A school-randomized clinical trial of an integrated social–emotional learning and literacy intervention: Impacts after 1 school year.

Abstract

Objective: To report experimental impacts of a universal, integrated school-based intervention in socialemotional learning and literacy development on change over 1 school year in 3rd-grade children's socialemotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Method: This study employed a school-randomized, experimental design and included 942 3rd-grade children (49% boys; 45.6% Hispanic/Latino, 41.1% Black/African American, 4.7% non-Hispanic White, and 8.6% other racial/ethnic groups, including Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American) in 18 New York City public elementary schools. Data on children's social-cognitive processes (e.g., hostile attribution biases), behavioral symptomatology (e.g., conduct problems), and literacy skills and academic achievement (e.g., reading achievement) were collected in the fall and spring of 1 school year. Results: There were main effects of the 4Rs Program after 1 year on only 2 of the 13 outcomes examined. These include children's self-reports of hostile attributional biases (Cohen's d ϭ 0.20) and depression (d ϭ 0.24). As expected based on program and developmental theory, there were impacts of the intervention for those children identified by teachers at baseline with the highest levels of aggression (d ϭ 0.32-0.59) on 4 other outcomes: children's self-reports of aggressive fantasies, teacher reports of academic skills, reading achievement scaled scores, and children's attendance. Conclusions: This report of effects of the 4Rs intervention on individual children across domains of functioning after 1 school year represents an important first step in establishing a better understanding of what is achievable by a schoolwide intervention such as the 4Rs in its earliest stages of unfolding. The first-year impacts, combined with our knowledge of sustained and expanded effects after a second year, provide evidence that this intervention may be initiating positive developmental cascades both in the general population of students and among those at highest behavioral risk.

A cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of classroom-based cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) in reducing symptoms of depression in high-risk adolescents

“…73 However, others have suggested that the optimal time for depression prevention programmes may actually be in late childhood (9-10 years of age). [74][75][76] Finally, preventing depression in adolescents is challenging. It is a complex problem, in which genetic and developmental factors, the role of puberty and sex hormones, and psychosocial stress and adversity all play an important role.…”

Enhancing Children’s Social Emotional Functioning Through Virtual Game-Based Delivery of Social Skills Training

“…Previous research has shown wide applications for in-person SST programs (e.g., a trained provider implementing a program within small groups of 6-8 children), from assisting young children with developing self-awareness and emotion regulation skills (Moreira et al 2010) to helping children with attention problems learn better self-management strategies (Raimundo et al 2013) to promoting social problem-solving skills and adaptive social behavior among children with autism spectrum disorder (Mathews et al 2013;Reichow and Volkmar 2010;Scattone et al 2006). In addition to its use with specific populations of children, research supports the benefits of SST as a universal, integrated intervention approach by which all children participate in social emotional learning, regardless of diagnosis or special education status, and thereby all children can benefit from enhanced social skills and a more positive overall school climate (e.g., Jones et al 2010).…”

Exploring Grade 3 Teachers’ Perspectives on the Acceptability and Efficacy of MindMasters 2

“…Previous research shows that other school-based social-emotional programs are consistently integrated into routines (i.e. Frey, Nolen, Edstrom, & Hirschstein, 2005;Jones, Brown, Hoglund, & Aber, 2010;Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoolmiller, 2008). Therefore, implementation of MindMasters 2 may be more effective if used on a regular basis.…”