Through research and testimony of parents, children and both shelter and school personnel, we have learned that anger and aggression, if not handled appropriately in childhood, can lead to increased serious risks in adolescence and later adulthood. Research also suggests that a child's environment may greatly influence his/her behaviors. Informing parents and teachers of prevention skills and strategies concerning the issue of childhood anger and aggression might greatly reduce the number of children expressing and dealing with their anger inappropriately. Setting up an "anger management awareness" booth during "Open House" night on March 14, 2002 from 6:00 p.m.-8:15 p.m. at Citrus Elementary School in the Chico Unified School District became the intervention designed to meet this need.
Statement of Need
More and more children are experiencing conflict at home, substance abuse and violence in the home, less access to their parents and television as their primary source of entertainment and values. Consequently they are displaying impulsive and aggressive behavior both at home and in school. The prevalence of general behavioral problems in school-aged children approximates 25-30% (Cowen, et al., 1975).
A variety of programs have been developed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behaviors in children and increase the level of social competence. Unfortunately within the Chico Unified School District and non-profit agencies such as Catalyst which provides domestic violence services, funding for these programs has drastically been reduced or cut altogether. Therefore many children are not receiving the skills and strategies they need to guide them in managing aggressive or angry feelings. Information on this topic would be helpful and promote awareness to parents who can provide a direct link to identifying high-risk children that may otherwise slip through the cracks within the school system.
Description of the Intervention
Citrus Elementary School had an "Open House Night" scheduled for the evening of March 14, 2002 from 6:30-8:00. During this time, parents could expect the following information from the booth:
· Local counselors specializing in anger management
· Parent/community support
· Information on Anger Signs, Anger Triggers and Angry Behaviors
· Miscellaneous information on anger management and school-aged children
All of the information was gathered through Internet sources, research articles, resource guides and personal interview. We compiled and created ten different informative handouts to be given to parents during the course of the event. The handouts were intended to promote information, awareness and support regarding the issue of anger management and children. Catalyst was able to provide information, because the primary focus for that agency deals with violence issues. Courtesy of Catalyst we provided buttons to all passers by which read "Hands Are Not For Hitting". We also had two sheets of butcher paper with the title " Hands Are Not For Hitting". These sheets were taped to the ground and were filled in by children and their parents. They began by tracing their hands with a crayon, and writing something positive they use their hands for inside the outline. The phrase is an extremely powerful one, and if children are able to recall and verbalize it, than a connection could be made and the first step of being aware would be achieved.
During the course of the evening, we offered verbal support and guidance to parents who were experiencing this issue, and encouraged other parents who seemed apprehensive to pick up the information, by letting them know that the problem is experienced by many other children and their parents. The all-in-the-same-boat techniques seemed to work well, and most parents seemed very appreciative of our efforts.
Evaluation of the Intervention
Overall, the project was successful. The information we provided was current and useful for the parents, and the kids seemed to enjoy the activity, while at the same time learning a valuable lesson. Teachers were very impressed with our booth as well, as we were able to get feedback from faculty and staff in the days following the intervention.
In the beginning, parents appeared to a be a little apprehensive to approach the booth, because it is a powerful issue, and it seems many people have difficulties talking about their problems openly, in a public setting. I found that the kids became the engine that kept the project going, for they were the ones drawing pictures on the ground, and then others would follow. While the kids gathered to draw, the parents stood next to the booth. Eventually it had occurred to the parents that there was a reason for all of the commotion, and the handouts caught their eye. We would explain our purpose and the parents began to view the issue as a problem, and ended up leaving with a handful of valuable information that may decrease their child's risks for the future. After all, there have been findings linking high levels of anger in youth to increased risk for substance abuse, delinquency, interpersonal difficulties, vocational and school-related problems, and other maladaptive behaviors (Fryxell, 2000). We did have a few parents come up to us and ask us specific questions regarding their children, and we were able to answer their questions and provide them with resources.
Reflections on the Project
This community project was extremely successful, and the timing was very appropriate, as funding for other programs addressing this concern had been cut. If the project were to be repeated, there are a few suggestions we would make.
First of all, Citrus Elementary School is an extremely diverse school. Although children are becoming increasingly affluent with the English language, their parents are not. Providing the same information in various languages such as Hmong, or Spanish, would have been more effective, because more families could have benefited from the intervention. We would constantly watch parents walk by, speaking languages other than English, and it did not even occur to us to create handouts that could be translated.
Secondly, we had originally planned to visit more than one "Open House", but the scheduled date for both schools we were interested in visiting was on the same day, so we decided to pick Citrus due to the fact that Liz has her internship there, and she is familiar with the set up and the staff, as well as some of the parents. We were also able to utilize the resources from Catalyst because of Alison's internship with the agency.
The goals and objectives that we had devised prior to the actual implementation of the project were extremely helpful. They enabled us to successfully complete the intervention. Overall, the project was well received, and could possibly be an even bigger success in the years to come.
References
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