The WiseGuyz Program for Adolescent Boys: Evidence of Effectiveness for Preventing Teen Dating Violence
Tracks
Room 2: In-Person Only
| Wednesday, November 26, 2025 |
| 10:35 AM - 11:05 AM |
Overview
Deinera Exner-Cortens, University Of Calgary
Details
1. Participants will be able to describe research and theory supporting gender-transformative approaches to teen dating violence prevention, and how this information can support their research and practice.
2. Participants will demonstrate an increased understanding of the development and implementation of the WiseGuyz program.
3. Participants will be able to list key findings from the outcome evaluation of the WiseGuyz program.
Speaker
Dr Deinera Exner-Cortens
Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair
University Of Calgary
The WiseGuyz Program for Adolescent Boys: Evidence of Effectiveness for Preventing Teen Dating Violence
Presentation Overview
Research on teen dating violence prevention increasingly recognizes the need for gender-transformative programming (i.e., programming that aims to promote more gender-equitable relationships by transforming gender roles), in order to target root causes of violence. We will discuss evidence of effectiveness for a Canadian innovation in this space, WiseGuyz, a gender-transformative program for adolescent boys. Developed and implemented by the Centre for Sexuality in Alberta, Canada, and evaluated through a university research partnership, WiseGuyz is offered in school settings to grade 9 boys. A major focus of the program is the development of critical thinking so that boys can become conscious of, and eventually shift, patriarchal gender norms that uphold teen dating violence.
This presentation will report on findings from a quasi-experimental, longitudinal outcome evaluation on WiseGuyz (N = 262). We collected survey data from 3 cohorts in Alberta, Canada (fall 2019, 2021, 2022), at pre-test (fall of grade 9), post-test (spring of grade 9), and one-year follow-up (spring of grade 10). We also collected focus group data from WiseGuyz participants, and implementation data for each session (e.g., dosage). Our primary outcome was bystander behaviors for violence prevention, and secondary outcomes included dating abuse awareness and positive mental health.
In multivariable models, WiseGuyz participants reported significantly more positive bystander behaviors for violence prevention at one-year follow-up, as compared to non-participants. WiseGuyz participants also reported significantly greater dating abuse awareness at post-test. We are currently exploring dosage effects, as this trial was conducted primarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will also integrate qualitative data from youth focus groups to contextual survey findings.
WiseGuyz is one of only a few school-based violence prevention programs in the Global North developed for and with adolescent boys, and thus evidence of effectiveness from this outcome evaluation is highly relevant to domestic violence service providers and researchers.
This presentation will report on findings from a quasi-experimental, longitudinal outcome evaluation on WiseGuyz (N = 262). We collected survey data from 3 cohorts in Alberta, Canada (fall 2019, 2021, 2022), at pre-test (fall of grade 9), post-test (spring of grade 9), and one-year follow-up (spring of grade 10). We also collected focus group data from WiseGuyz participants, and implementation data for each session (e.g., dosage). Our primary outcome was bystander behaviors for violence prevention, and secondary outcomes included dating abuse awareness and positive mental health.
In multivariable models, WiseGuyz participants reported significantly more positive bystander behaviors for violence prevention at one-year follow-up, as compared to non-participants. WiseGuyz participants also reported significantly greater dating abuse awareness at post-test. We are currently exploring dosage effects, as this trial was conducted primarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will also integrate qualitative data from youth focus groups to contextual survey findings.
WiseGuyz is one of only a few school-based violence prevention programs in the Global North developed for and with adolescent boys, and thus evidence of effectiveness from this outcome evaluation is highly relevant to domestic violence service providers and researchers.
Biography
Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Childhood Health Promotion) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is also the scientific co-director of PREVNet, Canada’s national healthy youth relationships hub. Dr. Exner-Cortens’ work on teen dating violence (TDV) includes novel contributions to understanding aetiology and outcomes , as well as gender-transformative approaches to prevention. She also leads a national community of practice for federally-funded TDV prevention projects from across Canada, where she brings together best-practice research evidence, alongside contextual and practice-based evidence, to support frontline prevention practice.
