The Effectiveness of Positive Peer Culture with Youth at Risk

Abstract

Youth in conflict with adults often gravitate to friends who support high-risk behavior. Various group treatment programs have sought to reverse this negative peer influence with two different strategies. In peer pressure programs, youth discipline one another to reinforce behavior norms. In peer helping programs such as Positive Peer Culture (PPC), youth support one another by solving problems and building strengths. While both approaches have been shown to improve short-term behavior, peer-helping creates long-term change in prosocial values, thinking, and behavior. This article reviews relevant research on the effectiveness of Positive Peer Culture and reports a study comparing recidivism of a residential PPC program in corrections with matched controls. Differences were apparent after 12 months as PPC groups had significantly lower recidivism at each quarterly interval of the 24-month follow-up period.