Feil Edward G, Frey Andy, Walker Hill M, Small Jason W, Seeley John R, Golly Annemieke, Forness Steven R
Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA.
University of Louisville, KY, USA.
J Early Interv. 2014 Sep;36(3):151-170. doi: 10.1177/1053815114566090. Epub 2015 Jan 12.
The field of early intervention is currently faced with the challenge of reducing the prevalence of antisocial behavior in children. Longitudinal outcomes research indicates that increased antisocial behavior and impairments in social competence skills during the preschool years often serve as harbingers of future adjustment problems in a number of domains including mental health, interpersonal relations, and academic achievement. This article reports the results of a cross-site randomized controlled trial, in which 128 preschool children with challenging behaviors were assigned to either a Preschool First Step to Success (PFS) intervention (i.e., experimental) or a usual-care (i.e., control) group. Regression analyses indicated that children assigned to the Preschool First Step intervention had significantly higher social skills, and significantly fewer behavior problems, across a variety of teacher- and parent-reported measures at postintervention. Effect sizes for teacher-reported effects ranged from medium to large across a variety of social competency indicators; effect sizes for parent-reported social skills and problem behaviors were small to medium, respectively. These results suggest that the preschool adaptation of the First Step intervention program provides early intervention participants, staff, and professionals with a viable intervention option to address emerging antisocial behavior and externalizing behavior disorders prior to school entry.
早期干预领域目前面临着降低儿童反社会行为发生率的挑战。纵向结果研究表明，学龄前儿童反社会行为的增加以及社交能力技能的受损，往往预示着未来在包括心理健康、人际关系和学业成绩在内的多个领域会出现适应问题。本文报告了一项跨地点随机对照试验的结果，在该试验中，128名有挑战性行为的学龄前儿童被分配到“学前第一步通向成功”（PFS）干预组（即实验组）或常规护理组（即对照组）。回归分析表明，在干预后，通过教师和家长报告的各种测量方法，被分配到“学前第一步”干预组的儿童具有显著更高的社交技能，且行为问题显著更少。在各种社交能力指标方面，教师报告的效果的效应大小从中等到大；家长报告的社交技能和问题行为的效应大小分别为小到中等。这些结果表明，第一步干预计划的学前适应性为早期干预参与者、工作人员和专业人员提供了一个可行的干预选项，以解决入学前出现的反社会行为和外化行为障碍。
