CONTACT:
Kelli Marciel
NIH Consensus Development Program
301-496-4819

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will hold a State-of-the-Science Conference on Preventing Violence and Related Health-Risking Behaviors in Adolescents, October 13-15, 2004 at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Many prevention and intervention programs to address violence and related youth behavior problems have developed out of need and have not been rigorously evaluated for their safety and effectiveness. Moreover, interventions with demonstrated effectiveness appear to be underutilized. Research has progressed at a rapid pace; it is now appropriate to assess the state of science with regard to interventions to reduce the risk for youth violence and related behavior problems, as well as to reduce problem behavior once it has been initiated. While research focused on what works is critical, it is equally important to assess what has been learned about interventions that do not work.

The conference will bring together researchers and practitioners from the many fields involved in violence prevention and related issues of adolescent health, to examine the evidence available to answer six key conference questions:

1. What are the factors that contribute to violence and associated adverse health outcomes in childhood and adolescence?
2. What are the patterns of co-occurrence of these factors?
3. What evidence exists on the safety and effectiveness of interventions for violence?
4. Where evidence of safety and effectiveness exists, are there other outcomes beyond reducing violence? If so, what is known about effectiveness by age, sex, and race/ethnicity?
5. What are the commonalities among interventions that are effective, and those that are ineffective?
6. What are the priorities for future research?

During the first day and part of the second day of the conference, experts will present the latest research findings in the area to an independent panel. After weighing all of the scientific evidence, the panel will prepare its statement addressing the questions listed above. The panel will present its draft statement to the public for comment at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 15. Following this public comment session, and a subsequent executive session to weigh the input provided, the panel will hold a news conference at 2:00 p.m. to take questions from the media.

The primary sponsors of this conference are the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of Medical Applications of Research, NIH.

For additional information about this conference, please visit the NIH Consensus Development Program Web site at http://consensus.nih.gov. NIH Videocasting will broadcast the conference live on the Internet. Visit the Consensus Development Program homepage — http://consensus.nih.gov — or go directly to the NIH Videocast Web site - http://videocast.nih.gov — any day during the conference and look for the link to the conference under "Today's Events."

Note to TV Editors: The news conference at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 15, 2004 will be broadcast live via satellite on the following coordinates:

Note to Radio Editors: An audio report of the conference results will be available after 4 p.m. Friday, October 15, 2004 from the NIH Radio News Service by calling 1-800-MED-DIAL (1-800-633-3425).

The NIH comprises the Office of the Director and 27 Institutes and Centers. The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH, and is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. The NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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