27 research outputs found
Effects of a School-Based Social-Emotional and Character Development Program on Peer, Family, School, and Neighborhood Contexts: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial
Aims: To evaluate the impact of a school-based social-emotional and character development program on the various socializing contexts of youth. Methods: A matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled trial included 1,170 students from 14, low-income, urban, Chicago Public Schools. Outcomes were assessed longitudinally for a cohort of youth followed from grades 3 to 8. Multilevel growth-curve modeling and endpoint analyses were conducted on indicators of peer, family, school, and neighborhood contexts. Results: Students in PA schools had slower rates of decline and higher end-point scores than students in non-PA schools across all of the contexts examined. For example, impacts were observed for positive school orientation, peer victimization, parent attachment, and neighborhood context. Conclusion: Results illustrate that school-based social-emotional and character development programs have the capacity to affect youth experiences in a range of environmental contexts that are key for youth development and functioning
Direct and mediated effects of a social-emotional and character development program on adolescent substance use
Mitigating and preventing substance use among adolescents requires approaches that
address the multitude of factors that influence this behavior. Such approaches must be
tested, not only for evidence of empirical effectiveness, but also to determine the
mechanisms by which they are successful. The aims of the present study were twofold:
1) To determine the effectiveness of a school-based social-emotional and character
development (SECD) program, Positive Action (PA), in reducing substance use (SU)
among a sample of U.S. youth living in a low-income, urban environment, and 2) to test
one mechanism by which the program achieves its success. We used longitudinal
mediation analysis to test the hypotheses that: 1) students attending PA intervention
schools engage in significantly less SU than students attending control schools, 2)
students attending PA intervention schools show significantly better change in SECD
than students attending control schools, and 3) the effect of the PA intervention on SU is
mediated by the change in SECD. Analyses revealed program effects on both SECD and
SU, a relationship between SECD and SU, and the effects of PA on SU were completely
mediated by changes in SECD. Future research directions and implications for schoolbased social-emotional and character development efforts and substance use prevention are addressed.peer-reviewe
Teachers' Perceptions of School Organizational Climate as Predictors of Dosage and Quality of Implementation of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program
Abstract Organizational climate has been proposed as a factor that might influence a school's readiness to successfully implement school-wide prevention programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of teachers' perceptions of three dimensions of school organizational climate on the dosage and quality of teacher implementation of Positive Action, a social-emotional and character development (SECD) program. The dimensions measured were teachers' perceptions of (a) the school's openness to innovation, (b) the extent to which schools utilize participatory decision-making practices, and (c) the existence of supportive relationships among teachers (teacher-teacher affiliation). Data from 46 teachers in seven schools enrolled in the treatment arm of a longitudinal, cluster-randomized, controlled trial were analyzed. Teacher perceptions of a school's tendency to be innovative was associated with a greater number of lessons taught and self-reported quality of delivery, and teacher-teacher affiliation was associated with a higher use of supplementary activities. The findings suggest that perceptions of a school's organizational climate impact teachers' implementation of SECD programs and have implications for school administrators and technical assistance providers as they work to implement and sustain prevention programs in schools
Recommended from our members
Two Longterm Studies of Seasonal Variation in Depressive Symptoms among Community Participants
Background: There is evidence that seasonal variation in depressive symptoms is common in the population. However, research is limited by a reliance on longterm retrospective methods. Methods: Seasonal patterns were tested in two samples of community participants recruited in separate prospective studies in the Midwestern (n = 556 males/females) and Pacific Northwestern (n = 206 males) United States. Participants completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms 10-19 times from ages 14-36 years (n = 8,316 person observations). These data were compared with local meteorological conditions (e.g., solar radiation) recorded across the 2 weeks prior to each self-report.
Results: In within-subjects analyses, participantsâ depressive symptoms and the probability of clinically significant symptoms varied with the time of year, as hypothesized (highest in the weeks of early Winter; lowest in early Fall). However, effects sizes were modest and were not explained by recent sunlight or other meteorological conditions.
Limitations: Samples were not nationally representative. Participants did not complete retrospective reports of seasonal depression or measures of current vegetative symptoms.
Conclusions: Neither time of the year or recent seasonally linked meteorological conditions were powerful influences on depressive symptoms experienced by community populations in relevant geographic regions. Prior studies may have overestimated the prevalence and significance of seasonal variation in depressive symptoms for the general population.This is an author's peer-reviewed manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-affective-disorders/.Keywords: Seasonal depression, Adolescence, Community, Longitudina
Prevailing Arguments and Types of Conclusions of Parent\u2013Child Argumentation
This chapter examines the types of arguments used most often by parents and children and the different types of conclusions of their argumentative discussions. The conceptual tool adopted for the analysis is based on the integration of the pragma-dialectical ideal model of a critical discussion (van Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2004) with the Argumentum Model of Topics (Rigotti & Greco Morasso, 2019). The integration of these two tools of analysis permits to reconstruct the inferential configuration of the arguments used by parents and children and to identify the types of conclusions of their argumentative discussions. Exemplary argumentative sequences that bring to light the results obtained through the qualitative analysis of a larger corpus of argumentative discussions between parents and children are presented and discussed
Recommended from our members
Effects of the Positive Action Program on Indicators of Positive Youth Development Among Urban Youth
This study evaluated effects of Positive Action, a school-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) intervention, on indicators of positive youth development (PYD) among a sample of low-income, ethnic minority youth attending 14 urban schools. The study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design at the school level. A multiple-measure self-report protocol assessed four key strengths and resources for PYD: self-concept, peer affiliations, ethics, and social skills. Students (n=1170) were assessed from grades 3 to 8, the duration of the intervention, with drop-outs and late entrants included in analyses. Growth curve analyses revealed evidence of favorable program effects on each of the four types of resources. The study contributes to PYD research by providing evidence for school-based interventions in low-income, urban contexts for ethnic minority youth.Keywords: positive youth development, social-emotional and character development, longitudinal, adolescenc