An intervention for relational and physical aggression in early childhood: A preliminary study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.08.002Get rights and content

Abstract

A preventive intervention for reducing physical and relational aggression, peer victimization, and increasing prosocial behavior was developed for use in early childhood classrooms. Nine classrooms were randomly assigned to be intervention rooms (N = 202 children) and nine classrooms were control rooms (N = 201 children). Classroom was the unit of analysis and both observations and teacher-reports were obtained at pre and post-test. Focus groups were used to develop the initial program. The 6-week program consisted of developmentally appropriate puppet shows, active participatory sessions, passive concept activities and in vivo reinforcement periods. Preliminary findings suggest that the “Early Childhood Friendship Project” tended to reduce physical and relational aggression, as well as physical and relational victimization and tended to increase prosocial behavior more for intervention than control classrooms. Teachers and interventionists provided positive evaluations of the program and there is evidence for appropriate program implementation.

Section snippets

Aggressive behavior

Researchers have continued to generate and refine models of the development of aggressive behavior as well as evidence-based preventive interventions. Physical aggression is defined as the intent to hurt, harm, or injure with physical force or the threat of physical force, including kicking, hitting, pushing, and forcibly taking objects (Dodge et al., 2006). These behaviors have been associated with a host of social–psychological adjustment factors (e.g., peer rejection, loneliness;

Interventions for physical aggression

To date, hundreds of studies have focused on prevention or intervention for physically aggressive behavior (see Leff et al., 2001). One of the largest efforts was “Fast Track,” a multi-year, multi-component intensive intervention for young children at-risk for early-onset conduct problems. The Fast Track program was found to have small positive effects on children’s aggressive behavior, social cognitions, prosocial behavior, and social skills during elementary school (CPPRG, 2004). These

Interventions for relational aggression

Despite the multiple calls for intervention efforts to address a variety of subtypes of aggressive behavior in schools (Geiger, Zimmer-Gembeck, & Crick, 2004; Leff et al., 2001; Young, Boye, & Nelson, 2006), few studies have been conducted. Given that different developmental factors may be involved in relational and physical aggression (see Zahn-Waxler, Crick, Shirtcliff, & Woods, 2006), programs developed to reduce or prevent physical aggression may not be appropriate for relational

Developing an intervention for subtypes of aggression in early childhood

We have developed a preliminary version of a classroom-based preventive intervention (the “Early Childhood Friendship Project”) inspired by and loosely based on some elements (e.g., brief circle time format, use of puppets, participatory activities, targeted reinforcement, focus on both positive and negative behavior) of the “Incredible Years Dina Dinosaur Classroom” (Webster-Stratton et al., 2008) program, while focusing the curriculum more specifically on friendship-making skills (e.g.,

Participants

Classroom was the unit of analysis for this intervention project. Three public schools and four community-based centers (i.e., eighteen classrooms) participated in the study. Eleven of the classrooms were Universal Pre-Kindergarten classrooms (UPK) from three public schools that served ethnically diverse, low SES families in an urban area in the northeast. The other four centers were accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and served ethnically and

Analytic plan

First, preliminary analyses were conducted to examine the descriptive statistics, skew and kurtosis of all study variables. Next, the content and process evaluations were examined and descriptive statistics of these measures were conducted. Third, teacher and interventionist evaluations were analyzed. Fourth, bivariate correlations were conducted at pre-test for the intervention and control classrooms in order to examine potential differences in association at the start of the intervention.

Discussion

The main goals of the study were to develop and test the initial effects of a preventive intervention program designed for reducing subtypes of aggression and victimization and increasing prosocial behavior in early childhood. In keeping with best practice for school-based intervention efforts (Leff et al., 2001), focus groups were conducted with local centers to assist in the development of the program. We hypothesized that relative to the control classrooms, intervention rooms would show a

Acknowledgement

We thank the entire Early Childhood Friendship Project staff for their assistance with the study. Special thanks to Audra Foote and Sarah Spencer for their role as interventionists on this project. We thank Drs. Karen L. Bierman, Craig R. Colder, Nicki R. Crick, Stephen S. Leff, Robert J. McMahon, Jennifer P. Read and Leonard J. Simms for assistance, suggestions and guidance. We thank Dr. William E. Pelham, Jr., and the staff of the UB Center for Children and Families for their support and

References (80)

  • C.A. Bailey et al.

    Differentiating forms and functions of aggression in emerging adults: Associations with hostile attribution biases and normative beliefs

    Journal of Youth and Adolescence

    (2008)
  • J. Belsky et al.

    Transition to school: Developmental trajectories and school experiences

    Early Education & Development

    (1994)
  • K.L. Bierman

    Peer rejection: Developmental processes and intervention strategies

    (2004)
  • C. Bonica et al.

    Relational aggression and language development in preschoolers

    Social Development

    (2003)
  • L.M. Brotman et al.

    Prevention for preschoolers at high risk for conduct problems: Immediate outcomes of parenting practices and child social competence

    Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

    (2005)
  • L.M. Brotman et al.

    Preventive intervention for preschoolers at high risk for antisocial behavior: Long-term effects on child physical aggression and parenting practices

    Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

    (2008)
  • E. Buhs et al.

    Peer rejection in kindergarten: Relational processes mediating academic and emotional outcomes

    Developmental Psychology

    (2001)
  • J. Cohen

    Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences

    (1988)
  • J.D. Coie

    Prevention of violence and antisocial behavior

  • Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG)

    The effects of the fast track program on serious problem outcomes at the end of elementary school

    Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

    (2004)
  • N.R. Crick et al.

    Relational and overt aggression in preschool

    Developmental Psychology

    (1997)
  • N.R. Crick et al.

    Relational aggression, gender, and social–psychological adjustment

    Child Development

    (1995)
  • N.R. Crick et al.

    Children’s treatment by peers: Victims of relational and overt aggression

    Development and Psychopathology

    (1996)
  • N.R. Crick et al.

    Borderline personality features in childhood: A shorter-term longitudinal study

    Development and Psychopathology

    (2005)
  • N.R. Crick et al.

    Gender differences in aggression and violence

  • Cullerton-Sen, C., Cassidy, A. R., Murray-Close, D., Cicchetti, D., Crick, N. R., & Rogosch, F A. (in press). Childhood...
  • Dodge, K. A., Coie, J. D., & Lynam, D. (2006). Aggression and antisocial behavior in youth In W. Damon (Series Ed.) &...
  • K.A. Dodge et al.

    Social information-processing patterns partially mediate the effect of early physical abuse on later conduct problems

    Journal of Abnormal Psychology

    (1995)
  • T.L. Estrem

    Relational and physical aggression among preschoolers: The effect of language skills and gender

    Early Education and Development

    (2005)
  • E.M. Foster

    Can a costly intervention be cost-effective?

    Archives of General Psychiatry

    (2006)
  • T. Geiger et al.

    The science of relational aggression: Can we guide intervention?

  • S. Goldbaum et al.

    Developmental trajectories of victimization: Identifying risk and protective factors

  • M. Greenberg et al.

    The study of implementation in school-based preventive interventions: Theory, research, and practice

    (2001)
  • D.C. Grossman et al.

    Effectiveness of a violence prevention program among children in elementary school: A randomized controlled trial

    Journal of the American Medical Association

    (1997)
  • C.H. Hart et al.

    Overt and relational aggression in Russian nursery-school-age children: Parenting style and marital linkages

    Developmental Psychology

    (1998)
  • W.W. Hartup

    The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance

    Child Development

    (1996)
  • S.P. Hinshaw

    Attention deficits and hyperactivity in children

    (1994)
  • D.R. Johnson et al.

    The relationship between relational aggression in kindergarten children and friendship stability, mutuality, and peer liking

    Early Education and Development

    (2005)
  • R.B. Kline

    Principles and practice of structural equation modeling

    (1998)
  • G.W. Ladd et al.

    Predicting children’s social and school adjustment following the transition from preschool to kindergarten

    Child Development

    (1987)
  • Cited by (54)

    • Bullying and Peer Victimization in Early Childhood

      2020, Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development
    • Exposure to intimate partner violence and internalizing symptoms: The moderating effects of positive relationships with pets and animal cruelty exposure

      2019, Child Abuse and Neglect
      Citation Excerpt :

      Although our study is unable to examine potential mechanisms through which engagement with pets operates as a protective factor among children exposed to IPV and AC, it is possible that engaging with pets fosters social regulation of emotion, enhances cognitive control, and/or increases a child’s sense of social support (Freund et al., 2016) which are well-documented factors that discriminate between resilience and psychopathology among children exposed to violence (Yule et al., 2019). Further, prior studies link multiple forms of competence (social, academic, and extracurricular) to positive psychosocial adjustment among children experiencing adversity across developmental stages (Ostrov et al., 2009; Yule et al., 2019). Positive engagement with pets, particularly care-taking behaviors (which are reflected among the CTAQ items), may help children develop a positive sense of self and prosocial competence by helping the child engage in externally oriented activities, which can protect against negative affect.

    • Peer victimization, deviant peer affiliation and impulsivity: Predicting adolescent problem behaviors

      2016, Child Abuse and Neglect
      Citation Excerpt :

      First, we found that adolescents who experienced peer victimization were at high risk for displaying problem behaviors, suggesting that it is necessary to design interventions that attempt to decrease the occurrence of peer victimization. Teachers can try their best to improve victims’ social interaction with peers and facilitate prosocial behavior (Ostrov et al., 2009). Parents can develop positive parenting strategies to help victimized adolescents obtain appropriate problem solving, self-control and emotional regulation skills (Leff, Power, Manz, Costigan, & Nabors, 2001).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    1

    The author is now at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.

    2

    These authors made equivalent contributions and are listed alphabetically.

    View full text