Shifting Boundaries: Final Report on an Experimental Evaluation of a Youth Dating Violence Prevention Program in New York City Middle Schools

This NIJ-funded study has found that school-level interventions reduced dating violence among middle school students by up to 50 percent. The multi-level, randomized control trial studied the effectiveness of school-level and classroom-level interventions, as well as a combination of the two, in reducing dating violence and sexual harassment in 30 public middle schools in New York City. School-level interventions include using temporary school-based restraining orders, higher levels of faculty and security presence in areas identified as “hot spots,” and posters to increase awareness and encourage reporting of incidents to school officials.