Adverse school context moderates the outcomes of selective interventions for aggressive children.
Drawing on social ecological theory and empirical studies on the role of school context in aggression, the authors argue that school adversity is an important consideration in choosing selective interventions for aggressive children. The moderating role of school adversity on intervention effectiveness is illustrated with data from a randomized clinical trial study investigating 2 selective interventions administered to 86 aggressive 2nd and 3rd graders. The authors expected that PrimeTime, an intervention targeting child competencies, would be more effective in low-adversity schools, whereas Lunch Buddy, an intervention targeting peer ecology, would be more effective in high-adversity schools. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed significant posttreatment effects on composite measures of aggression and achievement for the interaction between the level of school adversity and treatment condition.
Hughes
Jan N
JN
Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843, USA. jhughes@tamu.edu
Cavell
Timothy A
TA
Meehan
Barbara T
BT
Zhang
Duan
D
Collie
Claire
C
D000124:Achievement; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012574:Schools; D012931:Social Environment; D016896:Treatment Outcome