The Fourth R: Teaching Healthy Relationship Skills to Reduce Youth Risk Behaviors

Abstract

This chapter introduces the Fourth R program aimed at teaching healthy relationships and decreasing risky behaviors in students between seventh and 12th grades. Far from causing children and youth to develop behaviors that parents do not want, the Fourth R demystifies the causes of unwanted behaviors and provides skills to prepare youth to make safe and healthier choices. The chapter outlines how this program was developed to address the relational needs of youth and discusses the practical strategies available to implementing the Fourth R in conjunction with federal, state, and provincial educational requirements. The Fourth R curriculum is designed to protect youth from the dangers related to sex, drugs, and violence. Importantly, the curriculum provides educators with the tools they need to address the concerns that parents may have about bullying, homophobia, drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and mental illness. The chapter discusses the results of several studies evaluating the program and its implementation process. Specifically, it reports that the Fourth R reduced dating violence, increased condom use, produced a buffering impact against violent delinquency among maltreated youth, and improved participants' communication skills and peer resistance abilities. The chapter also discusses additional information on best practices and implementation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)