Operation250: An Evaluation of a Primary Prevention Campaign focused on Online Safety and Risk Assessment

By Neil Shortland; Jason Rydberg; John Horgan; Michael Williams; Georgia Elena Savoia; T. H. Chan; Tyler Cote; Kurt Braddock

This study evaluated the Operation250 campaign focused on online safety and risk assessment.

Abstract

This evaluation of Operation250 reported positive results for students who experienced the Operation250, an important step in efforts to identify “what works” in the realm of prevention. However, several issues were identified that center on both (1) the wider issues associated with conducting interventions and (2) evaluating those interventions to assess the degree to which they are achieving their stated goals. Researchers conducted a formal and summative evaluation of Operation250 (Op250) using a mixed-method approach, including a randomized control trial and a wait-list control trial design with 1) an intervention group and 2) a control group (i.e., a matched-control group that has not received the Op250 intervention) at a series of schools in the North Adams District in Massachusetts. The goal of this independent evaluation was to objectively measure the ability of Op250 to (1) reduce unsafe online behavior in pre- teen ,and teenagers and (2) increase the ability of pre-teens and teenagers to assess risk online.

Lowell, MA: University of Massachusetts, Lovell, 2024. 150p.