The effects of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Preschool Program on teacher–children relationships and children's social competence in Turkey

This quasi‐experimental study examined the effects of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) Preschool Program on the outcomes of children's social‐emotional competence, perceived relationships between teacher and children and teachers' ability to create a positive classroom atmosphere. Two hundred and eighty five children (48–72 months) and teachers in Izmir participated in the intervention, and 280 children (48–72 months) and teachers participated as comparison group. Intervention teachers implemented PATHS in their classrooms. For data triangulation, multiple sources of data were collected in the study. Classrooms were observed using two different scales. Teacher rated students using another two different scales. Children were assessed with an interview to evaluate their perceptions of relationships. Intervention group teachers reported greater improvement of children's social‐emotional skills, interpersonal relationship skills and emotion regulation. Furthermore, when observed intervention group children showed higher levels of pro‐social behaviour, increased levels of compliance, better problem solving skills and more positive feelings. Intervention group children also described their relationships with their teachers as significantly more positively. Finally, intervention group teachers perceived more dependency in their relationships with children.     

A cluster randomized controlled trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies curriculum (PATHS; Kusche & Greenberg, 1994) as a means to improve children's social–emotional competence (assessed via the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS); Gresham & Elliot, 2008) and mental health outcomes (assessed via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); Goodman, 1997). Forty-five schools in Greater Manchester, England, were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Allocation was balanced by proportions of children eligible for free school meals and speaking English as an additional language via minimization. Children (N = 4516) aged 7–9 years at baseline in the participating schools were the target cohort. During the two-year trial period, teachers of this cohort in schools allocated to the intervention group delivered the PATHS curriculum, while their counterparts in the control group continued their usual provision. Teachers in PATHS schools received initial training and on-going support and assistance from trained coaches. Hierarchical linear modeling of outcome data was undertaken to identify both primary (e.g., for all children) and secondary (e.g., for children classified as “at-risk”) intervention effects. A primary effect of the PATHS curriculum was found, demonstrating increases in teacher ratings of changes in children's social–emotional competence. Additionally, secondary effects of PATHS were identified, showing reductions in teacher ratings of emotional symptoms and increases in pro-social behavior and child ratings of engagement among children identified as at-risk at baseline. However, our analyses also identified primary effects favoring the usual provision group, showing reductions in teacher ratings of peer problems and emotional symptoms, and secondary effects demonstrating reductions in teacher ratings of conduct problems and child ratings of co-operation among at-risk children. Effect sizes were small in all cases. These mixed findings suggest that social and emotional learning interventions such as PATHS may not be as efficacious when implemented outside their country of origin and evaluated in independent trials.     

Chinese adaptation of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ‐CCA): A psychometric evaluation in Chinese children

This study validated a Chinese adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ‐CCA), a self‐report instrument that evaluates two emotion regulation (ER) strategies, based on the process model of ER. The ERQ‐CCA was evaluated using a sample of 1381 Chinese children aged between 7 and 12 years. The internal consistencies of the two factors indicated adequate reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed good support as the structure proved to be identical with that of the original instrument. Multigroup CFA supported an invariant factor solution of the ERQ‐CCA across several demographic variations (gender, age, registered permanent residence and migrant status) in different groups. Test–retest correlations over a 2‐month period were calculated using a subsample of children (N = 70). Convergent validity was evaluated in relation to the model dimensions of the ERQ‐CCA, Chinese version of the Children's Depression Inventory, and Chinese version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. Results indicated that the ERQ‐CCA has generally satisfactory reliability and validity in investigating the use of two ER strategies during the middle childhood developmental period.