Description and evaluation of a preventive mental health program for preschoolers

A school-based model of preventive intervention is described which identified and significantly overcame school maladaptation among preschool children enrolled in a Detroit Public School Title I Program. Children were screened by teachers for learning and behavioral difficulties using the AML Scale, the Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale, and the Caldwell Preschool Inventory. Sixty-four children were identified on the basis of these instruments as exhibiting some form of school maladaptation. These children were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (N = 32) or placebo control (N = 32). Individually designed prescriptive techniques were developed for high-risk children in the experimental group and were implemented by college student aides after training by the project staff. A multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up univariate analyses, testing differences between experimental and control groups on the posttests, were performed. The difference between the groups on all three criteria measures was significant and favored the experimental children.