A 10-year randomized controlled trial of the Early Risers conduct problems preventive intervention: effects on...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Conduct problems in early childhood are associated with long-term negative outcomes.
• Multicomponent prevention programs aim to mitigate these risks by targeting various developmental factors.
• The Early Risers "Skills for Success" program is a targeted intervention for conduct problems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term efficacy of the Early Risers "Skills for Success" Conduct Problems Prevention Program (ER).
• To assess the program's impact on social, emotional, behavioral, and academic factors.
• To determine if the program promotes adaptive psychological development into adolescence.

Main Methods:

• Random assignment of schools to either the ER program or control conditions.
• Longitudinal assessment of 245 kindergartners with aggressive behavior over 3 intensive and 2 booster years.
• Reassessment of 129 participants in late high school using diagnostic interviews and multiple imputation for missing data.

Main Results:

• ER program participants showed significantly fewer symptoms of conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and major depressive disorder compared to controls.
• The program's positive impact on social skills and parent discipline by Grade 3 mediated the observed long-term effects.
• Evidence suggests sustained benefits of the intervention into adolescence.

Conclusions:

• Multicomponent, elementary-age conduct problem prevention programs yield significant long-term positive effects.
• Enhancing children's social skills and parents' discipline effectiveness are key mechanisms for preventing maladaptive developmental trajectories.
• Targeted early interventions can effectively divert negative developmental cascades.