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A San Francisco pilot study has shown that adolescents who used Ripple Effects for Teens, a computer-based social skill training program, showed significant, positive gains in assertiveness after only one hour of training, while a control group showed no change. Research has demonstrated that assertiveness is a protective factor for prevention of child sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, participation in violence and teen pregnancy. Knowledge gains of the computer users were similar to those of students in previous studies who had live instruction. The Ripple Effects for Teens program, developed by San Francisco's Ripple Effects, puts proven practices in social learning on the computer, then encourages adolescents to explore the program in small groups with their peers. The study has landmark significance. If results are generalized with further testing, it will mean that classroom teachers and community program workers who have been buckling under the burden of teaching sensitive social content and skills they often have no training in, can be relieved of that burden without denying students critically needed skill training. The short term pilot study used pre/post testing of experimental and control groups of ninth graders at San Francisco's Galileo High School. It was comprised of two mixed gender, racially diverse groups of about 20 students each. Using no instructor supplied content, only computer-based activities and peer discussions, students in the control group were assigned the tasks of reviewing five modules of Ripple Effects for Teens computer-based training program and completing the interactive exercises associated with each. This study showed significant positive changes in scientifically established protective factors in the experimental group, with no change in the control group, as measured by the Children's Assertiveness Behavior Scale. The CABS instrument had been proven scientifically valid and reliable in several previous studies. Further evaluation studies are scheduled to be carried out in collaboration with the Project for Social and Emotional Learning (PSEL) , Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition to assertiveness, the Relate program provides training in six other key skills associated with increased academic and personal success and reduced involvement in violence. They are empathy, impulse control, management of feelings, decision-making, self understanding and skills in connecting to community. It also covers more than 320 sensitive subjects that challenge today's adolescents, from AIDS and acquaintance rape, to violence, weapons, zits and zoloft. For more information, contact Ripple Effects at (888) 259-6618, or at www.rippleeffects.com. See the full text of the study.
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