Family-centered, school-based prevention to support the reduction of problem behavior during early elementary school.

• In Event: 3-241 - Family-centered, Prevention and Intervention for Reducing Behavior Problems and Promoting Healthy Development

Integrative Statement

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of the Family Check-Up for reducing teacher reported emotional and behavior problems in early elementary school. The Family Check-Up (FCU) is multi-level, ecological approach to intervention and treatment that reduces behavior problems and improves academic success in early childhood and secondary settings (Dishion & Stormshak, 2007). Although the Family Check-Up has been tested during the early childhood years, it has never been studied as a preventive approach to learning and behavior problems at school entry. We hypothesize that when delivered at this age, the FCU will be associated with reductions in child problem behavior at both post-test and follow-up when compared to a no-treatment control group.

Methods

365 families entering kindergarten across two cohorts and five schools were recruited and randomly assigned to the FCU or a school-as-usual control condition (Intervention N= 190; Control= 175). 75% of the families assigned to the intervention completed the Family Check-Up, and 50% received additional follow-up support sessions focused on parenting skills. The sample is balanced by sex and is 63% White and 37% ethnically diverse. Teachers reported about children’s emotional and behavior problems by using an elementary version of the Strengths and Needs Survey (SANA; Moore et al., 2016), which was completed at baseline, post-test (first grade) and follow-up (second grade). Analyses will include (a) tests of baseline equivalence, (b) tests of effects associated with random assignment using intent-to-treat analysis within a hierarchical linear modeling framework, and (c) an examination of subgroups of high-risk students.

Results

Results indicated children in the FCU condition outperformed children in the control condition on teacher-report emotional and behavior problems in first and second grade. Model estimated differences in gains between FCU and control conditions was -1.71 (first grade) and -1.39 (second grade; Hedges g = -0.28 and -.22). Children experiencing higher levels of emotional and behavior problems at pretest benefited from the FCU more than did children who experienced lower levels of problems. Estimated differences between FCU and control conditions in pretest to post-test change in the outcome were -1.34 for students at the 50th percentile at baseline (p = .021), and -2.41 for students at the 75th percentile at baseline (p < .001). Subgroup analyses for students at or above the 50th percentile on teacher-report emotional and behavior problems at pretest generated an effect size of g = -0.43 (p = .035). Implications for an ecological approach to assessment and intervention in early elementary school are discussed.

Authors

• S. Andrew Garbacz, University of Wisconsin
  Presenting Author

• Elizabeth A. Stormshak, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura McIntyre, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author