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Background: Researchers regularly must decide what information is necessary to understand school climate and how to include climate in a study. For example, which factors and/or scales should be used, is using just 1 scale for school climate sufficient, and to what extent does the selection of a single scale influence the research findings? Aims: Understanding what factors to consider and which available scales to review will assist those interested in measuring school climate. Methods: This study explores 8 validated scales related to school climate. Data used are from a previous study (Social and Character Development cooperative agreement funded by IES #R305L030072 and #R305A080253) that looked at Positive Action, a social emotional and character development program for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students. Results and Conclusion: Scale correlations and factor analyses show how these scales work together to measure overall middle school climate.

Black and Latinx youth are situated in a maladaptive discriminatory context in the United States; however, prosociality may be one way that youth can promote their own positive development in the face of these experiences. We examined the longitudinal associations between discrimination and prosociality among 380 Black and Latinx early adolescents (M[subscript W6age] = 12.38 years, 52% female) and considered race/ethnicity and self-esteem control beliefs as potential moderators to this association. Discrimination predicted higher levels of prosociality among Black youth 6 months later, but not among Latinx youth. Discrimination also predicted higher prosociality among youth with very high self-esteem control beliefs 6 months later, but not among youth with lower levels of self-esteem control beliefs. None of these associations were significant when looking across a 1-year time frame. Our findings support the predictions of self-esteem enhancement theory and highlight the importance of considering how youth's unique racialized experiences can inform how they respond to discrimination.

Background: Evidence of the positive effects of school physical activity (PA) interventions, including classroom-based PA (CBPA), is rapidly growing. However, few studies examine how variations in scheduled PA opportunities and teacher-implemented CBPA affect students' PA outcomes. Methods: Teachers at five elementary schools attended training on how to implement CBPA. Data on school day PA opportunities (physical education [PE], recess, CBPA) were obtained via calendar and teacher-recorded CBPA logs. Daily step counts were measured via accelerometry in 1,346 students across 65 classrooms in first through fifth grades. Results: PE, recess, and CBPA contributed significantly to students' daily steps. Males accrued more steps than females over the school day, during PE, and during recess. No gender disparity was seen in the amount of additional steps accrued during CBPA. Overall step counts were lower among fifth grade students versus first grade students, but CBPA attenuated this difference such that grade level differences were not significant in fifth grade students who received CBPA. Conclusions: Gender disparities in step totals were present on PE and recess days, but not on CBPA days. CBPA appears to provide equal PA benefits for both genders, and to potentially minimize the decline in PA among older students.

This study evaluated effects of Positive Action (PA), a school-based social-emotional and character development program, on self-esteem levels and processes among minority, low-income, urban youth. A matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 14 Chicago Public Schools with outcomes assessed longitudinally for a cohort of youth followed from Grades 3 to 8. A total of 1,170 students participated in the study (53% female, 48% African American, and 27% Hispanic). Students in PA schools had more favorable change and endpoint scores on indices of self-esteem in the domains of peer and school and use of both adaptive and (to a lesser extent) maladaptive processes for developing and maintaining self-esteem. These results align with areas of emphasis within the PA program and illustrate how important areas of impact on self-esteem-related outcomes may be overlooked without differentiated assessments of both self-esteem levels and processes. [The initial phase on this project (R305L030072), a component of the Social and Character Development (SACD) Research Consortium, was a collaboration among IES, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Violence Prevention, Mathematica Policy Research Inc. (MPR), and awardees of SACD cooperative agreements (Children's Institute, New York University, Oregon State University, University at Buffalo--SUNY, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University).]

The national conversation about the importance of social-emotional competencies, such as prosocial behaviors, responsible decision-making, and problem-solving, has increased greatly in the last 2 decades. There is, however, less robust evidence for social and emotional learning programs' impact on social and emotional outcomes when implemented in low-income, minority populations. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based, universal program targeting social-emotional skills in late elementary school (grades 3-5) in a low-income, urban, minority population. Data were collected from 930 students over five waves. Growth curve analyses revealed evidence of favorable program effects on positive youth development, emotional health, self-esteem, problem behaviors, health behaviors, environmental climate, and academics. The study provides evidence for universal school-based interventions in low-income, urban, minority contexts in elementary school grades.

Despite the escalation of alcohol use through high school, the majority of research on school-based alcohol interventions has been conducted with junior high students or first and second-year high school students. Preliminary research indicates a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention developed for college students (eCHECKUP TO GO) may be a promising program for high school seniors. Although these studies demonstrate positive intervention effects, there is some evidence for greater program efficacy for females in this age group. The current study investigates sex differences in program acceptability of the eCHECKUP TO GO and its relationship to short-term alcohol outcomes among high school seniors (N=135). Overall, the majority of students reported they found the program to be acceptable (i.e., user-friendly and useful). However, contrary to our hypothesis, results indicated that male students reported significantly higher perceptions of program acceptability than females. Although we did not find sex differences in alcohol outcomes, program user-friendliness was related to reductions in alcohol use for males. The results of this study add to the literature supporting the eCHECKUP TO GO for high school seniors and highlight the importance of program user-friendliness for males. Implications for implementing the program as a school-based intervention are discussed.

Sensation seeking has been identified as a significant risk factor for adolescent alcohol use. Little is known, however, about the process by which sensation seeking impacts heavy alcohol use. The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships among sensation seeking, age of drinking initiation, and heavy alcohol use in a sample of high school seniors (N = 221). Results support age of drinking initiation as a mediator of the relationship between sensation seeking and heavy alcohol use. Implications include providing personality-targeted prevention to adolescents who display sensation-seeking traits to delay drinking initiation among these students.

Readability studies routinely report that resources with physical activity-related content exceed the eighth-grade reading level (RL), the maximum recommended for health education resources. The objectives of this meta-analysis were to determine the extent that findings in the literature represented true differences and whether production sources differed in their average RL. Fourteen studies met the study inclusion criteria. The main analysis involved 819 print and web article resources produced by government and nongovernment sources. The average RL was greater than eighth-grade (M = 10.25, 95% CI = [9.62, 10.91], p < 0.001), a nearly substantial magnitude of difference (g = .75), with a substantial percentage of the observed effects representing true differences (I[superscript]] = 79.79%). No differences were observed between productions sources, Q(5) = 2.56, p = 0.767. Publication bias and publication date did not meaningfully affect the main findings, nor did variations in study methodology or quality. The implications of these results for kinesiology are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

AimsTo demonstrate that intentions predict long-term future levels of smoking, irrespective of level of past smoking experience. A growing body of research suggests that intentions about future smoking might play an important role in addition to the influence of past smoking experience on the likelihood of smoking in future.DesignUsing logistic regression analyses, we assessed the relationship between baseline smoking experience and a firm intention 'not to be smoking cigarettes 5 years from now' with four outcome measures of smoking at follow-up: 30-day smoking at a 3/4- and 5/6-year follow-up and current established smoking (self-described regular smokers or former smokers who had smoked in the past 30 days) at a 3/4- and 5/6-year follow-up.ParticipantsUS nationally representative samples of 12th graders who responded to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey from the years 1976 to 1993, inclusive. For these panels, we linked stage of smoking and intentions at 12th grade to follow-up measures of smoking collected at 3/4 years after baseline and 5/6 years after baseline.FindingsAnalysis of 3/4-year follow-up data (weighted n = 4544) and 5/6-year follow-up data (weighted n = 3885) for both definitions of smoking outcome indicated that there was a dose-response relationship between levels of baseline smoking experience and the likelihood of future smoking. In addition, independent of baseline smoking experience, there was a statistically significant protective effect for a firm intention not to smoke in five year's time on future smoking behavior.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that evaluative studies of tobacco control policies and programs might usefully employ smoking uptake categories that incorporate smoking intentions as early indicators of outcome.

This study evaluated effects of "Positive Action," a school-based social-emotional and character development intervention, on indicators of positive youth development (PYD) among a sample of low-income, ethnic minority youth attending 14 urban schools. The study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design at the school level. A multiple-measure self-report protocol assessed four key strengths and resources for PYD: self-concept, peer affiliations, ethics, and social skills. Students (n = 1,170) were assessed from grades 3 to 8; the duration of the intervention, with drop-outs and late entrants, was included in analyses. Growth curve analyses revealed evidence of favorable program effects on each of the four types of resources. The study contributes to PYD research by providing evidence for school-based interventions in low-income, urban contexts for ethnic minority youth.

The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) is a substance use behavior that remains prevalent on college campuses. As theory can guide research and practice, we provide a systematic review of the college-based IUPS epidemiological literature guided by one ecological framework, the theory of triadic influence (TTI). We aim to assess prevalence, elucidate the behavior's multietiological nature, and discuss prevention implications. Peer-reviewed studies were located through key phrase searches (prescription stimulant misuse and college, "prescription stimulant misuse" and "college," illicit use of prescription stimulants in college, and nonmedical prescription stimulant use in college students) in electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, and EBSCO Host) for the period 2000 to 2013. Studies meeting inclusion criteria had their references reviewed for additional eligible literature. Statistically significant correlates of IUPS in the 62 retrieved studies were organized using the three streams of influence and four levels of causation specified in the TTI. Results show that the prevalence of IUPS varies across campuses. Additionally, findings suggest the behavior is multifaceted, as correlates were observed within each stream of influence and level of causation specified by the TTI. We conclude that IUPS is prevalent in, but varies across, colleges and is influenced by intrapersonal and broader social and societal factors. We discuss implications for prevention and directions for future research.

There is a definite need for effective intervention programmes that address the social-emotional, character and healthy development of preschool children. Strong social-emotional skills are necessary for successful transitions to formal schooling and for healthy developmental trajectories. The "Positive Action" ("PA") programme has a long history of effectiveness in schools (K-12) and communities, but has only recently developed lessons for preschool settings. The current study reports the results of the first evaluation of these lessons. Children were randomly assigned to classrooms/instructors who had previously decided to offer "PA" lessons or not. Instructors in both "PA" and control classrooms rated children's behaviour at pretest and immediate post-test. Results suggest that the "PA" prekindergarten lessons are effective at improving children's skills and behaviours across all of the domains that the programme addresses.

Background: School-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs can influence not only SECD but also academic-related outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of one SECD program, Positive Action (PA), on educational outcomes among low-income, urban youth. Methods: The longitudinal study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design. Student-reported disaffection with learning and academic grades, and teacher ratings of academic ability and motivation were assessed for a cohort followed from grades 3 to 8. Aggregate school records were used to assess standardized test performance (for entire school, cohort, and demographic subgroups) and absenteeism (entire school). Multilevel growth-curve analyses tested program effects. Results: PA significantly improved growth in academic motivation and mitigated disaffection with learning. There was a positive impact of PA on absenteeism and marginally significant impact on math performance of all students. There were favorable program effects on reading for African American boys and cohort students transitioning between grades 7 and 8, and on math for girls and low-income students. Conclusions: A school-based SECD program was found to influence academic outcomes among students living in low-income, urban communities. Future research should examine mechanisms by which changes in SECD influence changes in academic outcomes.

The Social-Emotional and Character Development Scale (SECDS) is intended as a measure of social-emotional skills and character for elementary school-age children. This study investigated the measure's psychometric properties using data collected over 5 waves for a cohort of students followed from Grades 3 to 5 in 14 urban elementary schools (N Range = 500 to 593). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit to the measure's hypothesized first- and second-order factor structure at each wave. Scales corresponding to the first-order factor structure demonstrated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Consistent with previous research using similar measures of social-emotional skills and character, a longitudinal analysis indicated that the means for these scales decreased over the 5 waves. The validity of the SECDS general and individual scales was supported via their patterns of association with measures of expected correlates of social-emotional skills and character. Overall, findings suggest the SECDS is appropriate for assessing the development of different facets of social-emotional skills and character during elementary grades and that it could be useful for investigating their role in the developmental pathways for a range of important youth outcomes.

Background: School safety and quality affect student learning and success. This study examined the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-wide social-emotional and character education program, Positive Action, on teacher, parent, and student perceptions of school safety and quality utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. The Positive Action Hawai'i trial included 20 racially/ethnically diverse schools and was conducted from 2002-2003 through 2005-2006. Methods: School-level archival data, collected by the Hawai'i Department of Education, were used to examine program effects at 1-year post-trial. Teacher, parent, and student data were analyzed to examine indicators of school quality such as student safety and well-being, involvement, and satisfaction, as well as overall school quality. Matched-paired "t"-tests were used for the primary analysis, and sensitivity analyses included permutation tests and random-intercept growth curve models. Results: Analyses comparing change from baseline to 1-year post-trial revealed that intervention schools demonstrated significantly improved school quality compared to control schools, with 21%, 13%, and 16% better overall school quality scores as reported by teachers, parents, and students, respectively. Teacher, parent, and student reports on individual school-quality indicators showed improvement in student safety and well-being, involvement, satisfaction, quality student support, focused and sustained action, standards-based learning, professionalism and system capacity, and coordinated team work. Teacher reports also showed an improvement in the responsiveness of the system. Conclusions: School quality was substantially improved, providing evidence that a school-wide social-emotional and character education program can enhance school quality and facilitate whole-school change. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

The recent Institute of Medicine report on prevention (National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2009) noted the substantial interrelationship among mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and pointed out that, to a great extent, these problems stem from a set of common conditions. However, despite the evidence, current research and practice continue to deal with the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders as if they are unrelated and each stems from different conditions. This article proposes a framework that could accelerate progress in preventing these problems. Environments that foster successful development and prevent the development of psychological and behavioral problems are usefully characterized as nurturing environments. First, these environments minimize biologically and psychologically toxic events. Second, they teach, promote, and richly reinforce prosocial behavior, including self-regulatory behaviors and all of the skills needed to become productive adult members of society. Third, they monitor and limit opportunities for problem behavior. Fourth, they foster psychological flexibility--the ability to be mindful of one's thoughts and feelings and to act in the service of one's values even when one's thoughts and feelings discourage taking valued action. We review evidence to support this synthesis and describe the kind of public health movement that could increase the prevalence of nurturing environments and thereby contribute to the prevention of most mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. This article is one of three in a special section (see also Munoz Beardslee, & Leykin, 2012; Yoshikawa, Aber, & Beardslee, 2012) representing an elaboration on a theme for prevention science developed by the 2009 report of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (Contains 1 table.)

Living in poverty and living in areas of concentrated poverty pose multiple risks for child development and for overall health and wellbeing. Poverty is a major risk factor for several mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, as well as for other developmental challenges and physical health problems. In this paper, the Promise Neighborhoods Research Consortium describes a science-based framework for the promotion of child health and development within distressed high-poverty neighborhoods. We lay out a model of child and adolescent developmental outcomes and integrate knowledge of potent and malleable influences to define a comprehensive intervention framework to bring about a significant increase in the proportion of young people in high-poverty neighborhoods who will develop successfully. Based on a synthesis of research from diverse fields, we designed the "Creating Nurturing Environments" framework to guide community-wide efforts to improve child outcomes and reduce health and educational inequalities.

This article reports the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-based social-emotional and character education program on school-level achievement, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. The "Positive Action" Hawai'i trial included 20 racially/ethnically diverse schools (M enrollment = 544) and was conducted from the 2002-03 through the 2005-06 academic years. Using school-level archival data, analyses comparing change from baseline (2002) to 1-year posttrial (2007) revealed that intervention schools scored 9.8% better on the TerraNova (2nd ed.) test for reading and 8.8% on math, that 20.7% better in Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards scores for reading and 51.4% better in math, and that intervention schools reported 15.2% lower absenteeism and fewer suspensions (72.6%) and retentions (72.7%). Overall, effect sizes were moderate to large (range = 0.5-1.1) for all of the examined outcomes. Sensitivity analyses using permutation models and random-intercept growth curve models substantiated results. The results provide evidence that a comprehensive school-based program, specifically developed to target student behavior and character, can positively influence school-level achievement, attendance, and disciplinary outcomes concurrently. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

Purpose: Evidence from the USA/Australia suggests whole-school interventions designed to increase social inclusion/engagement can reduce substance use. Completeness of implementation varies but contextual determinants have not been fully explored. Informed by previous interventions, the paper aims to examine these topics in an English pilot of the Healthy School Ethos intervention. Design/methodology/approach: This intervention, like previous interventions, balanced standardization of inputs/process (external facilitator, manual, needs-survey and staff-training delivered over one year to enable schools to convene action-teams) with local flexibility regarding actions to improve social inclusion. Evaluation was via a pilot trial comprising: baseline/follow-up surveys with year-7 students in two intervention/comparison schools; semi-structured interviews with staff, students and facilitators; and observations. Findings: The intervention was delivered as intended with components implemented as in the USA/Australian studies. The external facilitator enabled schools to convene an action-team involving staff/students. Inputs were feasible and acceptable and enabled similar actions in both schools. Locally determined actions (e.g. peer-mediators) were generally more feasible/acceptable than pre-set actions (e.g. modified pastoral care). Implementation was facilitated where it built on aspects of schools' baseline ethos (e.g. a focus on engaging all students, formalized student participation in decisions) and where senior staff led actions. Student awareness of the intervention was high. Originality/value: Key factors affecting feasibility were: flexibility to allow local innovation, but structure to ensure consistency; intervention aims resonating with at least some aspects of school baseline ethos; and involvement of staff with the capacity to deliver. The intervention should be refined and its health/educational outcomes evaluated. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study compared the impact of the Aban Aya Youth Project (AAYP; Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 158: 377-384, 2004) social development classroom curriculum (SDC), school/family/community (SC) intervention curriculum, and a health enhancement curriculum (HEC) attention placebo control on changes over time in violent behaviors among participating youth. Grade 5 pretest and grades 5-8 posttest data were used to investigate the possibility of differential intervention effects, especially the extent to which the SDC and SC interventions were differentially efficacious across age. Unlike most previous investigations of AAYP intervention effects, this study included youth who joined the study after baseline data collection in the outcome analyses. Findings indicated that, regardless of age level, the SDC limited the growth of violence of participating students when compared to students in the control condition. In the SC, however, reduction in the growth of violence emerged only among older participants. Importantly, this included joiners who received less exposure to the intervention. Findings for the SDC are consistent with recent meta-analyses of school based programs, whereas SC findings suggest that violence prevention curricula alone are not sufficient for highly mobile students and that interventions for such populations need to engage multiple social ecological systems. Editors' Strategic Implications: The authors present promising violence prevention findings, and they also provide important answers to dosage and developmental timing questions with their analyses of these longitudinal data.

Sustaining effective school-based prevention programs is critical to improving youth and population-based health. This article reports on results from the Aban Aya Sustainability Project, an effort to sustain a school-based prevention program that was tested via a randomized trial and targeted violence, drug use, and risky sex-related behaviors among a cohort of 5th-grade African American children followed through 10th grade. Sustainability project health educators trained parent educators to deliver the Aban Aya prevention curriculum in five schools, and project researchers studied the resultant curricular implementation and relations between the research and school-based teams. Study results showed uneven implementation across the five schools that we largely attributed to parent educator preparation and parent educator-health educator relations. These and related results are discussed to answer the study's primary research question: How viable was the sustainability project's parent-centered approach to sustaining a school-based prevention program? (Contains 2 tables.)

This article focuses on issues related to implementing school-based social and character development programs in the context of a large multiprogram evaluation study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Implementation analysis is a relatively new but important research area. The first section describes why this analysis is especially important when null results are obtained. It is also noted that not only does the intervention need to be documented but activities at the comparison site require explication. The wide range of implementation methods used at four of the seven sites in the Social and Character Development Research Program is described and difficulties in studying implementation at multiple sites are discussed. (Contains 8 tables.)

This article provides an overview of each of seven programs evaluated as part of the Social and Character Development Research Program (SACD), a federally-funded multiprogram evaluation project. It further examines the theoretical underpinnings, the teaching strategies employed, the content delivered, modifications made to the implementation or support strategy (where appropriate), and the evidence on which the programs are based. The programs reviewed include the Academic and Behavioral Competencies Model, the Competence Support Program, Love in a Big World, Positive Action, Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies, Reading Writing Respect and Resolution, and Second Step. (Contains 4 figures.)

Background: Recruiting schools into a matched-pair randomized control trial (MP-RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of a school-level prevention program presents challenges for researchers. We considered which of 2 procedures would be most effective for recruiting schools into the study and assigning them to conditions. In 1 procedure (recruit and match/randomize), we would recruit schools and match them prior to randomization, and in the other (match/randomize and recruitment), we would match schools and randomize them prior to recruitment. Method: We considered how each procedure impacted the randomization process and our ability to recruit schools into the study. After implementing the selected procedure, the equivalence of both treatment and control group schools and the participating and nonparticipating schools on school demographic variables was evaluated. Results: We decided on the recruit and match/randomize procedure because we thought it would provide the opportunity to build rapport with the schools and prepare them for the randomization process, thereby increasing the likelihood that they would accept their randomly assigned conditions. Neither the treatment and control group schools nor the participating and nonparticipating schools exhibited statistically significant differences from each other on any of the school demographic variables. Conclusions: Recruitment of schools prior to matching and randomization in an MP-RCT may facilitate the recruitment of schools and thus enhance both the statistical power and the representativeness of study findings. Future research would benefit from the consideration of a broader range of variables (eg, readiness to implement a comprehensive prevention program) both in matching schools and in evaluating their representativeness to nonparticipating schools. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Objective: To maximize active parent consent form return rates for third-grade minority, urban students enrolled in predominantly low-income elementary schools in Chicago, Ill. Methods: Research staff used a class incentive and class visits to retrieve consent forms from students. Results: Of the 811 third-grade students, 98% returned a form and 79% (n = 627) of those students' parents provided an affirmative response. Return rates did not vary by students' ethnicity or by the schools' demographic variables. Conclusion: Incentives and class visits can yield a high return rate of active parent consent forms for third-grade minority, urban, low-income students.