Raising Healthy Children

OVERVIEW

The Raising Healthy Children (RHC) program aims at promoting positive youth development by reducing identified risk factors and preventing adolescent problem behaviors. RHC is a continuation of the Seattle Social Development Project, but focuses more in institutionalizing practices in schools. The long-term goal of RHC is to increase academic success and reduce adolescent antisocial behavior and chronic mental health, using a social development model. Random assignment was done at the school level. Results of an evaluation showed that RHC students had significantly higher teacher-reported academic performance, stronger commitment to school, and showed a significant decrease in antisocial behaviors than students who did not receive the intervention.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Elementary school children believed to be at risk for problem behaviors.

The Raising Healthy Children (RHC) program aims at promoting positive youth development by reducing identified risk factors and preventing adolescent problem behaviors. RHC is a multifaceted program which includes teachers, parents, and students. It is designed to influence developmentally appropriate risk and protective factors that may affect family, school, peer, and individual domains. Program components include a series of workshops for teachers focusing on instruction strategies previously found to reduce academic risks and early aggression. Workshops also include topics such as proactive classroom management, cooperative learning methods, reading strategies, and interpersonal and problem-solving skills. School-home coordinators conduct parent training and parenting group workshops. Parent training includes family management skills and in-home problem solving. The student intervention consists of summer camps and in-home services focusing on decreasing the negative impact of the student in the classroom and home setting.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Brown, E. C., Catalano, R. F., Fleming, C. B., Haggerty, K. P., & Abbott, R. D., & (2005). Adolescent substance use outcomes in the Raising Healthy Children Project: A two-part latent growth curve analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 699-710.

Evaluated Population: 959 sixth- through ninth-grade students. The sample was 82% European American, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 4% African American, 4% Hispanic or Latino, and 3% Native American. The mean age of the students at the beginning of the study was 7.7 years old. (SD=.06) About 28% of the sample represented low-income households.

Approach: This study was conducted to examine the 5-7 year effectiveness of the RHC intervention on substance use frequency and onset. Prior to baseline data collection, 10 schools were paired based on social and economic states and student attendance, and one member of each pair was assigned to the treatment group. This resulted in 497 intervention group students and 441 control group students.

Self-reports of frequency of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use during the previous year and previous month were obtained via in-person, telephone, or mail-in surveys. In year 7 (grade 9 and 10), surveys were self-administered using a computer-assisted interviewing device.

Note: Researchers did not adjust for the effects of clustered data. Findings should be interpreted with caution.

Results:

The intervention did not affect the growth rate for alcohol or marijuana use, but it did appear to have a moderate impact on the frequency of alcohol use (ES=.40) and marijuana use (ES=.52). No impacts were found for the growth rate or frequency of cigarette use.

Catalano, R. F., Mazza, J. J., Harachi, T. W., Abbott, R. D., Haggerty, K. P., & Fleming, C. B. (2002). Raising healthy children through enhancing social development in elementary school: Results after 1.5 years. Seattle: University of Washington, Social Development Research Group.

Evaluated population: 938 first- and second-grade students from 10 suburban, public schools. The sample was 82% European American, 7.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 3% African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.3% Native American, and .4% Other.

Approach: A study was conducted to examine the 18-month effectiveness of the RHC intervention. Ten schools were paired based on social and economic states and student attendance, and one member of each pair was assigned to the treatment group. This resulted in 497 intervention group students and 441 control group students.

The researchers collected data four times during the 18-month period. Data were collected at baseline, during the spring of the first year, and during the fall and spring of year two. Teachers completed a student behavior checklist including scales on "social competency" and "antisocial behavior." Parents completed telephone interviews and checklists containing questions about their child's behavior as well as family dynamics, parenting issues, and adult behaviors. Academic measures included "commitment to school" and "academic performance." Students completed group administered surveys and self-report measures containing 40 items. Measures included a social competency scale and antisocial scale. Regressions and growth curve analyses were conducted.

Results: Results showed that RHC students had significantly higher teacher-reported academic performance (p<.001), stronger commitment to school (p<.001), and showed a significant decrease in antisocial behaviors (p<.001) than students who did not receive the intervention. Parents reported that RHC students had higher academic performances and a stronger commitment to school. Child self-report data on antisocial behavior and social competency did not show impacts.

An imitation of this study is the lack of variability on the outcome measures for first and second graders. Students responded favorably to school and behavior items uniformly, causing little variation in scores and making it hard to identify program effects.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 7-15.

Program components: provider-based; home visiting; parent or family component

Measured outcomes: life skills

KEYWORDS: Middle Childhood (6-11); Children; Elementary School, School-based, Provider-based, Parent or Family Component, Home Visitation, Summer Program, Life Skills, Substance Use, Social and Emotional Health, Antisocial Behavior, Prosocial Behavior, Social Competence, Aggression, Behavior Problems, Education, Academic Achievement, Academic Commitment, Suburban, White or Caucasian, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian.

Program information last updated 12/1/08.

		© Child Trends 2004