EARLY CHILDHOOD AGGRESSION STUDY

OVERVIEW

Eight Seattle public elementary schools participated in an experimental design prevention study on early childhood aggression. Parents and teachers of students in the first grade were trained in family and classroom management skills, respectively. The parents curriculum, “Catch ‘Em Being Good,” consisted of training in monitoring children’s behavior, appropriate rewards and punishment, effective communication, and family activities. Teachers were responsible for tracking children’s progress throughout the study by assessing levels of antisocial and problem behaviors. The study achieved mixed outcomes. No significant impacts were reported for black students. White students achieved significant impacts on only a few of the scales measured. White boys showed lower rates of aggression and externalizing behavior, and white girls showed lower rates of self-destruction. In general, the prevention appears to be most effective for exceptionally antisocial behavior among white boys.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Teachers and parents of students in the 1^st/2^nd grade of public elementary schools

Eight public elementary schools in Seattle were selected to participate in a study on the prevention of early childhood aggression. In six of the schools, 1^st grade teachers and students were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition. The other two schools were randomly assigned to be either fully control or fully experimental. The study began in the fall of 1981 when students entered 1^st grade and continued through the spring of their 2^nd grade year. Parents of students participating in the experimental group were set to receive seven consecutive, weekly sessions in family management training. The curriculum, “Catch ‘Em Being Good” taught parents skills in monitoring and supervising a child’s behavior, using appropriate rewards/punishments, and consistent discipline practices, as well as effective communication skills and involving children in family activities.

Teachers, on the other hand, were trained one year prior to the study. The teacher training emphasized classroom management skills, cognitive social skills training and interactive teaching methods. Through the Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving curriculum, teachers learned about proactive management skills to prevent behavior problems before they could occur. Teachers were taught to promote appropriate classroom participation by providing clear instructions and expectations about attendance, class activities and rules. The training emphasized the importance of rewarding prosocial behavior and employing the least disruptive disciplinary techniques. Teachers also learned skills in communication, decision-making, conflict-resolution and negotiation. Ultimately, teachers strived to increase students’ own problem-solving abilities.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Hawkins, J.D., Von Cleve, E., & Catalano, R. (1991). Reducing early childhood aggression: Results of a primary prevention program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(2), 208-217.

Evaluated population: Eleven 1^st grade teachers were randomly assigned to experimental classrooms, while ten 1^st grade teachers remained in control classrooms.

Approach: Students were then randomly assigned to either control or experimental classes upon entry into the 1^st grade in the fall of 1981. 520 students were still in study schools in the spring of 1983 when posttest data were collected. Posttest data were obtained from 88.1% of those students. Selected demographic characteristics of both the control and experimental groups are shown below:

Student self-report data collected at baseline indicated that the control group was slightly higher on measures of prosocial characteristics such as attachment to school and family, as well as communication and family supervision.

Results: Parents of 122 experimental students (43 percent) who had posttest data available participated in one or more sessions of parent training. The average number of sessions attended was 5.4 per family. 48 of the families attending sessions included fathers. Students’ posttest scores were not found to be impacted by the number of classes parents attended except on a measure of self-destructive behavior for females. In this case, however, it is not possible to determine causality between the measure and parental class attendance.

Teachers’ implementation of the program was monitored in two ways. They were required to complete a weekly Teacher Self-Report checklist weekly. Teachers also participated in an Interactive Teaching Map (a structured observation system). Teachers and students in both the control and experimental groups were watched and recorded by trained observers. Each classroom was observed for one 50-minute session for one day in the fall and one day in the spring after students had entered the 2^nd grade. No outcomes data were collected during second grade.

As expected, experimental teachers implemented management practices significantly more than control teachers. These teaching practices were positively correlated with the time students spent actively engaged in learning activities and negatively associated with students’ off-task behavior.

Student outcomes were evaluated at the end of the 2^nd grade year using Teacher Report Forms of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).  The Checklist measured levels of children’s antisocial and problem behaviors. CBCL was identical for boys and girls with the exception of two scales. Boys were also evaluated for obsessive-compulsive behavior while girls were evaluated for depressive behavior. In all cases, the reporting teacher must have known the student for at least two months.

Although all boys in the experimental group reported better posttest scores on the CBCL, significant outcomes were only found on the Aggressive subscale ( [E] = 8.78, [C] = 21.51) and the Externalizing Antisocial Behavior scale ( [E] =15.55, [C] = 21.51).

For females, significant outcomes were found on only one measure: self-destructive behavior ([E] = 0.15, [C] = .65). In this case, teachers rated experimental girls significantly less self-destructive than control girls.

Because there were substantial subgroups of blacks and whites within the sample, evaluators also analyzed outcomes according to these racial characteristics. Of the total male sample, 33% were black and 46% were white. No significant impacts were found among black males when comparing the experimental and control groups. White males in the control group, however, scored significantly higher on scales of aggressive behavior ([E] = 6.88, [C] = 13.4) and global externalized deviance than their white counterparts in the experimental group ([E] = 13.18, [C] = 21.64).

Students scoring in the upper 11% on the CBCL are considered in a clinical range and at highest risk. On externalizing antisocial behavior, 6.8% of white males in the experimental group fell into this range, whereas 20% of white males in the control group did. The intervention is particularly effective, therefore, at the extreme end of the scale among antisocial, white boys. Although no difference was found between black and white males within the control group, the intervention was significantly less effective on the aggressiveness and externalized deviance of black boys in the experimental group then their white counterparts.

Of the total female population, 30% were black and 46% were white. When comparing white girls in the experimental and control groups, white girls in the experimental group scored significantly lower on the self-destructive, depressive and nervous-overactive scales. Impacts were not found for black girls.

Overall, it seems that the early childhood aggression program benefited white students more than blacks. However, both male and female black students were rated more negatively by their teachers than white students on the whole. This may be the result of the differential perceptions of the teachers. Of the 37 teachers participating, 31 were white. The difference in scores between races could also mean that the intervention is better suited for white students.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Link to program curriculum: http://www.srpublications.com/family-relationships/Catch'em-Being-Good.htm 

References

Hawkins, J.D., Von Cleve, E., & Catalano, R. (1991). Reducing early childhood aggression: Results of a primary prevention program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(2), 208-217.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 1^st and 2^nd grade

Program age ranges in the Guide:  6-11

Program components: parent or family component, school-based

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development, behavioral problems, mental health

Program information last updated 3/16/07

© Child Trends 2004