A study of a primary preventive intervention with young children

• Main Author: Lamb, Eila
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Mental health surveys; Preventive health services > Care studies
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21350

Primary prevention in health care services has effected important economies through prevention of handicap in children and through the reduction of financial and time costs for expensive, often life-time care. An important recent development in education has been the application of the concept to the innovation of preventive practices. These emphasize the promotion of competencies and strengths in children, particularly during critical periods in development, rather than the treatment of emotional, behavioral and learning deficits. This research investigated the immediate effects of a preventive programme, a modification of the Bessell and Palomares Methods in Human Development (MHDP), upon the learning of competencies and coping skills associated with cognitive and ego development in kindergarten and first grade children. The literature suggested a critical period at this point in ego development. Using a sample of 103 metropolitan kindergarten and first grade children, the effects of the Bessell and Palomares programme were compared to the effects of another discussion group method, Show-and-Tell. A fully-crossed fixed-effects three-factor design was used to test eight hypotheses; treatment main effects, sex and grade-level effects and all possible interactions. The dependent variables selected as representative of cognitive and ego development were: cognitive performance competency as measured by (1) minutes spent in mature problem-solving behavior on the Keister Puzzle Box and (2) school achievement (for first grade pupils only); social competency as measured by scores received on measures of (1) teacher perception of dysfunctional behavior, (2) peer perception of observed socially positive or neutral behavior, and (3) peer affiliation; affective competency as measured by scores received on measures of (1) the child's predominant emotional response to life and (2) the child's feelings of independent security (for first grade pupils only). Results pertaining to hypotheses were: 1. A significant multivariate F revealed differences between the two treatments. These differences were accounted for by changes in two of the social competency measures, the teacher behavior rating and the peer perception measure. For both measures the students taught under the modified Methods in Human Development programme (MHDP) gained significantly more than those taught under Show-and-Tell (SAT). 2. A significant interaction was found between treatment and grade-level, with followup univariate analyses showing a significant F for the measure of teacher perception of dysfunction. For kindergarten students taught under MHDP there was a greater reduction than for students taught under SAT. There was no statistical difference for first grade pupils. 3. Informal results were also presented which gave additional support to the effectiveness of the MHDP programme, particularly at the kindergarten level. 4. All other null hypotheses were accepted. A discussion of results included the following points: 1. In spite of the relatively brief, treatment period (18 weeks), the substantive impact of the treatment upon overt social functioning was noteworthy. Such positive functioning had been identified in the literature as predictive of adult competence. 2. While the peer affiliation measure was not significant, some informal results suggested a modest increase in social effectiveness for the Bessell and Palomares participants. 3. Possible weaknesses in instrumentation and the programme omissions necessitated by time restrictions may have contributed to the lack of clear results, particularly for first grade students. 4. Informal results from the standardized problem-solving situation seemed promising in providing valuable information on the behavioral or temperamental and cognitive styles of children. It was conjectured that such observational data would be helpful in educational planning for young children. Suggestions were made for further research particularly with the full grade one programme and on the use of the problem-solving device. === Education, Faculty of === Graduate