From Assessment to Intervention: Reducing Aggressive Problem Behavior by Improving Children’s Social-Emotional Development and Well-Being

• In Event: Children’s Social-Emotional Development and Resiliencies: Translating Assessment Into Practice

Abstract

Objectives
The objective of the paper is to examine how findings from the Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) can help to inform targeted interventions for adolescents. The HSA tool measures children’s social-emotional development, resiliencies, and problem behaviors. This paper aims to describe how the assessment findings have been used to develop an after-school intervention program that aims to reduce aggression and increase prosocial behavior and well-being.

Background
It has been estimated that more than 20 percent of U.S. children and youth aged nine to seventeen suffer from significant social, emotional, and behavioral problems and are at risk for school failure. Research also indicates that early response to and treatment of behavioral problems can reduce the individual burden and societal costs of related problems later in life and promote well-being. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research that interconnects developmental theory and assessment with targeted intervention. This paper investigates links between adolescent’s aggressive and prosocial behaviors with social-emotional development and resiliencies, and discusses how this information can inform targeted developmental intervention for at-risk youth.



Theoretical framework and hypotheses
The theoretical model developed for the HSA tool and targeted intervention program —the Clover Leaf Model—is a research-based developmental model of resilience and psychopathology (Malti & Noam, 2009). Accordingly, the development of aggressive behavior is associated with particular emotions and resiliencies that individuals assemble to construct their social world at a given level of development. Based on this conceptual model, we expected that adolescent’s aggressive behavior would be associated with low levels of social-emotional development, but with high levels of specific resiliencies such as the ability to assert oneself.

Methods
Our sample was drawn from three Urban middle schools in the U.S. with N = 342 children (6th, 7th, and 8th graders). Data on social-emotional development, resiliencies, and aggressive and prosocial behavior were assessed via a self-report survey, the Holistic Assessment Tool (Malti & Noam, 2008). For the present analysis, we used information on adolescent’s social-emotional development (i.e., emotional control, interpersonal sensitivity, empathy, trust), resiliencies (self-assertion, relationship with adults and peers), and both problem and positive behavior outcomes (aggression, prosocial behavior).

Results
As predicted by our theoretical framework, indicators of social-emotional development (i.e. emotional control, interpersonal sensitivity, empathy, trust) were significantly related to both aggression and prosocial behavior. Furthermore, indicators of resiliency were associated with aggression and prosocial behavior (Table 1). Our findings from a series of regression analyses revealed that aggressive behavior was negatively predicted by emotional control, relationship with adults, and empathy, whereas it was positively predicted by self-assertion. Prosocial behavior was positively predicted by empathy and relationship with adults and with peers (Table 2).

Conclusions
The findings have important implications for promoting children’s development and well-being in school and out-of-school time contexts, as they illustrate how developmental theory and assessment can inform developmentally appropriate intervention. We describe how the assessment has helped us develop an intervention program to promote prosocial behavior and well-being in adolescents who may be at increased risk for, or already engage in, aggressive behavior.

Authors

• Tina Malti, University of Toronto

• Martin Guhn, The University of British Columbia

• Gil G. Noam, Harvard University