The purpose of the Training and Mentoring division is to increase the competency of students, faculty, and community members in conducting and disseminating research focused on reducing youth violence, with a specific emphasis on programs that will enhance young adolescents’ choice of non-violent solutions to interpersonal difficulties. These goals are accomplished through seminars and speaker series, undergraduate and graduate training, mentoring of junior faculty, and providing training opportunities for community members based on assessment of the needs of these multiple areas.

Under the leadership of Dr. Wendy Kliewer, we have developed a Prevention Research Internship course, a semester-long research practicum experience, for undergraduate students. During this course we 1) discuss practical issues related to several on-going research activities at the Institute, 2) cover issues related to professional development, and 3) read and critique current relevant literature. Students gain practical experience in a range of research-related activities including data collection, data entry and cleaning, transcription, and coding.

We also hold a weekly research meeting with all faculty and graduate students associated with the Institute. The focus of this meeting is on research related to youth violence. This weekly 75-minute meeting gives students and faculty the opportunity to share work in which they are currently engaged, and report on their research activities for the prior week.

Other Training & Mentoring Activities:

October, 2006 Parenting: Psychology, Public Health and Public Policy; A one-day conference co-sponsored by the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences Department of Psychology, the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development and the Virginia Treatment Center for Children.

October, 2006 Parents Matter: The Role of Parents in Youths' Coping with Community Violence; A conversation about the importance of parents in how youth deal with violence; Speaker: Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D.