The effects of roots of empathy program on violent injury in youth

Background: Intentional interpersonal youth violence is a significant public health issue, causing acute and chronic health problems affecting individuals, families, and communities. Social emotional learning (SEL) programs, such as Roots of Empathy (ROE), delivered in schools decrease physical aggression and increase prosocial behaviours. These are risk and protective factors for later involvement in interpersonal violence. The purpose of this research is to study whether individuals who participated in ROE in childhood/early adolescence have a reduced risk of serious intentional interpersonal violent injury as youths between the ages of 16-24, and whether this relationship differs based on sex at birth (male/female) or grade level of exposure (K-3, 4-6, and 7-10). Methods: This retrospective population-based cohort study uses data from Manitoba, Canada, relying on the linkable health and social databases through the Manitoba Center for Health Policy (MCHP). The participants in this study were born from 1986 to 2002; cases were identified as those who participated in the 2002-2007 Phase I and II ROE studies (n = 4,437). ROE youth were matched up to10:1 to youth who did not participate in ROE (n = 44,254). Severe interpersonal violent injuries in youths ages 16-24 was defined as a serious injury requiring admission to hospital or death due to interpersonal violence inflicted by others. Hazard ratios (HR) were obtained using survival analysis. Results: Youth in this study were followed for an average of 7.3 years (SD 1.8). The rates of intentional violent injury were 13.2 and 10.5 per 10,000 for the ROE and the control group, respectively (HR =1.26; 95% CI 0.91-1.73). This was non-significant. The relationship did not vary for males (HR = 1.34; 95% CI 0.95-1.89) or females (HR = 0.90; 95% CI 0.39-2.10). Additionally, the relationship between exposure to ROE and interpersonal intentional violent injury was non-significant for those who participated in grades k-3 (HR =