EVIP—Edutainment violence intervention/prevention model

ABSTRACT

The Edutainment Violence Intervention/Prevention Model (EVIP) is an exciting intervention to be used with Black adolescents who have been or will be exposed to the trauma of police brutality. Since such exposure to violence is associated with a diversity of negative consequences in developing adolescents, social workers need interventions to help Black adolescents acquire skills to navigate police interactions and to make sense of the brutality they witness. This article delineates the conceptual rationale, needed skills, and steps for implementing EVIP. EVIP incorporates the Centers for Disease Control’s best practices for violence prevention programs and is congruent with Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy. EVIP uses media, such as live theater, to give educational messages in an entertaining format. A pilot study has indicated that this intervention has promise. Furthermore, it is engaging and enables participants to explore multiple perspectives. This intervention can be seamlessly embedded by social workers in schools, churches, community centers, and other settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Black adolescents
• educational entertainment (edutainment)
• violence intervention
• violence prevention