Overview
Peer interventions describe a unique method of providing treatment and prevention programs to adolescents. Their common factor is that a peer, rather than a professional, implements the identified treatment. This creates significant variety in intervention designs and targets. One of the key ways that intervention designs vary depends on the role of the adolescent, as either the intervention agent, target, or both. Among adolescent populations, direct methods of intervention, in which the adolescent is the primary intervention agent, are common. Thus, three direct intervention types (peer education, counseling, and mentoring) used frequently with adolescent populations are discussed in terms of their defining features, formats, applications, and evaluation. The unique advantages of peer interventions, as well as their potential disadvantages are also illuminated.
Introduction
Unlike other treatments, peer interventions reflect a method of delivery rather than a specific...
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Rivera, M.S., Nangle, D.W., Rothstein, E. (2018). Peer Interventions. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_106
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_106
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