Implementation study of the Fourth R program aims to help area schools improve installation of vital relationship lessons

It’s estimated that more than a quarter of children witness domestic violence between their parents and that at least as many experience emotional or psychological abuse during childhood. In addition, 25 percent of youth will be a victim of teen dating violence.

That’s why it’s critical for kids—especially during their teenage years—to be taught healthy relationship skills, and what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like, according to Jeff Temple, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Temple said one avenue for teaching teens how to build and maintain healthy relationships, deal with peer pressure and resolve conflcts free of violence is the Fourth R program. The Fourth R, which was developed by Canadian psychologist David A. Wolfe and his team, is taught in thousands of classrooms as part of the school health curricula across Canada.

Now, thanks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarding UTMB a $1.05 million grant to study the program’s implementation, Fourth R is being deployed in classrooms throughout the Houston area, which represents one of the first organized efforts to bring the program to the U.S.

The study will help researchers determine the program’s “real-world” effectiveness in promoting healthy relationships.

Temple, who is the principal investigator for the study, said the results would be used to apply the program across the U.S.

“Schools have a pretty good grasp on how to teach students math, English, reading, science and social studies,” said Temple, who is also the vice president of the Galveston Independent School District school board. “We also now have a better grasp on how to teach healthy relationships. However, we’re not doing it, which is kind of surprising since that’s the foundation for everything in life.”

The goal, Temple said, is to teach teens how to be in a healthy relationship, how to avoid being in an unhealthy relationship, how to resolve conflicts without violence, and how to trust, respect and love.

“If we build that foundation, we make better people, we make better learners,” he said. “And we can prevent dating violence, bullying and sexual harassment all because of lessons within the classroom. That’s my goal.”

Temple said he believes teaching relationship skills should mirror how schools teach the traditional core subjects.

The Fourth R program follows that premise, hence the name. Similar to teaching the traditional “Reading, (w)Rriting and (a)Rithmetic,” the Fourth “R” uses guided lessons, role-playing exercises and homework to build healthy relationship skills.

An additional benefit of the program—especially from the perspective of cashstrapped school districts—is that Fourth R integrates easily into the existing state and federal criteria for health education in the schools.

“This isn’t an add-on program where districts have to spend extra money to implement it,” said Temple. “That makes it attractive because the teachers who are already working in the classroom are the ones who will be teaching the lessons.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Temple says schools listen to parents. So, lobbying your children’s school or school district to have healthy relationship programming is a good first step in getting this type of curriculum into a local classroom. For more information on the Fourth R program, visit https://youthrelationships.org.