Comprehensive Elementary School Risk Prevention

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This project will evaluate the benefit of an enhanced social development program in grades 3-6 to decrease the onset of risky behaviors in pre-adolescents.

Detailed Description
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Educational programs to promote the adoption of healthy behaviors and to decrease the onset of risky behaviors in pre-adolescents are far more likely to be successful than attempts to alter established patterns of high-risk behaviors. The project involves an evaluation of a comprehensive 4-year elementary school prevention initiative starting in 3rd grade. The prevention initiative, grounded in social cognitive, influence, and development theories is embedded within a pre-existing comprehensive elementary school social development program and will employ an evidence-based social skills curriculum (PATHS) in selected schools. The aim of the program is to teach children to use problem-solving and communication skills to negotiate and prevent high-risk behaviors. Students attending schools that will receive the enhanced social development program will be compared to students attending schools that will receive the current, standard social development curriculum. The study hypothesizes that students who participate in the 4-year enhanced social development program will self-report fewer risk behaviors when surveyed by the school system in grades 6-8.

Official Title
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Comprehensive Elementary School Risk Prevention

Conditions
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Risk Behavior

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Social Development Instruction


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All regular education students, including students in bilingual classes Exclusion Criteria: - Children attending special education classrooms.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 7 Years
Maximum Age: 14 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Behavioral: Social Development Instruction|Weekly instruction during regular classroom time by classroom teacher using PATHS (Greenberg & Kusche) curriculum.|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self reports of risky behaviors |  | Spring of 2008,2009,2010 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Academic test scores |  | annually 2006-2008 | 
| Measure of social problem solving skills: Social Problem Solving Dilemma |  | Spring 2007,2008 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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social development, risk behaviors, social emotional education, classroom instruction