Program note: Social Learning/Feminist intervention is an adaptation of the Youth Relationships Project, in that it includes only 12 (instead of 18) sessions and each session lasts 1.5 hours (instead of 2 hours).
Program Goals
The Social Learning/Feminist (SL/F) program set out to reduce sexual and physical re-victimization in girls who had previously been exposed to maltreatment. The goal of the program was to reduce re-victimization in teen dating situations. The program used a health-promotion approach to help girls develop healthy relationships and to recognize and respond to abuse in their relationships.
Research has found that youths with histories of maltreatment show more hostility, lower problem-solving self-efficacy, and more aggression in interpersonal relationships (Brown et al. 1999; Wolfe et al. 2001; Wolfe et al. 1998). Additionally, deficits in various interpersonal skills (including assertiveness and communication skills) increase the risks that maltreated youths face in relationships. Finally, maltreating caregivers may pass along overly rigid gender roles that may lead girls to expect harm and power imbalances in their relationships.
- Based on these findings, the SL/F program was developed based on the Youth Relationships Project, and had four aims:
- Understanding power and its role in relationship violence
- Developing skills needed to help adolescents build healthy relationships and to recognize and respond to abuse in their own relationships
- Understanding the societal influences and pressures that can lead to violence and to develop skills to respond to these influences
- Increasing competency through involvement and social action (see Wolfe et al., 1996, p. 7)
Target Population/Eligibility
The SL/F program focused on adolescent females between the ages of 12–19. The participants were referred to the program (by their caseworkers, service providers, or legal guardians) because they were currently or previously involved with the child welfare system and had a history of maltreatment exposure. They were also eligible for the program if they 1) did not report current suicidal ideation, 2) were receiving current treatment services for reported suicide attempts or psychiatric hospitalizations within the last 3 to 6 months, and 3) were receiving current treatment services for reported self-harm behavior or psychosis.
Program Theory
As indicated by its name, the Social Learning/Feminist program was based on social learning theory and feminist perspectives. According to social learning theory, children learn through conditioning and modeling (Bandura 1977); therefore, children exposed to violence are likely to learn from their violent caregivers that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict (DePrince et al. 2013). Based on this perspective, it is assumed that these children may also fail to develop interpersonal skills (Finkelhor and Brown 1986), sexual decision-making and communication skills (Zurbriggen and Freyd 2004), and the ability to accurately interpret socio-emotional information (DePrince 2005; Pollak and Tolley-Schell 2003), which increases the risk of victimization or perpetration of violence in dating relationships (DePrince et al. 2013).
In accordance with feminist theory, adolescent girls may learn overly rigid gender roles from maltreating caregivers and in turn may expect that their relationships will involve harm to women and imbalances in power between the male and female (Wolfe at al. 2003).
Program Activities
To create the SL/F program, the Youth Relationships Project Manual was modified. The Youth Relationships Project (https://crimesolutions.ojp.gov/ratedprograms/467) was a prevention program that targeted youths who were at risk of becoming involved in abusive relationships, using a health-promotion approach and was based on social learning and feminist theories (Wolfe et al. 1996, 2003). The original Youth Relationships Project Manual was shortened to 12 rather than 18 sessions, and to 1.5 hours rather than 2 hours per session. The multimedia examples in the curriculum were also updated (DePrince et al. 2013).
The program was implemented outside of school, in a community-based location. Each of the 12 sessions had a detailed theme, including:
- Introduction to the Group (meeting other members, establishing rules)
- Power in Relationships: Explosions and Assertions
- Defining Relationship Violence: Power Abuses
- Defining Power in Relationships: Equality, Empathy, and Emotional Expressiveness
- Defining Power in Relationships: Assertiveness Instead of Aggressiveness
- Date Rape: Being Clear, Being Safe, and Learning How to Handle Dating Pressure
- Gender Socialization and Societal Pressure
- Choosing Partners and Sex Role Stereotypes
- Sexism and the Influence of the Media
- Confronting Sexism and Violence Against Women and Identifying Community Helpers for Relationship Violence
- Taking Action: Using What You’ve Learned to Help Others
- End of Group Celebration
Key Personnel
Two co-facilitators covered the content of the program, using the SL/F program manuals. The co-facilitators were graduate-level trainees and received weekly supervision from the program developer. The program developer also served as a co-facilitator.
