Integrated models of school‐based prevention: Logic and theory

Abstract

School-based prevention programs can positively impact a range of social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Yet the current climate of accountability pressures schools to restrict activities that are not perceived as part of the core curriculum. Building on models from public health and prevention science, we describe an integrated approach to school-based prevention. These models leverage the most effective structural and content components of social-emotional and behavioral health prevention interventions. Integrated interventions are expected to have additive and synergistic effects that result in greater impacts on multiple student outcomes. Integrated programs are also expected to be more efficient to deliver, easier to implement with high quality and integrity, and more sustainable. We provide a detailed example of the process through which the PAX-Good Behavior Game and the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum were integrated into the PATHS to PAX model. Implications for future research are proposed.

Bullying of children and adolescents with autism spectrum conditions: a ‘state of the field’ review

“…developing social skills) is unlikely to yield successful outcomes in the long term. Furthermore, strategies need to be integrated into existing systems and practices in schools if they are to be sustainable, and there is a distinct need to avoid the 'programme for every problem' phenomenon (Domitrovich et al 2010). Thus, interventions should be assimilated within a broader approach designed to facilitate social inclusion more generally.…”

Personalidad y Trastorno de Pánico: Un estudio de revisión

“…Las intervenciones deben incluir a todos los agentes implicados por lo que, en la edad infantojuvenil, sería imprescindible trabajar en el contexto familiar y escolar (Olweus, 2004). Cabe mencionar que intervenciones de estas características ya han dado resultados de eficacia en los contextos escolares (Domitrovich, et al, 2010;Hosman, Dadds y Raphael, 2005;Greenberg, Domitrovich y Bumbarger, 2001). …”

Parents and the Preschool PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum

“…Early integrated preventative programmes for parents and children may have greater likelihood of success and prove most cost effective (Domitrovich et al, 2010). As elsewhere, high quality evidence in this category has been slow to establish.…”

“…The complex web of children's social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and associated multifaceted, contextual factors such as parenting skills and teaching strategies, school ethos and community issues suggest that interventions require to be multi-stranded, complex and integrated to address problems effectively (Kelly, Ryan and Altman, 2000). Prevention Science and epidemiological research have contributed to our understanding of the myriad of factors that increase and buffer risk for developing problem behaviours and early emotional difficulties (Flay, 2005;Domitrovich, 2010). A good example of a comprehensive approach to problem complexity is provided by the Prosper Delivery System (Spoth and Greenberg, 2011).…”