Department of Psychology, Florida International University.
Institute for Juvenile Research in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago.
J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2021 Mar-Apr;50(2):215-228. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2019.1683849. Epub 2020 Feb 14.
The current study examined associations among organizational social context, after-school program (ASP) quality, and children's social behavior in a large urban park district.
Thirty-two park-based ASPs are included in the final sample, including 141 staff and 593 children. Staff reported on organizational culture (rigidity, proficiency, resistance) and climate (engagement, functionality, stress), and children's social skills and problem behaviors. Children and their parents reported on program quality indicators (e.g., activities, routines, relationships). Parents also completed a children's mental health screener.
A series of Hierarchical Linear Models revealed that proficiency and stress were the only organizational predictors of program quality; associations between stress and program quality were moderated by program enrollment and aggregated children's mental health need. Higher child- and parent-perceived program quality related to fewer staff-reported problem behaviors, while overall higher enrollment and higher aggregated mental health need were associated with fewer staff-reported social skills.
Data are informing ongoing efforts to improve organizational capacity of urban after-school programs to support children's positive social and behavior trajectories.
本研究考察了大型城市公园地区组织社会环境、课后项目（ASP）质量与儿童社会行为之间的关联。
最终样本包括 32 个基于公园的 ASP，其中包括 141 名工作人员和 593 名儿童。工作人员报告了组织文化（僵化、熟练、抵制）和氛围（参与度、功能、压力），以及儿童的社交技能和问题行为。儿童及其家长报告了项目质量指标（如活动、常规、关系）。家长还完成了儿童心理健康筛查。
一系列层次线性模型显示，熟练程度和压力是项目质量的唯一组织预测因素；压力与项目质量之间的关联受到项目入学率和聚合儿童心理健康需求的调节。儿童和家长感知到的更高的项目质量与工作人员报告的较少问题行为相关，而整体上更高的入学率和更高的聚合心理健康需求与工作人员报告的较少社交技能相关。
数据为正在进行的努力提供了信息，旨在提高城市课后项目的组织能力，以支持儿童积极的社会和行为轨迹。
