Examining the impact of a social skills training program on preschoolers' social behaviors: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in child care centers.
Child development
Childcare-based intervention
Early childhood education
Problem behavior
Social skills
Journal
BMC psychology
ISSN: 2050-7283
Titre abrégé: BMC Psychol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101627676
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
23 Apr 2020
23 Apr 2020
Historique:
received:
16
07
2019
accepted:
13
04
2020
entrez:
25
4
2020
pubmed:
25
4
2020
medline:
15
8
2020
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Preschoolers regularly display disruptive behaviors in child care settings because they have not yet developed the social skills necessary to interact prosocially with others. Disruptive behaviors interfere with daily routines and can lead to conflict with peers and educators. We investigated the impact of a social skills training program led by childcare educators on children's social behaviors and tested whether the impact varied according to the child's sex and family socio-economic status. Nineteen public Child Care Centers (CCC, n = 361 children) located in low socio-economic neighborhoods of Montreal, Canada, were randomized into one of two conditions: 1) intervention (n = 10 CCC; 185 children) or 2) wait list control (n = 9 CCC; 176 children). Educators rated children's behaviors (i.e., disruptive and prosocial behaviors) before and after the intervention. Hierarchical linear mixed models were used to account for the nested structure of the data. At pre-intervention, no differences in disruptive and prosocial behaviors were observed between the experimental conditions. At post-intervention, we found a significant sex by intervention interaction (β intervention by sex = - 1.19, p = 0.04) indicating that girls in the intervention condition exhibited lower levels of disruptive behaviors compared to girls in the control condition (f2 effect size = - 0.15). There was no effect of the intervention for boys. Girls may benefit more than boys from social skills training offered in the child care context. Studies with larger sample sizes and greater intervention intensity are needed to confirm the results. Current clinical trial number is ISRCTN84339956 (Retrospectively registered in March 2017). No amendment to initial protocol.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Preschoolers regularly display disruptive behaviors in child care settings because they have not yet developed the social skills necessary to interact prosocially with others. Disruptive behaviors interfere with daily routines and can lead to conflict with peers and educators. We investigated the impact of a social skills training program led by childcare educators on children's social behaviors and tested whether the impact varied according to the child's sex and family socio-economic status.
METHODS
METHODS
Nineteen public Child Care Centers (CCC, n = 361 children) located in low socio-economic neighborhoods of Montreal, Canada, were randomized into one of two conditions: 1) intervention (n = 10 CCC; 185 children) or 2) wait list control (n = 9 CCC; 176 children). Educators rated children's behaviors (i.e., disruptive and prosocial behaviors) before and after the intervention. Hierarchical linear mixed models were used to account for the nested structure of the data.
RESULTS
RESULTS
At pre-intervention, no differences in disruptive and prosocial behaviors were observed between the experimental conditions. At post-intervention, we found a significant sex by intervention interaction (β intervention by sex = - 1.19, p = 0.04) indicating that girls in the intervention condition exhibited lower levels of disruptive behaviors compared to girls in the control condition (f2 effect size = - 0.15). There was no effect of the intervention for boys.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Girls may benefit more than boys from social skills training offered in the child care context. Studies with larger sample sizes and greater intervention intensity are needed to confirm the results.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
BACKGROUND
Current clinical trial number is ISRCTN84339956 (Retrospectively registered in March 2017). No amendment to initial protocol.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32326983
doi: 10.1186/s40359-020-00408-2
pii: 10.1186/s40359-020-00408-2
pmc: PMC7181512
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
39Subventions
Organisme : Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture
ID : 2015-RG-178735
Organisme : Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CA)
ID : MOP: 114984
Organisme : Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine
ID : #6483
Références
Prev Sci. 2018 Nov;19(8):1043-1054
pubmed: 30022357
Child Dev. 2016 Jul;87(4):1291-310
pubmed: 27174665
Dev Psychopathol. 2005 Spring;17(2):397-413
pubmed: 16761551
Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;168(11):1164-70
pubmed: 21799065
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2006 Feb;34(1):71-85
pubmed: 16565888
BMC Psychol. 2017 Aug 7;5(1):29
pubmed: 28784179
J Appl Behav Anal. 2007 Summer;40(2):277-300
pubmed: 17624068
Child Dev. 2011 Jan-Feb;82(1):362-78
pubmed: 21291447
Psychol Assess. 2010 Mar;22(1):157-66
pubmed: 20230162
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004 Feb;45(2):367-76
pubmed: 14982249
Pediatrics. 2015 Nov;136(5):947-60
pubmed: 26482672
Dev Psychol. 2014 Jan;50(1):202-15
pubmed: 23527496
Psychol Bull. 1992 Jul;112(1):155-9
pubmed: 19565683
Science. 2011 Aug 19;333(6045):975-8
pubmed: 21852490
J Consult Clin Psychol. 1995 Aug;63(4):560-8
pubmed: 7673533
Pediatrics. 2015 Dec;136(6):1112-24
pubmed: 26598459
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Dec;51(12):1359-67
pubmed: 20883519
Biometrics. 2008 Dec;64(4):1256-62
pubmed: 18266889
Prev Sci. 2016 Feb;17(2):259-73
pubmed: 26411312
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1994 Oct;22(5):531-46
pubmed: 7822627
Annu Rev Psychol. 2018 Jan 4;69:383-407
pubmed: 29035692
Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:135-68
pubmed: 23020641
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2015 Feb;43(2):243-57
pubmed: 25028283
Br J Psychiatry. 2007 Nov;191:415-9
pubmed: 17978321
Child Dev. 2008 Nov-Dec;79(6):1802-17
pubmed: 19037951
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Sep;27(9):1105-1121
pubmed: 29845340
Child Dev. 2019 May;90(3):876-893
pubmed: 28929483
Br J Psychiatry. 2013 Sep;203(3):188-95
pubmed: 23929441
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2015 Sep 1;56:42-51
pubmed: 26236063