The current study is intended to investigate the effectiveness of the Social-Emotional Prevention Program enhanced version (SEP+) for increasing preschoolers' social-emotional competencies and reducing their risk for behavior problems. Hypotheses for the current study are put forward for child- and parent-related outcomes. First, for the SEP+ effects for child-related outcomes, the investigators expect that: 1) intervention group children will be rated significantly higher on measures of social-emotional competencies (social skills and positive emotion regulation strategies (ER)) compared to children from the wait-list control group (primary outcomes); and 2) children assigned to the intervention will be rated significantly lower on externalizing, as well as internalizing problems (primary outcomes). In addition, for parent-related outcomes the hypotheses are: 1) intervention group parents will report significantly more positive parenting practices, and coparenting support, as well as significantly fewer negative parenting practices, coparenting undermining, and parenting stress compared to control group parents (secondary outcomes); and 2) intervention group parents will report significantly more positive coping strategies with children's negative emotions and adaptive ER strategies, as well as fewer negative coping strategies with children's negative emotions and less maladaptive ER strategies in comparison with control group parents (secondary outcomes). Additionally, the investigators aim to test potential intervention mechanisms. First, in the case of child-related outcomes, it is expected that children's use of adaptive ER strategies will mediate the intervention's effect on externalizing/internalizing problems; in a similar vein, it is hypothesized that improved social skills will mediate the intervention's effect on children's externalizing/internalizing problems. Furthermore, moderator effects of gender on adaptive emotion regulation strategies and externalizing problems will be tested. For the parenting intervention, it is expected that program's effect on positive parenting practices and stress will be mediated by the use of positive coping strategies, parental ER and coparenting support. Also, coparenting undermining and parental reported adverse events are hypothesized to moderate the intervention's effectiveness on parenting practices, parental stress, and parent ER/coping.
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Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliott, 2002)
Timeframe: Change from baseline social skills at 4 months.
Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ; Mirabile, 2014)
Timeframe: Change from baseline emotion regulation at 4 months.
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000)
Timeframe: Change from baseline externalizing/internalizing problems at 4 months.
Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000)
Timeframe: Change from baseline externalizing/internalizing problems at 4 months.