Youth forums on violence to expand MTV's special

The show, produced with APA, sets the stage to educate youth about violence prevention.

By Patrick A. McGuire
Monitor staff

Psychologists around the country will begin conducting youth forums and community gatherings this month, to help adolescents better understand issues raised in an April MTV special on the warning signs of violence, that was co-produced by APA.

The forums will involve psychologists going into schools and moderating student dialogue on how to recognize the warnings signs of violence and how to get help to prevent it. Some of the programs, organized by various state psychological associations, will involve a psychologist taking over a single session of a class, while others will see a team of specialists rotating through an entire day with students in health or social studies classes. Some will involve leading discussions on violence in community and church groups that cater to adolescents.

The APA-MTV partnership stemmed from the association's ongoing public education campaign, "Talk to someone who can help." Among the principal campaign themes based on public opinion research, are family relations and dealing with troubled teens.

As one major element of the APA-MTV joint venture, the two organizations produced a 30-minute television program "Fight for your rights: Take a stand against violence." It aired April 27 and, guided by APA expertise on youth and violence, featured interviews with adolescents who had been involved in violence or who had successfully avoided it. The show was a cornerstone of the popular music network's year-long campaign against youth violence.

During the Practice Directorate's March 1999 State Leadership Conference, public education campaign coordinators representing nearly 40 state psychological associations brainstormed about ways to organize and lead the local youth forums. A tape of the program that aired on MTV late last month will be used to help engage participating adolescents and young adults in dialogue about violent behavior and ways to prevent it.

Timing excellent

The idea was greeted enthusiastically by state leaders such as James Brush, PhD, marketing chair of the Ohio Psychological Association.

"The timing for this show is excellent," said Brush, who specializes in youth and adolescent psychology. "It's still within a time-frame when people are remembering with alarm last spring all the school-related deaths, and are concerned about violence in their communities."

Brush has already arranged with several schools in the Cincinnati area to run an MTV-related presentation this month. Paving the way for such forums was a letter written by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley to the nation's educators asking them to "welcome these youth forums in your schools and join me in applauding the efforts of APA and MTV."

So far, in Chicago, Nancy Molitor, PhD, a member of the Illinois Psychological Association said "we've had positive responses to the idea from all the principals we've approached. It's a fabulous idea."

Enlisting cable help

Aside from the forums, state leaders at their March meeting discussed using the MTV event to begin lasting partnerships with other local organizations, including their local cable TV affiliates.

It was noted that those outlets already have a strong relationship with MTV and likely would be willing to help promote the youth forums. To assist them in that strategy, APA's Practice Directorate has prepared kits with sample pitch letters, press releases, public service announcements and fact sheets which include statistics about youth violence.

"This is an opportunity for all of you to put a face on psychology for the next generation," the leaders were told by Jan Peterson, assistant executive director for public relations and special projects in the Practice Directorate. "In another decade when these youths may be facing problems, they will have had experience with a psychologist, and have some idea about when it's appropriate to seek help and where to go to get it."

Peterson said she hopes the airing of the MTV program will kick-off a month long series of youth forums that would coincide with national mental health awareness month. Because the school year is drawing to a close, however, she acknowledged that some forums might be scheduled in the fall.

The Practice Directorate, she said, would supply forum moderators who register their youth forums with APA's campaign services bureau, with copies of the MTV video, suggestions for developing the dialogue and evaluation forms.

The point of each forum is to get adolescents to talk about violence and to go into some depth on practical ways of spotting it in their friends or even in themselves. But, leaders were cautioned, be respectful of your audience.

"This is not just about preaching to them," said Elizabeth Bailey, of Pacific Visions Communications, a consultant to APA's campaign. "Kids don't want adults coming in and saying you should do this and you should do that. It's about how can we can sync up with who they are and really do something that at a national level is going to have a lot of positive impact."



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