HOW GREAT IS G.R.E.A.T.? RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN†

  1. FINN-AAGE ESBENSEN1,
  2. D. WAYNE OSGOOD2,
  3. TERRANCE J. TAYLOR3,
  4. DANA PETERSON4,
  5. ADRIENNE FRENG5

Article first published online: 7 MAR 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2001.tb00078.x

Issue

Criminology & Public Policy

Criminology & Public Policy

Volume 1, Issue 1, pages 87–118, November 2001

Additional Information

How to Cite

ESBENSEN, F.-A., OSGOOD, D. W., TAYLOR, T. J., PETERSON, D. and FRENG, A. (2001), HOW GREAT IS G.R.E.A.T.? RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN. Criminology & Public Policy, 1: 87–118. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2001.tb00078.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Finn-Aage Esbensen is the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Youth Crime and Violence in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is currently involved in several research projects with a special focus on gang activity. He was Principal Investigator of the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program

  2. 2

    D. Wayne Osgood is a Professor in the Crime, Law, and Juvenile Program of the Department of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, University Park. His research interests include a variety of topics concerning crime, delinquency, and other deviant behaviors; prevention and intervention programs for juvenile delinquency; and statistical methods

  3. 3

    Terrance J. Taylor is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His research interests include criminological theory, juvenile delinquency and victimization, research methodology, and policing

  4. 4

    Dana Peterson is a doctoral student in Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her present research interests include gangs and youth violence, families and delinquency, and sex and gender issues in crime

  5. 5

    Adrienne Freng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Wyoming. Her current research interests include: race and crime issues, specifically dealing with Native Americans, gangs, and juvenile delinquency. Currently, she is completing research examining the role of race in gang membership

  • †

    Earlier drafts of this paper have been presented at the 1998 and 1999 annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology. This research is supported under Award 94-IJ-CX-0058 from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 7 MAR 2006
  2. Article first published online: 7 MAR 2006

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Research Summary: This manuscript presents results from the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program, a school-based prevention program targeting middle-school students. A longitudinal quasi-experimental research design was conducted from 1995 through 1999. Beneficial program effects emerged gradually over time so that there was, on average, more pro-social change in the attitudes of G.R.E.A.T. students than the non-G.R.E.A.T. students four years following program exposure.

Policy Implications: Two specific policy recommendations stem from this research. First, law enforcement officers can be effective providers of school-based prevention programs. Second, to better assess program effectiveness, evaluations should include design features that allow for assessment of long-term or delayed program effects.

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