Study: 89974

Practice Guide

Review Details

Reviewed: June 2022

No statistically significant positive
findings

Meets WWC standards without reservations

For:

Practice Guide (findings for The Early Childhood Friendship Project)

Using:

Rating:

Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.

This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.

Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Findings

Social-Emotional Learning outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Early Childhood Observation System: Relational Aggression	The Early Childhood Friendship Project vs. Business as usual	1 Week	Full sample; 403 students	7.32	4.78	No	--
Early Childhood Observation System: Physical Victimization	The Early Childhood Friendship Project vs. Business as usual	1 Week	Full sample; 403 students	7.09	4.56	No	--
Early Childhood Observation System: Physical Aggression	The Early Childhood Friendship Project vs. Business as usual	1 Week	Full sample; 403 students	8.54	5.89	No	--
Early Childhood Observation System: Relational Victimization	The Early Childhood Friendship Project vs. Business as usual	1 Week	Full sample; 403 students	4.45	3.67	No	--

Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Sample Characteristics

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.

Suburban, Urban
- B
- A
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- I
- H
- J
- K
- L
- P
- M
- N
- O
- Q
- R
- S
- V
- U
- T
- W
- X
- Z
- Y
- a
- h
- i
- b
- d
- e
- f
- c
- g
- j
- k
- l
- m
- n
- o
- p
- q
- r
- s
- t
- u
- v
- x
- w
- y
Northeast

Race
Other or unknown		100%

Study Details

Setting

The study took place in 18 classrooms across three public schools and four community-based centers. Eleven classrooms came from universal pre-kindergarten (preK) classrooms in three urban public schools in the northeast region of the United States. The remaining classrooms were at four preK centers that served urban and suburban areas. One intervention school and two comparison schools were private institutions with religious affiliation, while one comparison school was affiliated with a local college.

Study sample

The students in the sample were between ages 3 and 5, with a mean of 50 months. The study does not provide information on the race/ethnicity or gender of the students. The three public schools in the sample served ethnically diverse, low socio-economic status students, while the four centers in the sample served ethnically and socio-economically diverse students.

Intervention Group

The intervention group received the 6-week intervention focused on reducing aggression and peer victimization and on increasing prosocial behaviors. The intervention included a manual but interventionists could adjust and tailor the intervention to fit their individual classrooms. Each classroom received four components each week: (1) one puppet show (10 minutes; typically took place in circle time at beginning of the day); (2) one participatory activity (5-10 minutes; typically 1 or 2 days after the puppet show each week); (3) one concept rehearsal activity (5-10 minutes; typically 1 or 2 days after the puppet show each week, on a separate day from the participatory activity); and (4) three separate reinforcement sessions (1 hour each; typically occurred immediately after or during the next free play session after the puppet show, along with two other days that week). In Week 1, the components focused on introducing the program, building rapport, and addressing physical aggression. Week 2 focused on social exclusion and relational aggression; Week 3 focused on relational inclusion and prosocial behavior. Week 4’s theme was threats of relational withdrawal and relational aggression. Week 5 focused on skills for forming friendships and other prosocial behaviors, and Week 6 reviewed the prior lessons and concluded with a graduation ceremony.

Comparison Group

Classrooms in the comparison group received business as usual instruction. The study authors were available to the principals or center directors and other staff to provide consultation on developmental or clinical child psychology issues.

Support for implementation

The intervention was delivered by clinicians with post-bachelor or master’s level of education. Prior to implementation, the clinicians received 10 hours of group training over 3 days. This training focused on teaching about the manual, skills in flexibly using the puppets, use of developmentally appropriate praise, and practicing role plays. Throughout implementation, the clinicians met weekly with the first or second author in small groups to discuss any issues or concerns with implementation.

An Intervention for Relational and Physical Aggression in Early Childhood: A Preliminary Study [Early Childhood Friendship Project vs. business as usual]