The Practice of Prevention in the New York City Public Schools

Abstract

Five prevention models based on arousal, coercion, and psychotherapeutic counseling are constructed. The models consist of (1) arousal of anger and channeling the emotion to reverse passivity; (2) arousal by self-discovery and reinforcer sampling without social risk, to attract adoption of a more productive role;(3) coercion by peer group rule enforcement while newly learned resistance behaviors are established; (4) coercion by parental rule enforcement while parents learn new skills and family functioning is repaired; and (5) therapeutic counseling, wherein student internalizes new learning about personal significance by experiencing caring that survives conflict. The dynamics implied by choice of model for each student and engaged by its use will explain changes in student behavior. Examination of singular activities such as “peer influence” or “inoculation” must be done within the context of the model in order to comprehend the nature of its use and predict the outcome.