engleski

Can universal social-emotional curriculum affect internalized symptoms?

PATHS (Kusché & Greenberg, l994) is one of the most successful social-emotional learning curriculum for children. In multiple randomized- controlled trials implemented in distinct settings, PATHS has produced positive changes in children’s understanding of emotions, self- control, social competence, and behaviour problems. There also is evidence that PATHS has changed children’s depressive symptoms. Aim of this paper is to describe two empirically validated studies of PATHS curriculum in Croatia conducted in school and pre-school settings in order to examine the effects of social-emotional curriculum on the level of symptoms of internalized problems such as emotional withdrawal, depressive symptoms and worry. School PATHS study randomly assigned 29 schools to receive the universal preventive intervention or continue with usual practices. Within those schools, this study included 568 children. Teachers rated child behaviours at pre- intervention, in the middle of first grade, and at post-intervention, in the middle of second grade. Preschool study involved a quasi-experimental design, evaluating the short-term outcomes of curriculum implemented in 12 kindergarten groups. Impact of PATHS program was tested within the sample of 443 children (age 3 to 6). To test intervention effects, hierarchical linear models were estimated. In school study, models revealed small to moderate changes on withdrawn/depressed behaviour in subgroup of low risk children but no changes for high-risk group. Among the low risk children with social difficulties, there were statistically significant differences on withdrawn/depressed behaviour, moderate to large d = .40 – .72. In preschool study, analyses have shown the impact of PATHS on the reduction of emotional symptoms. Participating in social-emotional curriculum can diminish emotional symptoms, withdrawal, depressed symptoms and worry, but depends upon child’s capacities and needs i.e. high-risk children need combination of universal and indicated interventions

universal prevention; internalized symptoms; socio-emotional curriculum

Rad je na konferenciji osvojio 1. nagradu u kategoriji najboljeg internacionalnog istraživanja.