness to reduce violence.” American journal of preventive medicine, 52(5), 566-578.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.020
Cook-Craig, P. G., Coker, A. L., Clear, E. R., Garcia, L. S., Bush, H. M., Brancato, C. J., Williams, C. M., & Fisher, B. S. (2014). Challenge and opportunity in evaluating a diffusion-based active bystanding prevention program: Green dot in high schools. Violence Against Women, 20(10), 1179-1202.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801214551288
Study design and sample
The first study is a cluster-RCT.
This study involved random assignment of schools to a Green Dot treatment group and a usual care group. This study was conducted in the US.
Measures
- Perpetration of sexual violence was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Perpetration of sexual violence was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Perpetration of sexual harassment was measured using items based on the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) (child self-report).
- Perpetration of stalking was measured using items based on the National Violence Against Women Survey (child self-report).
- Perpetration of psychological violence in a dating relationship was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Victimisation of sexual violence of sexual violence was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Victimisation of sexual harassment was measured using items based on the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) (child self-report).
- Victimisation of stalking was measured using items based on the National Violence Against Women Survey (child self-report).
- Victimisation of physical violence in a dating relationship was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Victimisation of psychological violence in a dating relationship was measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
- Measures of violence effects outcomes of unwanted sex or physical violence in a dating relationship were measured using items based on the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (child self-report).
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child outcomes.
This includes:
- Lower sexual violence perpetration rates
- Lower sexual violence victimisation rates