Knowledge, use of and attitudes towards peer support: a 2-year follow-up to the Prince's Trust survey

This present study investigated how school peer support systems studied 2 years earlier in a survey funded by The Prince's Trust have evolved. In all, 413 pupils (actual and potential users of the systems) aged 13-14 (Year 9 - Y9) and 15-16 (Year I I - Y 11), 34 teachers in charge of systems and 80 peer supporters in 35 secondary schools were interviewed using structured schedules for the pupils and semi-structured ones for the teachers and peer supporters. All of these interviews focussed on the respondents' perceptions and experiences of the school's peer support system, including: the perceived benefits to users of the system; benefits to peer supporters; problems with the system and the attempts made to overcome them. There was widespread support for the systems and a strong sense that both teachers and peer supporters were increasingly confident about the value of their service. However, some problems remain, notably with regard to gender. The study documents difficulties in the recruitment and retention of boys as peer supporters because of peer pressure to conform to a "macho" image. The issue is discussed and some solutions presented. (C) 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.