Second Step Program
Initiative Description: Second Step Middle School Program, a program focused on reducing aggression and victimization, provided promising insight for reducing homophobic name-calling and sexual violence in adolescents. Thirty-six schools in Kansas and Illinois were assigned to either a Second Step condition or a control condition. Students in the Second Step condition received a total of 41 lessons across the 3-year study.
Study Results: Decreases in self-reported delinquency (intervening variable) over the first 2 years were significantly related to decreases in bullying, cyberbullying, and homophobic name-calling perpetration for Second Step schools across the 3-year study. Indirect effects of the Second Step program on bullying and aggressive behavior were statistically significant through reductions of delinquency.
Reference: Espelage, D. L., Low, S., Van Ryzin, M. J., & Polanin, J. R. (2015). Clinical trial of second step middle school program: impact on bullying, cyberbullying, homophobic teasing, and sexual harassment perpetration. School Psychology Review, 44(4), 464-479.
Level of Evidence: 
Very Good