Empirically Valid Strategies To Improve Social and Emotional

Psychology in the Schools, Vol.
48(5), 2011
C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pits DOI: 10.1002/pits.20570
EMPIRICALLY VALID STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL

COMPETENCE OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
PAUL C. MCCABE AND MICHELLE ALTAMURA
School Psychologist Program, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Research over the past few decades has highlighted the importance of social and emotional com-
petence in preschool children on later academic, social, and psychological outcomes. Children
who are socially and emotionally competent have increased socialization opportunities with peers,
develop more friends, have better relationships with their parents and teachers, and enjoy more
academic and social successes. Children who lack social and emotional competence are at risk for
reduced socialization opportunities, rejection, withdrawal, behavioral disturbance, and achieve-
ment problems. Intervention programs that target social – emotional development in preschool are
ideally situated to bolster these skills before the problems exacerbate. In this paper, research on
the importance of social and emotional competence in young children is reviewed as it relates
to immediate and long-term outcomes. Assessments of social and emotional development and
behavioral adjustment are briefly reviewed, followed by a review of intervention programs with
demonstrated empirical efficacy. Although preliminary evidence supports the utility of these inter-
vention programs, additional research on short- and long-term efficacy is recommended, and more
programs designed specifically for early childhood are needed. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The preschool years are a key developmental period in which skills essential for later academic
and social success are acquired and honed. It is not surprising, therefore, that school psychologists and
educators are increasingly focusing on this developmental period to establish intervention programs
that enhance social –emotional competence. The development of social –emotional competence is an
important milestone for preschool children, as children who are socially and emotionally competent
in preschool are likely to enjoy success in academic and social areas in the future (Landry & Smith,
2010; Odom, McConnell, & Brown, 2008; Rose-Krasnor & Denham, 2009). Behavioral problems
of childhood, however, typically emerge in the early years and are associated with deficits in
social skills, emotional regulation, frustration tolerance, and social problem solving (e.g., Denham,
2006; Fantuzzo, Bulotsky, McDermott, Mosca, & Lutz, 2003). Children who lack social –emotional
competence in preschool are more likely to experience transition problems into kindergarten, be
unprepared academically, manifest a number of social and behavioral problems in grade school,
and exhibit long-term problems academically and socially (Barbarin et al., 2006; Bornstein, Hahn,
& Haynes, 2010; Fantuzzo et al., 2003; Huffman, Mehlinger, & Kerivan, 2000). Therefore, it
is important that assessments in early childhood include measures designed to monitor social –
emotional development. Early intervention of social –emotional problems helps to prevent more
serious psychopathology in the future, and fostering social competence and emotional adjustment
in preschool children can serve to inoculate against future stressors and challenges that children
encounter in grade school (Bornstein et al., 2010; Rose-Krasnor & Denham, 2009).
Comprehensive assessment and monitoring systems, such as Response to Intervention (RTI)
using Individualized Growth and Developmental Indicators, are being developed for early child-
hood that focus on a full range of developmental milestones and acquired skills that predict later
school success (Barnett, VanDerHeyden, & Witt, 2007; McCabe, 2009; McConnell, Priest, Davis, &
McEvoy, 2002; Missal et al, 2007). Social skills and social –emotional development are important
to include in early childhood assessments, given the preponderance of evidence that competence in
these areas predicts positive academic, social, and psychological outcomes. School psychologists
Correspondence to: Paul C. McCabe, School Psychologist Program, Brooklyn College – CUNY, 2900 Bedford
Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11210. E-mail: paulmc@brooklyn.cuny.edu
513
514 McCabe and Altamura
and educators can employ a comprehensive approach to monitoring social –emotional development
during early childhood using an assessment approach similar to RTI benchmark assessments of
academic skill development (McCabe, 2006). To do so, it is important to first understand what
social –emotional milestones and skills are developed in the preschool years that predict later social
competence. In addition, it is important to evaluate assessment tools that are valid, are reliable, and
demonstrate sensitivity in measuring skill development over time.
D EVELOPMENT OF S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL C OMPETENCE

A number of social –emotional milestones emerge during the preschool period, and preschool
programs can ensure that curriculum is included that emphasizes development of these milestones.
For example, an important milestone that develops during ages 3 to 5 years is self-awareness and
is reflected in an increased ability to understand others (Kostelnik, Whiren, Soderman, & Gregory,
2009). Children become better able to regulate what they feel, thereby controlling their emotions.
Preschoolers also develop an increased affective perspective taking, which is the ability to understand
and be empathetic to others (Colwell & Hart, 2006). In addition, the emergence of emotions of pride,
shame, and guilt reflect a child’s perceived sense of competence or incompetence (Kostelnik et al.,
2009). Experiencing the emotions of shame and guilt motivate a child to make changes so that he or
she will be less vulnerable to these feelings in the future.
Self-concept, or self-perception, also emerges during the preschool years (Bredekamp &
Copple, 1997). Self-concept is derived from a combination of attributes, abilities, behaviors, at-
titudes, and values that the child believes make him or her different from others (Kostelnik et al.,
2009). Children at this age also include in their self-concept simple emotions and attitudes regarding
their preferences or displeasures (Harter, 2006).
Preschool-aged children are also becoming increasingly better at emotional expression. They
develop the ability to alter their emotional expressiveness in accordance with their environment
and specific situations (Ashiabi, 2000). By age 3, children improve their ability to identify others’
emotions, both positive and negative. Although they are not yet able to interpret emotions by the
context of the situation, they are able to assess others’ facial expressions and tone of voice (Boone
& Cunningham, 1998). They also evidence more curiosity regarding others’ emotions as well as
their own and the causes for those emotions (Abe & Izard, 1999). Consequently, children at this
age are able to initiate and sustain friendships that are characterized by reciprocity, cooperation, and
play. By 4 years of age, children begin to understand that people display different emotions and that
identical scenarios may cause different emotional reactions in different people. Between 3 to 6 years
of age, children establish a sense of their own strengths and weaknesses and begin to understand
acceptable and unacceptable behavior as learned through their interactions (Bagnato, 2007; Lidz,
2003).
According to the organizational perspective, successful negotiation of early relationships, high-
lighted by compliance with directives, affection, and lack of dependence or avoidance, prepares
the child for the major developmental transition to peer competence and is expected to predict
social –emotional strengths in peer interactions during the preschool years (Waters & Sroufe, 1983).
Preschoolers are expected to show increasing independence and separation from their caregivers as
they adjust and hone their social interactions with peers and adults outside the home (Bagnato, 2007).
To do so, preschoolers need to develop and exhibit emotional and social competence in a variety of
situations. Their ability to identify emotional expressions, determine the causes of emotions, regulate
emotions during social interaction, and take the perspective of others is illustrative of their emo-
tional competence (Denham et al., 2003). Emotion understanding and affective perspective taking
are components of developing emotional competence, which is considered an important component
of social competence (Denham, 2006; Denham et al., 2003). Also, children who understand and are
Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Assessment and Intervention of Social Emotional Development 515
able to balance their positive and negative emotions and respond more prosocially to peers’ emotions
are seen as more likable by their peers and rated higher in social competence (Denham et al., 2003;
Garner, 2006).
Social competence is the ability to integrate cognitive, affective, and behavioral states to achieve
goals in a social context. Therefore, social competence may be referred to as how well children get
along with peers and adults and establish successful relationships (Ashiabi, 2007). The terms social
competence and emotional competence are often related because social interactions usually involve
emotion, and children’s ability to be emotionally competent determines how successful they are
during their social interactions and relationships (Ashiabi, 2007). Thus, the development of social –
emotional competence requires skills that promote emotion recognition and regulation, empathy for
others, problem-solving, and positive social interactions (Denham, 2006).
Peer relationships are often determined by an individual’s social skills, and the quality of rela-
tionships is a result of how individuals interact with peers (Landau & Milich, 1990). Thus, social
competence is often the result of effective social skills. The quality of children’s peer relationships
is likely to affect their future development of social skills by either increasing or decreasing oppor-
tunities for further peer interactions (Merrell, 2003). Children who are interpersonally successful
will be more likely to be invited to future play opportunities by peers, whereas children who commit
social errors are more likely to be rejected from current and future play situations (McCabe, 2005;
McCabe & Marshall, 2006).
Children need opportunities to engage in social interactions as a means to practice and perfect
their social strategies. The first non-family relationships with same-age peers typically occur during
the preschool years. Through these relationships children acquire beliefs, values, social behaviors,
and communication skills that are applied in varying social contexts (Kostelnik et al., 2009). Play
supports emotional growth as children cope with conflicts and learn problem solving, affective
perspective taking, and emotional and social skills (Lindsey & Colwell, 2003), as well as begin to
understand their individual competencies, learn about social rules and limits, and develop skills for
self-regulation (Bagnato, 2007).
S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL I NCOMPETENCE , M ALADAPTIVE B EHAVIOR , AND E FFECTS

ON S CHOOL R EADINESS
A lack of social –emotional competence in preschool may stem from the quality of the parent –
child relationship. An insecure attachment formed between parent and child is characterized by
mistrust, unreliable care, and lack of support. Consequently, the child may not feel that he or she
can rely on the parent for emotional support, which affects subsequent psychological, social, and
emotional development. In these circumstances, healthy growth is hampered by inadequate support
and overwhelming emotions that many children find difficult to manage (Thompson, 2004). Children
who are raised in family environments that are abusive, punitive, or conflictual are at greater risk
for affective disturbances, including poorer social –emotional competence, conduct and behavioral
problems, and internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety (Cassidy, 1995; Shaw, Keenan
& Vondra, 1994).
These early life events can create a negative developmental trajectory by impacting future
social opportunities. Children with poor social competence will have fewer opportunities for inter-
action with peers because they lack social skills, have emotion regulation difficulties, and are often
ignored, neglected, or rejected by their peers. Reduced socialization possibilities mean fewer oppor-
tunities to practice and hone social skills. Problems with peer relationships, social skills deficits, and
negative emotionality have been shown to be factors in children’s internalizing and externalizing
problems (Merrell, 2003). Such problems often exacerbate into future antisocial behavior (Tremblay,
Boulerice, Arseneault, & Discale, 1995).

Children who lack social and emotional competence may not only suffer social rejection by
peers, but may also be unprepared academically because their behavioral difficulties can affect their
ability to behave in ways conducive to learning (Vaughn, Hogan, Lancelotta, Shapiro, & Walker,
1992).These children have the most difficulty transitioning into kindergarten (Huffman et al., 2000).
Research indicates that 10% to 15% of preschool children exhibit moderate to clinically significant
emotional and behavioral difficulties (Qi & Kaiser, 2003), which may lead to poor transition.
Transition difficulties in the beginning of a child’s school career set the stage for poor academic,
social –emotional, and behavioral functioning later because the child may struggle to acquire skills
needed for successful performance.
Evidence shows that children who lack social and emotional competence experience a delay
in the acquisition of fundamental academic skills (Barbarin et al., 2006). In addition, children
who have poor academic achievement at such an early stage are also at risk for exacerbation of
maladaptive behaviors (Huffman et al., 2000). Children who lack the social –emotional qualities of
school readiness are judged by teachers as difficult to assist because they lack confidence in their
success and struggle with cooperation and self-regulation (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000).
Socially and academically disruptive behavior in the beginning of the school year is predictive
of future behavioral difficulties, including lower ratings of attention and cooperation (Fantuzzo,
Bulotsky, McDermott, Mosca, & Lutz, 2005). Moreover, socially withdrawn young children are
more likely to experience disconnected peer play in the future (Fantuzzo et al., 2003).
In sum, children who lack secure relationships during their early years may experience greater
difficulty developing social and emotional competence as a means to provide a stable foundation
for future academic and social success. School psychologists, educators, and parents/caregivers may
need to help children alter their maladaptive patterns so that they can develop the skills needed for
successful functioning. However, their social –emotional needs must first be identified. There are a
number of assessment tools available that can be used to evaluate children’s behavioral adjustment
problems and social –emotional difficulties as a means to prevent exacerbation and more serious
clinical syndromes later in life (Fantuzzo et al., 2003).
A SSESSMENT OF S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL D EVELOPMENT AND B EHAVIORAL A DJUSTMENT

Good assessment drives good interventions. Developmentally appropriate practice is one in
which assessment is tied into curriculum and intervention in an integrated fashion to continuously
inform teaching and learning (NAEYC, 2009). A multimethod, multisource, and multi-informant
approach is ideal in the early childhood setting because of the importance of home and school
settings as well as the child’s inability to provide self-report (Caselman & Self, 2008).
Brassard and Boehm (2007) provide recommendations for assessing early childhood emotional
development. First, as indicated earlier, measuring emotional competence is important in an early
childhood curriculum because emotional competence is directly related to social competence. Social
competence, in return, is predictive of many positive developmental outcomes, including academic
success, interpersonal acumen, and healthy psychological adjustment (Odom et al., 2008). Second,
assessment of social and emotional development in early childhood must be considered within a de-
velopmental perspective, with particular attention to age, gender, temperament, and disability. Third,
social and emotional competence emerges through earlier developmental competencies, and there-
fore assessment should be focused on all ages to ensure acquisition of important social –emotional
milestones. Finally, Brassard and Boehm state that it is important to consider how emotional or
behavioral problems may be related to a disability. This may include sub-syndromal disorders that
may not fully apparent until several years later.
In addition, Merrell (2003) summarizes some of the challenges associated with assessing
social –emotional development and problem behaviors in early childhood. There are fewer measures

available to assess social and emotional behavior in young children, and the technical adequacy
of the available instruments are typically not as strong as measures for older children. This is in
part related to the greater variability in development and behavioral expression in early childhood.
Furthermore, Merrell argues that social and emotional behavior of young children is highly situational
specific, and unless assessment includes all the settings that influence the child’s behavior, the scope
and utility of the assessment results are more limited. Finally, traditional assessment approaches
for measuring social –emotional development (e.g., self-report, interviews) are inadequate in early
childhood, although peer sociometric ratings may be substituted.
Despite these challenges, there have been a number of reliable and valid assessment instru-
ments developed within the past two decades that provide important developmental and diagnostic
information on social –emotional behaviors in young children. These assessments can be organized
as screening or diagnostic assessments and are designed to measure social skills/competence, emo-
tional competence, temperament, and behaviors. Table 1 provides examples of some of the more
commonly used assessments of social and emotional development and behavioral adjustment in
early childhood.
It is important that assessments are goal driven and results are integrated into curriculum or
used to develop intervention strategies. For example, a universal screening procedure, such as the
Ages and Stages Questionnaire(ASQ-3; Squire & Bricker, 2009), might be utilized in the beginning
of the school year to assess all children on acquisition of developmental milestones. Children
who fall below expectancy can be more closely monitored, administered more focused diagnostic
assessments, and/or targeted for more intensive instruction. Deficits in social competence, emotional
competence, and behavioral adjustment can be targeted for intervention using a tiered approach
outlined in the RTI model (Barnett et al., 2007; McCabe, 2006, 2009). To do so, interventions should
be empirically supported; ideally, the evidence base would include efficacy research with a variety
of disabilities, populations, and referral concerns.
E MPIRICALLY S UPPORTED I NTERVENTIONS TO E NHANCE S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL D EVELOPMENT

The importance of early interventions to remediate social, emotional, and behavioral problems
in early childhood is evident. Children who fail to develop adequate social –emotional competence
are more likely to develop early-onset behavior problems, and up to 50% will exhibit a more
significant clinical behavioral disorder when older (Webster-Stratton & Taylor, 2001). As stated
by Ladd (2008), service providers in early childhood are “first-responders” (p. 129) in terms of
assessing and remediating young children’s social –emotional development. However, intervention
programs should have evidence of effectiveness at successfully ameliorating the deficit behaviors
and skills.
Evidence supporting the utility of early childhood prevention programs as a means to thwart
future problems has been demonstrated. A meta-analysis of preschool prevention programs indicated
moderate effect sizes of social –emotional impact. These effects were evident for both short-term
follow-up in grades kindergarten through eighth (d = 0.27) and long-term follow-up in high school
and beyond (d = 0.30; Nelson, Westhues, & MacLeod, 2003). The analysis also found that the
interventions of longer duration predicted the greatest impact on social –emotional outcomes during
grades kindergarten through eighth. Despite the methodological problems associated with many of
the intervention studies included in the analysis (Nix, 2003), the modest effect sizes confirm that
early prevention and intervention efforts make for lasting gains.
Another meta-analysis of early developmental programs found similar effect sizes on out-
comes later in adolescence (Manning, Homel, & Smith, 2010). The programs in the review served
populations from birth to 5 years of age, and included center-based developmentally focused edu-
cation, family support, and parental education components. They found large effect sizes when the

Table 1 518
Assessments of Social and Emotional Competence and Behavioral Adjustment in Early Childhood
Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Instrument Measured Administration Time Interpretation Information: Informant(s)
Achenbach • The Child Behavior Checklist 18 – 60 months • CBCL/1.5-5: 15 • Feature • CBCL/1.5-5 • Both forms
System of (CBCL/1.5-5) and the Caregiver-Teacher to 20 minutes empirically based Standardization can be
Psychology in the Schools

Empirically Report Form (C-TRF) are used to assess • C-TRF: 15 to 20 scales and DSM- Sample: 1,728 from completed
Based adaptive and maladaptive functioning. minutes IV-TR-oriented 18 – 60 months; 59% by parents,
Assessment – • Uses a set of rating forms and profiles scales, including White, 17% Black, 9% teachers, or
Preschool based on 99 items, in addition to Affective Hispanic, 15% other. caregivers
Module descriptions of problems, disabilities, the Problems, • CBCL/1.5-5 with at least
(ASEBA; respondent’s concerns, and child Anxiety Inter-Rater Reliability: a 5th-grade
DOI: 10.1002/pits
Achenbach & strengths. Problems, Parent/Parent .51 – .67; reading
Rescorla, • Both forms measure three broadband Attention-Deficit/ Parent/Teacher level.
2000; syndromes: Internalizing, Externalizing, Hyperactivity .38 – .50.
Achenbach, and Total Problems scales. Problems, • C-TRF
Dumenci & • The profiles for the two instruments Oppositional Standardization
Rescorla, measure the following six narrowband Defiant Problems, Sample: 1,113 from
2003) factors: Emotionally Reactive, and Pervasive 12 – 36 months; 68%
Anxious/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Developmental White, 20% Black, 4%
Withdrawn, Attention Problems, and Problems. Hispanic, 8% other;
McCabe and Altamura
Aggressive Behavior. In addition, the • Scores are Socioeconomic status:

CBCL/1.5-5 also measures Sleep available as M = 2.0 (1 = lower, 3
Problems. percentiles and T = upper).
• The CBCL/1.5-5 includes a Language scores for each • C-TRF Inter-Rater
Development Survey (LDS), which DSM-IV-TR- Reliability:
assesses children’s expressive oriented scale in Parent/Teacher
vocabularies, word combinations, and relation to norms .21 – .79.
risk factors for language delays based on for the national • C-TRF Validity:
parents’ reports (relative to norms from sample. Sensitivity – 74%.
18 – 35 months of age). Some scales are
available in Spanish, French, and English.
(Continued)
Table 1
Continued

Ages and Stages • Discriminates between children with 1 – 66 months 10 – 15 minutes Empirically derived • Standardization Parent/
Questionnaires developmental delays and those who cutoff scores Sample: national caregiver;
(3rd ed., appear to be developing typically. indicate whether sample of 12,695 requires a
ASQ-3): A • Includes 21 age-specific questionnaires, to (a) evaluate children. 4th- to
Parent- which allow accurate screening. further, (b) • Concurrent Validity: 6th-grade
Completed, • Developmental areas assessed: closely monitor, ranged from 74% for reading
Child Communication, Gross-Motor, and/or (c) share the 42-month ASQ-3 level.
Monitoring Fine-Motor, Problem-Solving, and information with questionnaire to 100%
System (Squires Personal-Social, in addition to parents about a for the 2-month and
& Bricker, 2009) Self-Regulation, Compliance, child’s strengths 54-month
Language, Adaptive Behaviors, and recommended questionnaires, with
Autonomy, Affect, and Interaction with activities for 86% overall
People. healthy agreement;
• Available in English and Spanish. development. Specificity – 85%;
Sensitivity – 86%.
Behavioral • Behavioral screening instrument, 0 – 36 months 10 minutes The maximum • Standardized on 128 Parent or
Assessment of consisting of three scales: possible score is caregivers in other
Baby’s Temperament, Ability to Self Soothe, 48, with higher California. caregiver.
Emotional and and Regulatory Processes. scores indicating • Psychometric data are
Social Style • Intended for use in pediatric practices, more problematic limited; additional
Assessment and Intervention of Social Emotional Development
(BABES; clinics, and early intervention programs. behaviors. standardization is

Finello & • Available in English and Spanish. reported to be under
Poulsen, 1996) way.
(Continued)
519
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520
Table 1
Continued

Behavior • Can be used for both assessment and 2 – 21years 10 – 20 minutes The scales yield T • The BASC-II was • PRS
Assessment intervention planning. per scale scores and normed based on completed
System for • Comprises two rating scales and forms: percentiles, for a current U. S. Census by parents
Children (2nd the Teacher Rating Scales (TRS) and the general population or
ed., BASC-II; Parent Rating Scales (PRS). population and characteristics. caregivers.
DOI: 10.1002/pits
Reynolds & • TRS measure adaptive and problem clinical • Test-Retest reliability, • TRS
Kamphaus, behaviors in the preschool setting. A populations. Inter-Rater Reliability, completed
2004) child’s specific behaviors are rated on a and Concurrent teachers or
4-point scale of frequency, ranging from Validity: moderate other
“never” to “almost always.” The TRS results. qualified
contains 100 – 139 items. observers.
• PRS measure adaptive and problem • Requires a
behaviors in the community and home 3rd- to
McCabe and Altamura
setting, using a four-choice response 4th-grade

format. The PRS contains 134 – 160 reading
items. level.
• Results yield two functional scales
(Functional Communication and Social
Skills) and eight clinical scales for
children ages 2 to 5.
• Available in English and Spanish.
(Continued)
Table 1
Continued

Devereux Early • DECA is used with all children to Both for 2 – 5 • DECA: 10 DECA has • DECA Standardization • Parent or
Childhood promote healthy social and years minutes standardized and Sample: 2,000 children teacher.
Assessment emotional growth, whereas the • DECA-C: 15 norm-referenced from 28 states; 51% males,
Program DECA-C is used to support early minutes scoring. 49% females.
(DECA; intervention efforts to reduce or • DECA Inter-Rater
LeBuffe & eliminate significant emotional and Reliability: .59 – .77.
Naglieri, 1999) behavioral concerns. • DECA Construct Validity
& Devereux • DECA includes 37 items designed to .65; Criterion Validity .69.
Early assess 27 positive and 10 problem • DECA-C Standardization
Childhood behaviors. Behaviors are rated as Sample: 2,000 from 2 – 5
Assessment occurring “never,” “rarely,” years; 67% White, 15%
Clinical Form occasionally,” “frequently,” or “very Black, 11% Hispanic, 4%
(DECA-C; frequently.” Asian, 1% Native
LeBuffe & • DECA-C is a 62-item instrument that American, 2% other; 25%
Naglieri, 2003) uses a five-point Likert scale. subsidized child care or
• DECA-C has a broadband Total public assistance.
Protective Factors Scale, which • DECA-C Inter-Rater
measures the areas of Initiative, Reliability:
Self-Control, and Attachment. Teacher/Teacher .32 – .77.
• DECA-C has a broadband • DECA-C Validity:
Behavioral Concerns Scale, which Sensitivity – 67% with Total
measures Withdrawal/Depression, Protective Factors; 78%
Emotional Control Problems, with Behavior Concerns
Attention Problems, and Aggression. Scale;

• DECA-C also contains a guide that Specificity – 71% with
connects results to intervention Total Protective Factors;
strategies. 65% with Behavior
• DECA & DECA-C available in Concerns Scale.
English and Spanish.
(Continued)
521
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522
Table 1
Continued

Early Coping • Has 48 items, which measure behavior 4 – 36 months Approximately • Summing the • Test-Retest Reliability • Observations
Inventory in three coping clusters: Sensorimotor 1 hour numeric values of and Inter-Rater of the child
(Zeitlin, Organization, Reactive Behavior, scale items yields Reliability: moderate should be
Williamson, & Self-Initiated Behavior. raw score totals, results. completed by
Szczepanski, • Used for intervention planning. which can be someone with
DOI: 10.1002/pits
2007) • Available in English. converted into knowledge of
Effectiveness child
scores. development.
• Effectiveness
scores are
converted into an
Adaptive
Behavior Index
McCabe and Altamura
score.
Early Screening • Screening instrument meant to 3 – 5 years Stage 1: ∼1 hour • Based on scores, • Normative sample: not • Teacher,
Project (ESP; identify children at risk for adjustment Stage 2: ∼1 hour children may be nationally counselor, or
Walker, problems, acting-out, and withdrawn Stage 3: ∼40 classified as representative. parent.
Severson, & behavior patterns. minutes “at-risk,” “high • Test-Retest Reliability,
Feil, 1995) • Comprises three successive stages of risk,” or “extreme Inter-Rater Reliability,
assessment. risk.” and Concurrent
• Available in English. Validity: acceptable.
(Continued)
Table 1
Continued

Eyberg Child • ECBI is a 36-item screening tool for 2 – 16 years 10 – 15 minutes • Yield Total • ECBI standardization • Parents
Behavior measuring conduct problems at Intensity Score sample: 280 from complete
Inventory home. and Total Problem 2 – 6 years. the ECBI
(ECBI) & • SESBI-R has 38 items, which focus Score. • ECBI Inter-Rater (requires a
Sutter-Eyberg on oppositional behaviors in school. Reliability: .61 – .69. 6th-grade
Student • Items for both are ranked on two • ECBI Validity: Intensity reading
Behavior scales: Intensity (a 7-point Likert Scale – 96% Sensitivity; level) while
Inventory- scale that measures frequency) and 87% Specificity. teachers
Revised Problem (rate “yes” or “no” whether • SESBI-R standardization complete
(SESBI-R; each item is a problem). sample: 1,286 from K – 6th the
Eyberg & • Both are available in English. grade, 159 – 201 each SESBI-R.
Pincus, 1999) grade; 86% White, 3%
Black, 2% Hispanic, 8%
Asian, 1% Native
American; 72 reading
delayed, 115 handicapped.
• SESBI-R Inter-Rater
Reliability:
Teacher/Teacher .43 – .86.

(Continued)
523
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Table 1 524
Continued

Infant/Toddler • ITSEA is a measure of Both for 12 – • ITSEA: 30 – • Items for both • ITSEA standardization • Parent,
Social social – emotional and behavioral delays 36 months 40 minutes versions are rated sample: 1,235 from caregiver, or

Emotional and problems. It was designed to • BITSEA: 7 – on a 3-point 12 – 36 months; 66% child-care
Assessment identify the need for further assessment 15 minutes Likert scale. White, 17% Black, 8% provider.
(ITSEA) & and to guide intervention planning. • ITSEA: T scores Hispanic, 2% Asian, 7% • Requires 4th-
Brief Infant/ • ITSEA consists of four domains: for four domains other; 18% below to 6th-grade
Toddler Social Externalizing, Internalizing, and three index poverty level, 16% reading level.
Emotional Dysregulation, and Competencies; and scores. borderline poverty.
Assessment three indices: Maladaptive, Atypical • BITSEA yields • ITSEA Inter-Rater
DOI: 10.1002/pits
(BITSEA; Behavior, and Social Relatedness. both Problem and Reliability:
Briggs-Gowan • ITSEA encompasses 166 items. Competence Total Parent/Parent .43 – .79;
& Carter, • BITSEA is a brief version of the Scores. Parent/Caregiver
2006) ITSEA; it is screening assessment .24 – .66.
designed to quickly assess emerging • BITSEA standardization
social – emotional development in the sample: 1,237 form
areas of Problem Behaviors and 12 – 36 months; 66%
Competencies, including Activity, White, 16% Black, 5%
McCabe and Altamura
Anxiety, and Emotionality. Hispanic, 2% Asian, 8%

• BITSEA encompasses 42 items. multiracial, 2% other;
• BITSEA is intended to identify children 18% below poverty
who may need further, more level, 16% borderline
comprehensive evaluation. poverty.
• Both versions have a Parent Form, • BITSEA Inter-Rater
which can be completed at home or in a Reliability:
clinic and a Child Care Provider Form, Parent/Parent .61 – .68;
which allows screening across multiple Parent/Teacher .28 – .59.
settings. • BITSEA Concurrent
• Both available in English, Spanish, Validity: moderate.
French, Hebrew, and Dutch.
(Continued)
Table 1
Continued

Mental Health • Screening instrument developed to 0 – 5 years 10 minutes • The rater indicates • Three sites in • Mental health
Screening Tool determine a child’s need for more whether or not California pre-tested caseworkers,
(MHST 0 – 5; in-depth mental health evaluation. listed behaviors this instrument as it nurses,
California • To use for children, particularly are exhibited by was being developed. childcare staff,
Institute for those in out-of-home placements. the child; yes or foster parents,
Mental Health; no format. Early
www.cimh.org) • The presence of Intervention
one or more “yes” service
responses providers,
indicates the need receiving
for an assessment. home/shelter
staff, and
pediatricians.
Preschool and • Scales include 34 items in the 3 – 6 years 10 – 15 minutes • Behaviors are • Normative sample of • Parent/primary
Kindergarten Social Skills Scale and 42 in the rated as occurring 2,855 children, not caregiver or
Behavior Scales Problem Behavior Scale. “never,” “rarely,” nationally teacher.
(2nd ed., • Specifically designed to screen the “sometimes,” or representative.
PBKS-2; preschool through kindergarten “often.” • Inter-Rater Reliability:
Merrell, 1994) population; intervention planning. moderate results.

• Available in English and Spanish.
(Continued)
525
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526
Table 1
Continued


Social • Provides description of child’s 2.5 to 6 years 15 minutes • Uses a 6-point • Standardization • Teachers and
Competence and behavior with regard to social Likert like scale. sample: over 1200 clinicians.
Behavior competence, affective expression, • Higher numbers U.S. preschoolers.
Evaluation and overall behavioral adjustment reflect more • Internal Consistency:
(SCBE) Scale • Not designed for diagnosis positive .79 to .91; Inter-Rater
(LaFreniere & • 80 items competencies, Reliability .72 to .89.
DOI: 10.1002/pits
Dumas, 1995) • 8 Basic scales and 4 Summary lower reflect
scales negative.
Social Skills • Uses a 4-point Likert scale to 3 – 18 years 10 – 25 minutes • Standard scores • The normative sample • Parent or
Improvement assess frequency of various and percentile included 4,700 teacher.
System-Rating behaviors exhibited by the child. ranks are students aged 3
Scales • Measures three domains: Social available for each through 18; 385
(SSIS-RS; Skill, Problem Behaviors, and scale. teachers; and 2,800
Gresham & Academic Competence. • Subscales- parents.
McCabe and Altamura
Elliott, 2008) • Available in English and Spanish. Behavior Levels • Internal consistency
(below average, and test-retest
average, above reliabilities are good.
average); • Adequate criterion
• Items-Frequency validity, convergent
and Importance validity, and
ratings point to discriminant validity.
behaviors that
may require
intervention.
children reached adolescence related to educational success (d = 0.53), social deviance (d = .048),
and social participation (d = 0.37), with a smaller effect size for social –emotional development
(d = 0.16). In general, those programs with longer duration and greater number of sessions were
associated with the greatest sample means in adolescence.
These meta-analysis results elucidate the early developmental and behavioral indicators that
predict later social, emotional, academic, and behavioral difficulties. Similarly, a typology of adjust-
ment was developed for poor urban preschoolers that identified levels of behavior and situational
adjustment (Bulotsky-Shearer, Fantuzzo, & McDermott, 2009). The authors were able to pinpoint be-
havior patterns, such as withdrawal and overactive behavior, that when exhibited in certain contexts,
such as socially-mediated learning situations, predicted disconnect from peers and poor learning
outcomes. In a related study, the same authors found that early situational problems predicted poor
peer socialization and learning outcomes, thus indicating that the nature of the behavior problem and
the situation in which it occurs is highly predictive of social –emotional, academic, and behavioral
outcomes (Bulotsky-Shearer, Fantuzzo, & McDermott, 2008).
Preschool is an ideal time to remedy social and emotional delays, given the level of support
available to children at this age, both at home and school, as well as sufficient time to practice and
incorporate new skills into the behavioral repertoire. There are a variety of intervention programs
in the literature, and these programs differentially target behaviors, social skills, emotion regulation
deficits, or a combination of these within a broader context, including family and classroom ecologies.
A sampling of these programs is outlined in Table 2 and below.
Behavioral Interventions to Address Social –Emotional Problems

One intervention and classroom support model that has received endorsement in the past decade
is positive behavior support (PBS; Carr et al., 2002; Sprick, Sprick & Garrison, 1992; Sugai & Horner,
2006). PBS is a systematic framework for promoting positive behaviors and reducing problematic
behaviors through the use of a tiered approach that starts with universal screening and prevention and
moves toward more systematic, specialized intervention for those children who require additional
behavioral support (Benedict, Horner & Squires, 2007). In this regard, PBS functions as a schoolwide
framework, classroom support strategy and individual intervention (Bayat, Mindes, & Covitt, 2010).
The universal, primary prevention focus means that all children in the school are monitored for
social –emotional and behavioral success. Within the classroom, PBS is used as a strategy to improve
social competence among small groups of children who require this support. At the level of the child,
PBS supports the development of individual behavioral intervention plans (BIP) to provide more
intensive support for the child both at home and school.
Despite the empirical support for PBS at the elementary level (e.g., Marquis et al., 2000;
McIntosh, Filter, Bennett, Ryan, & Sugai, 2010), there are few studies examining efficacy in early
childhood. Benedict and colleagues (2007) found that few preschools in their sample were routinely
using features of PBS. However, following a consultation period, more PBS features were subse-
quently used by teachers. Interestingly, this application of PBS features did not impact levels of
behavior problems in the classrooms, which the authors concede was likely due to the low incidence
rate of such problems. Many published cases that utilize single-subject designs provide support for
individualized BIPs but do not illustrate how well PBS works for ameliorating the social –emotional
development of entire preschool classrooms or schools.
The Early Screening Project (ESP; Walker, Severson, & Feil, 1995) utilizes a similar system for
monitoring preschool children who are at risk for developing emotional and behavioral disorders.
The ESP uses a multiple gating methodology in which screening is used to identify those children
exhibiting the highest rates of internalizing and externalizing disorders (Merrell, 2003). Children

528
Table 2
Interventions to Improve Social – Emotional Development of Preschool Children
Description/Focus Ages of Participants/ Research: Efficacy

Intervention of Intervention Intended Audience of Intervention

The Fun FRIENDS Program, a • Social Intervention – five major areas of social – emotional learning 4 – 6 years • Preliminary results from a universal
Universal Intervention Program addressed: (1) developing a sense of self, (2) social skills, trial have focused primarily on
(Pahl & Barrett, 2007) (3) self-regulation, (4) responsibility for self and others, and anxiety reduction.
(5) prosocial behavior; to prevent the onset of emotional and • Children who received program had
behavioral disorders in later life. decreased anxiety scores afterward; a
• 10 sessions, each 1 – 1.5 hrs; session broken into 10- to 15-minute paired samples ttest revealed a
learning activities; 4 – 5 learning activities per session. statistically significant decrease in
DOI: 10.1002/pits
• Who Implements – Teachers provided with a leader’s manual and scores on the Preschool Anxiety
must attend an accredited teacher-training workshop before Scale, significant for females only.
implementing within classroom; parents encouraged to attend • Further analyses are being
parent information sessions to learn skills taught in the program. undertaken with a larger sample of
• Developmentally tailored, downward extension of the preexisting, children.
evidence-based FRIENDS for Life program for children and youth
(aged 7 – 18 years).
• Grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – large focus on
McCabe and Altamura
play-based, experiential learning within a CBT framework.

The Head Start REDI Program • Targets the promotion of specific school readiness competencies in 4 years • Progress tracked over the course of
(Research-Based, Developmentally the domain of social – emotional development (prosocial behavior, 1 year.
I nformed) emotional understanding, self-regulation, and aggression control) • Results revealed significant gains for
(Bierman et al., 2008) and cognitive development (language and emergent literacy skills). treatment children on measures of
• Who Implements – Head Start classrooms provided with this vocabulary, emergent literacy,
enriched intervention; provided teachers brief lessons, “hands-on” emotional understanding, social
extension activities, and specific teaching strategies, as well as problem solving, social behavior,
teacher mentoring; take-home materials were provided to parents and learning engagement.
to enhance skill development at home.
(Continued)
Table 2
Continued

The Incredible Years Classroom • A research-driven teacher professional development 3 – 10 years • Associated with reductions in challenging
Management Program (Shernoff & program designed to strengthen teacher classroom classroom behaviors.
Kratochwill, 2007) management strategies, promote children’s prosocial • Positive outcomes related to the development of
behavior and school readiness skills, and reduce social competence and increased adaptation to the
disruptive classroom behavior. school environment.
• Based on social learning theory and the importance
of adult – child socialization processes.
The Incredible Years Parenting • A prevention program introduced in Head Start Preschool-age • Following the 12-session weekly program, mothers
Program (Basic; Webster-Stratton, classrooms. had significantly lower negative parenting and
Reid, & Hammond, 2001) • Originally designed for treating children with significantly higher positive parenting scores.
ODD/CD. • Children showed significantly fewer conduct
• Focuses on academic and social needs of children to problems at school.
reduce conduct problems, enhance academic • Children of mothers who attended six or more
readiness, and improve social competence at school intervention sessions showed significantly fewer
and at home. conduct problems at home (and effects maintained
• Includes material on parental interpersonal coping a year later).
skills and collaboration with teachers. • Children who were the “highest risk” at baseline
(high rates of noncompliant and aggressive
behavior) showed more clinically significant
reductions in these behaviors (and effects

maintained a year later).
• Parent – teacher bonding was significantly higher.
(Continued)
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DOI: 10.1002/pits
530
Table 2
Continued

Parent – Child Interaction • A behavioral family therapy approach. Preschool-age • Significant improvements were observed in children’s
Therapy (Bates, 2005) • Focuses on educational/clinical change of children behavior at home and at school and improvements were
who exhibit severe behavior problems. maintained at a 12-month follow-up.
PARTNERS Parent Education • Conducted with mothers of children in Head Start. Preschool-age • Effective in increasing positive parenting and parent
DOI: 10.1002/pits
Program (Bates, 2005) • Involved parent participation in 8- to 9-week groups, involvement at school, decreasing negative parenting, and
with a focus on teaching parenting skills, positive producing positive behavior changes for children at home
discipline strategies, and ways to strengthen and at school.
children’s social skills.
The Promoting Alternative • PATHS is a universally-focused social – emotional Preschool-age • Progress tracked across a 9-month period.
Thinking Strategies curriculum that is designed to improve children’s • Child assessments and teacher and parent reports of child
Curriculum (PATHS) social competence and reduce problem behavior. behavior assessments were collected at the beginning and
(Domitrovich, Cortes, & • It is based on the ABCD end of the school year.
Greenberg, 2007) (Affective-Behavioral-Cognitive-Dynamic) model of • Results suggest that intervention children had higher
McCabe and Altamura
development, which places primary importance on emotion knowledge skills and were rated by parents and
the developmental integration of affect, behavior, teachers as more socially competent compared with
and cognitive understanding as they relate to social peers.
and emotional competence. • Teachers rated intervention children as less socially
• Who Implements – Teachers implement weekly withdrawn at the end of the school year compared with
lessons and extension activities in Head Start controls.
classrooms.
(Continued)
Table 2
Continued

Skill Training • Social Intervention - designed to teach children social skills that may promote • Preschool-age children. • Effects of skill training were seen most
Programs social acceptance in the peer group. • Low-status and clearly in classroom observations of skill
(Mize & • Intervention program and design adapted from coaching procedures that have low-skilled children use; skill-trained children doubled their use
Ladd, 1990) been used successfully with low-accepted school-age children. with mild to severe peer of the targeted social skills.
• Coached in four skills: leading peers, asking questions of peers, making difficulties (rejection or • Increases in skill use in the classroom with
comments to peers, and supporting peers. neglect). peers were correlated with improvements
• Skill training was based on a cognitive-social learning model in which • Low frequency of in children’s knowledge of friendly social
children received instruction in social skill concepts and were encouraged to targeted social skills or strategies.
perform skill behaviors and to monitor and evaluate their interactions with high rates of peer • Trained children showed a significant
peers. aggression, or both. increase in their use of the trained skills
comments and leads.
• Failure to find significant improvements in
children’s sociometric rating of peers
immediately after training.
Taking Part, • Social skills curriculum that addresses sharing and being in a group. Preschool to grade 3 • Social skills lessons incorporated into the
Introducing • Topics include: (1) making conversation, (2) communicating feelings, curriculum and combined with classroom
Social Skills (3) expressing oneself, (4) cooperating with peers, (5) playing with peers, reinforcement of target behaviors were
to Children (6) responding to aggression and conflict. effective in increasing sharing (for one
(Cartledge & • Who Implements – General or special education teachers. third of participants) and being in a group
Kleefeld, behavior (for half of participants) among
2009) children with developmental
delays.(Guglielmo & Shick Tryon, 2001).
The Teaching • Incorporates Early Childhood Positive Behavior Support through a Preschool-age • Research is limited.
Pyramid three-tiered model promoting social – emotional development and addressing children/early childhood
• When the three lower levels of the pyramid

(Hemmeter, the needs of children who are at risk for or have challenging behavior. are implemented, only about 4% of
Ostrosky, & • Includes four components/levels: (1) building positive relationships with children in the classroom or program will
Fox, 2006) children, families, and colleagues; (2) designing supportive and engaging require more intensive support.
environments; (3) teaching social and emotional skills; and (4) developing
individualized interventions for children with the most challenging behavior.
• Who Implements – Classroom personnel with support from behavior or mental
health consultants.
531
DOI: 10.1002/pits
who exhibit sufficiently high problem behaviors move to the next gates or stages, which involve
additional behavior rating scales completed by the teacher and parents, as well as direct classroom
observation. The ESP national normative sample is adequate (n = 2, 853) and includes both typically
developing preschoolers and those who were receiving specialized services (Merrell, 2003; Walker
et al., 1995).
Positive behavioral supports can also be directed to parent training in addition to classroom
support. Dishion and colleagues (2008) conducted a large-scale intervention study with 731 income-
eligible families receiving food supplements, in which parents in the treatment condition received
parenting positive behavior supports in addition to a family check-up (a brief, three-session interven-
tion). They found that this brief, tailored approach to reinforce positive behavior support practices
prevented the exacerbation of problem behaviors in children aged 2 to 4 years. Furthermore, the
cases in which problem behaviors decreased were associated with improvement in positive behavior
support practices. Children who were most at risk for problem behaviors evidenced the greatest treat-
ment effect size, indicating that parenting positive behavior supports were impacting the children
most in need.
Although the application of positive behavior support training to parents is relatively recent,
parent training in behavioral techniques has been systematically documented as far back as the
1960s (Serketich & Dumas, 1996). In their meta-analysis of Behavioral Parent Training (BPT), used
to modify antisocial behavior in children, Serketich and Dumas (1996) found that children whose
parents participated in BPT exhibited an 80% better adjustment after treatment than those children
whose parents did not participate. The effects also appeared to generalize across both home and
school settings and were independent of either parent or third-party raters. However, little could
be said about the long-term effectiveness of BPT because most studies only had brief follow-up
intervals (several weeks up to 1 year).
Much of the available evidence on behavioral interventions supports the use of teaching,
modeling, and rehearsal activities as means for young children to practice, correct, and improve their
social –emotional behavioral repertoire. Strategies to build these social –emotional competencies
include describing and elaborating, modeling, rehearsing, role-playing, providing prompts, and
reinforcing the desired behavior in the natural setting as it occurs (Corso, 2007). Opportunities to
frequently practice social skills, both in small and large group settings and in structured and free
play contexts, will increase the likelihood the skills are learned and practiced.
Interventions That Target Social Skills and Emotional Competence

Interventions targeting social skills that utilize a cognitive-social learning approach have en-
joyed several decades of empirical support. Mize and Ladd (1990) documented evidence of a social
skills coaching program for low-social status preschool children that provided training in leading
peers, asking questions, making comments, and supporting peers. Although peer sociometric ratings
did not show improvement following the training, children’s knowledge of these skills did predict
changes in skill use in the classroom. A related study examined the utility of a commercially avail-
able social skills training program, plus classroom behavioral reinforcement, as a means to increase
sharing behaviors (Guglielmo & Tryon, 2001). The authors found that the combination of social
skills training plus classroom reinforcement produced significantly greater sharing behaviors than
classrooms with only behavioral reinforcement or control classrooms that received no intervention.
Research in the past decade has expanded on the success of social skills training programs to
include affective components that are believed to play an important role in mediating social com-
petence. This is because much of what comprises social competence is a child’s ability to regulate,
modify, and manage expressiveness of emotions. Positive and negative expressiveness, understanding

of emotions, regulation of emotions, and temperamentally based reactivity and attention regulation
are all related to social competence and prosocial behavioral outcomes (Denham, Wyatt, Bassett,
Echeverria, & Knox, 2009). In a sample of Head Start preschoolers, emotion knowledge was found
to be correlated with positive emotion regulation, whereas negative emotion expression was posi-
tively associated with aggression and negatively associated with social skills (Miller & Fine, 2006).
Further, negative emotion dysregulation predicted aggression and anxiety, whereas positive emotion
regulation predicted social skills status.
One program, Teaching Pyramid, was designed to promote social –emotional development
and ameliorate behavioral concerns in young children (Fox, Dunlap, Hemmeter, Joseph, & Strain,
2003). The program includes components that work at all ecological levels of the young child,
including building positive relationships with children and families, creating supportive environ-
ments, teaching social –emotional skills, and providing more intensive interventions for children
with greater behavioral needs (Hemmeter, Ostrosky, & Fox, 2006). The Teaching Pyramid is similar
to other multi-tiered approaches (e.g., PBS, RTI), except that it was uniquely designed to reflect
the characteristics and population of early childhood settings (Hemmeter et al., 2006). Additional
research examining the efficacy of this model in improving social –emotional outcomes within the
early childhood setting is needed, in particular, among those children who are at risk for behavioral
exacerbation.
Another classroom-based program, Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), is a
primary prevention program designed to enhance children’s social competence and reduce behavior
problems in the classroom (Kusché & Greenberg, 1994). The 30 lessons are divided into thematic
areas, such as basic and advanced feelings, self-control, social problem solving, and exhibiting
prosocial behaviors. The program has demonstrated efficacy in developing greater emotion knowl-
edge and social competence and less social withdrawal among children receiving the program than
children who did not participate (Domitrovich, Cortes, & Greenberg, 2007). Similar results were
found using the PATHS curriculum with a sample of 5- to 7-year-olds in the United Kingdom, in
which participant children were rated as showing improvement in emotional vocabulary, recognizing
feelings in self and others, cooperation, empathy, self-control, and taking responsibility to deal with
one’s problems (Curtis & Norgate, 2007). A recent study evaluated PATHS embedded within the
Fast Track prevention model. Using a sample of almost 3,000 children, participants were randomly
selected to begin the program in first grade and were followed for 3 years. The authors found positive
effects for reduced aggression, increased prosocial behavior, and increased academic engagement
for those children who received the program. Program effects were particularly robust for children
in disadvantaged schools and for those who initially showed higher rates of aggression (Bierman
et al., 2010).
Another program, called Fun FRIENDS, was created as a downward extension of the FRIENDS
program used with older children (Pahl & Barrett, 2007). Designed for use with children 4 to 6 years
of age, with the specific aim of reducing anxiety related to socialization, the Fun FRIENDS program
focuses on increasing social –emotional skills, coping skills, and resilience using components of
cognitive behavioral therapy and problem-solving theory. The five general areas reviewed in the
program include: (1) developing a sense of self, (2) social skills, (3) self-regulation, (4) self-
direction and independence, and (5) prosocial behavior. Preliminary efficacy data reported by the
authors indicated decreased anxiety scores following the program, especially for females.
Training young children to recognize and understand the context and meaning of emotions
has been demonstrated within behavioral training programs. Children with developmental disabili-
ties have been successfully trained in emotional recognition and emotional understanding through
discrete trials training compared with matched controls who did not evidence gains in emotion
recognition (Downs & Strand, 2008). Improvement in emotional competencies (emotion knowledge,

positive expressiveness, less anger expression, and greater empathetic responses) and prosocial be-
haviors was demonstrated following a prevention training program that explicitly taught skills in
recognizing emotions in self and others, identifying events associated with emotions, understanding
aggression and how to counteract it, solving conflicts, and developing interpersonal social skills
(Stefan, 2008).
Comprehensive Interventions for Home and Classrooms

Much of the innovative research examining social and emotional competence (and methods
to improve these competencies) have been generated within Head Start classrooms. One such
program, REDI (Research Based, Developmentally I nformed), includes classroom lessons and
teaching strategies as well as materials for parents to rehearse the skills in the home (Bierman et al.,
2008). The program is designed to promote social –emotional competencies, language development,
and emergent literacy skills. In one study, 44 classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment
or control conditions, and the progress of 356 children was tracked over 1 year (Bierman et al.,
2008). Children in the treatment condition received the Preschool PATHS curriculum to bolster
social –emotional skills and language and literacy enrichment, and the treatment condition also
included teacher training and parent materials (modeling videotape, handouts, and activities). Results
indicated significant gains for the children in the REDI classrooms in the areas of social problem
solving, emotional understanding, social behavior, learning engagement, vocabulary, and emergent
literacy. The What Works Clearinghouse validated the results from the Bierman et al. (2008) study
as an evidenced-based intervention utilizing “a well implemented randomized controlled trial” (U.S.
Department of Education, 2009, p. 1).
The strategy of training teachers and parents to better manage and support positive behaviors in
preschool children has been closely studied in Head Start research. For example, Webster-Stratton,
Reid, and Hammond (2001) examined the effectiveness of a 12-session weekly training program
called the Basic Incredible Years Parenting Program for 272 Head Start mothers and 61 teachers.
Following training, mothers in the treatment group had lower negative parenting and higher positive
parenting scores, and parent-teacher bonding was significantly higher in the treatment group versus
controls. Children of mothers in the treatment condition had significantly fewer conduct problems at
home and at school, and those children with the highest incidence of baseline behavioral problems
(including noncompliance and aggression) showed more reductions in problem behaviors than
control children. Teachers in the treatment condition showed better classroom management skills
than control teachers. Importantly, the effects of treatment for parents and the clinically significant
reductions in behavior problems in their children were maintained 1 year later.
Another study evaluating the Incredible Years curriculum using videotape modeling with and
without consultation with teachers showed similarly favorable effects of the curriculum in terms
of reducing disruptive behaviors of children (Shernoff & Kratochwill, 2007). However, teachers in
the videotape plus consultation treatment group showed greater confidence, more frequent use of
positive instructional practices, and higher acceptability ratings, plus their classroom children showed
greater gains in social competence versus teachers who only received videotape modeling. These
results support the use of the Incredible Years curriculum to enhance teacher management skills and
social –emotional competence of children and further highlight the importance of consultation and
monitoring with teachers and parents.
The Chicago Child-Parent Center Preschool Program is another example of a comprehensive
prevention approach that emphasizes training in basic academic skills, such as language and math,
as well as a significant parent program (Niles, Reynolds, & Roe-Sepowitz, 2008). Children enrolled
in the program during the early childhood years were more likely to evidence positive social and

emotional competences by their adolescent years. In addition, those children experiencing greater
numbers of environmental risk factors were more likely to benefit from program participation (Niles
et al., 2008). The duration of intervention exposure was related to positive academic and social –
emotional outcomes (Reynolds, 1994). Ongoing professional development with teachers and high
parental and family involvement were credited with supporting the positive effects on children in the
program. Programs with emphasis on family–school interventions have generally yielded favorable
results (Bates, 2005).
The Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) was “designed to support children’s emotional
and behavioral regulation and to reduce their risk of behavioral difficulty” (Raver et al., 2009,
p. 312). Similar to the programs mentioned previously, the CSRP included intensive teacher training
and child-focused mental health consultation specifically designed for the emotional and behav-
ioral concerns exhibited by young children coming from high-risk, high-crime, and high-poverty
areas. Children participating in the CSRP showed statistically significant decreases in internalizing
and externalizing behavior problems, including decreases in sadness, withdrawal, aggression, and
defiance. Classroom observations confirmed reductions in externalizing disruptive behaviors and
internalizing withdrawal behaviors.
C ONCLUSIONS
Additional research is needed to evaluate social –emotional and behavioral intervention pro-
grams using a variety of ages and disabilities and to follow up with participants to later childhood and
adolescence. Specific skill programs, such as social skills and social –emotional training programs,
have also demonstrated some success at improving social –emotional competence of preschool chil-
dren in the short-term, although long-term efficacy of these programs have demonstrated mixed
results. More research is needed to identify intervention strategies that make a substantive and
lasting impact on social and emotional competence in early childhood, both immediately and later
during childhood and adolescence.
Comprehensive, systematic, prevention and intervention programs targeting social –emotional
development are emerging as empirically sound practices and would benefit from further high-quality
research trials using randomized designs and multimethod assessments. For example, PBS models
require additional research in the early childhood setting, where unique challenges exist. Some of
the challenges include inconsistency of teacher training and knowledge of assessment instruments,
children attending half versus whole days or fewer than five days a week, greater variability in
child development, and lack of consistent funding streams to support monitoring and intervention
programs (McCabe, 2006). Additional research is needed to validate these models, given the real-life
challenges facing today’s preschool classrooms.
School psychologists and early childhood educators are well situated to assess and monitor
the social and emotional well-being of preschool children and to ensure that every opportunity is
afforded young children to develop competence in this area. Children acquire the many skills needed
for school readiness through their relationships with parents/family, preschool teachers, and peers.
A child who receives high-quality care in early childhood is more likely to experience enhanced
intellectual and social –emotional growth in the future (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network,
2000). Further, relationships with peers in preschool are related to future school and social success.
Children’s social competence predicts social and academic outcomes, including school readiness and
positive attitudes towards school (Carlton & Winsler, 1999). Successful emotional adjustment and
emotional competence play a significant part in children’s social and academic success (Raver, 2004).
Socially and emotionally competent children are better prepared for the transition to kindergarten
and a future of social successes.

School psychologists, early childhood educators, and developmental scholars are increasingly
emphasizing the importance of social –emotional competence in an early childhood curriculum. Re-
search suggests that comprehensive programs (including academic, social, and emotional curricula)
and active involvement of both parents and teachers demonstrate some of the most robust immediate
and long-term effects on social and academic adjustment. These gains are particularly notable among
children who are at risk for social, emotional, or behavioral disturbance due to preexisting disorders
or who come from a high-risk, disadvantaged environment. Programs utilizing a multitiered, sys-
tematic approach to screening and intervening with social skill deficits and problem behaviors, such
as PBS, have shown favorable empirical outcomes.
Many deficits of social and emotional skills, similar to deficits of pre-academic skills, can
be identified early through screening and targeted for remediation. This differs from traditional
approaches in which interventions are only implemented when children’s social and emotional
difficulties have exacerbated beyond the ability of the teacher to manage. Utilizing a prevention
model, school psychologists work with classroom teachers and administration to develop universal
screening procedures for multiple domains of development, including social –emotional develop-
ment. Children who appear to be at risk based on data-based decision points can be targeted for
more intensive skills training using one of the programs highlighted earlier. The parents of children
who are at risk for social –emotional difficulties should also be included in the intervention, and this
may include parenting skills coaching, training in PBS, or instruction in the curriculum so that they
can practice the skills at home. Furthermore, evaluation of the assessment data might reveal class
or schoolwide deficits in global social and emotional skills, in which case, the school psychologist
might opt for a comprehensive approach that is embedded into a schoolwide curriculum and class-
room management program. Thorough assessment procedures using valid and sensitive instruments
are required to accurately pinpoint the nature and frequency of the skill deficits, as well as to assess
the RTI over the school year.
In an era of fiscal constraints and budgetary cutbacks, school psychologists may need to advocate
for funding and administrative support of a comprehensive approach to monitoring social –emotional
competence. Research over the past decades has consistently demonstrated that the benefits of early
intervention programs far outweighs the costs (Karoly, Kilburn, Bigelow, Caulkins, & Cannon, 2001)
and can significantly reduce later rates of mental illness and psychopathology, academic problems
and dropout, and delinquency (Webster-Stratton & Taylor, 2001). Utilizing a systematic monitoring
framework (e.g., PBS) that employs empirically valid interventions is a promising strategy for
ensuring that social –emotional milestones are met in preschools (Benedict et al., 2007).
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Psychology in the Schools, Vol.

EMPIRICALLY VALID STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL

D EVELOPMENT OF S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL C OMPETENCE

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL I NCOMPETENCE , M ALADAPTIVE B EHAVIOR , AND E FFECTS

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

A SSESSMENT OF S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL D EVELOPMENT AND B EHAVIORAL A DJUSTMENT

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

E MPIRICALLY S UPPORTED I NTERVENTIONS TO E NHANCE S OCIAL – E MOTIONAL D EVELOPMENT

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

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Psychology in the Schools

Aggressive Behavior. In addition, the • Scores are Socioeconomic status:

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

(BABES; clinics, and early intervention programs. behaviors. standardization is

Psychology in the Schools

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Psychology in the Schools

setting, using a four-choice response 4th-grade

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Attention Problems, and Aggression. Scale;

Psychology in the Schools

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Psychology in the Schools

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Teacher/Teacher .43 – .86.

Psychology in the Schools

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Psychology in the Schools

Anxiety, and Emotionality. Hispanic, 2% Asian, 8%

Name of Description: Area(s) Ages of Administration Scoring/ Psychometric

Psychology in the Schools

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Psychology in the Schools

Behavioral Interventions to Address Social –Emotional Problems

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Description/Focus Ages of Participants/ Research: Efficacy

Psychology in the Schools

play-based, experiential learning within a CBT framework.

Description/Focus Ages of Participants/ Research: Efficacy

Psychology in the Schools

Psychology in the Schools

Description/Focus Ages of Participants/ Research: Efficacy

• When the three lower levels of the pyramid

Psychology in the Schools

Interventions That Target Social Skills and Emotional Competence

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Comprehensive Interventions for Home and Classrooms

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

Psychology in the Schools DOI: 10.1002/pits

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