ERIC Number: EJ778484
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Oct
Pages: 13
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0890-8567
EISSN: N/A
Fast Track Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Externalizing Psychiatric Disorders: Findings from Grades 3 to 9
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, v46 n10 p1250 Oct 2007
Objective: This study tests the efficacy of the Fast Track Program in preventing antisocial behavior and psychiatric disorders among groups varying in initial risk. Method: Schools within four sites (Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; Seattle, WA; and rural central Pennsylvania) were selected as high-risk institutions based on neighborhood crime and poverty levels. After screening 9,594 kindergarteners in these schools, 891 highest risk and moderate-risk children (69% male and 51% African American) were randomly assigned by matched sets of schools to intervention or control conditions. The 10-year intervention (begun in 1991 with three yearly cohorts) included parent behavior-management training, child social-cognitive skills training, reading tutoring, home visiting, mentoring, and a universal classroom curriculum. Outcomes included criterion counts and psychiatric diagnoses after grades 3, 6, and 9 for conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, any externalizing disorder, and self-reported antisocial behavior. Grade 9 outcomes were assessed between 2000 and 2003, depending upon cohort. Results: Significant interaction effects between intervention and initial risk level were found at each age but most strongly after grade 9. Assignment to intervention had a significant positive effect in lowering criterion count scores and diagnoses for conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and any externalizing disorder, and lowering antisocial behavior scores, but only among those at highest risk initially. Conclusions: Prevention of serious antisocial behavior can be efficacious across sex, ethnicity, and urban/rural residence, but screening is essential. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Intervention, Poverty, Antisocial Behavior, Hyperactivity, Behavior Disorders, Parent Child Relationship, Interaction, High Risk Students, Program Effectiveness, Mental Disorders, Cognitive Ability, Skill Development, Tutoring, Reading Instruction, Mentors, Outcomes of Education, Attention Deficit Disorders, Screening Tests, Clinical Diagnosis, Grade 9, Grade 3, Grade 6
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. P.O. Box 1600, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Tel: 800-638-3030; Tel: 301-223-2300; Fax: 301-223-2400; Web site: http://www.lww.com/product/?0890-8567
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 3; Grade 6; Grade 9
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Mental Health (DHHS), Bethesda, MD.; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS/PHS), Rockville, MD. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.; Department of Education, Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A