Evaluating dosage effects for the positive action program
How implementation impacts internalizing symptoms, aggression, school hassles, and self-esteem
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9053207 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul R Smokowski (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Shenyang Guo (0000-0003-3643-6415, Washington University in St. Louis), Qi Wu (0000-0001-5487-3278, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Caroline B R Evans (0000-0003-1766-2476, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Katie L Cotter (Arizona State University), Martica Bacallao (University of Kansas) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 86 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 310-322 |
| Publication date | 2016-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9432 • E-ISSN: 1939-0025 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/ort0000167 |
| PMID | 26950079 |
| OpenAlex | W2331522612 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 8 |
Positive Action (PA) is a school-based intervention for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students that aims to decrease problem behaviors (e.g., violence, substance use) and increase positive behaviors (e.g., academic achievement, school engagement). PA has a long history of documented success achieving these aims, making it an Evidence Based Practice (EBP). Intervention research on EBP's has established the importance of implementation fidelity, especially with regard to program dosage; failure to properly implement an EBP can have negative consequences on targeted outcomes, especially if participants are exposed to a low dosage of the program (e.g., fewer lessons than specified). Much of the current research on PA has neglected to examine how program dosage impacts PA's effect on targeted outcomes. Using propensity score models, multiple imputation, and a 2-level hierarchical linear model, the current study fills this gap and examines how different dosages of PA as measured by years participating in PA and number of PA lessons, impacts adolescent internalizing symptoms, aggression, perceptions of school hassles, and self-esteem over a 3-year period. The current sample included middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8 (N = 5,894). The findings indicate that students who received 3 years of the PA intervention and a high number of PA lessons had a significantly higher self-esteem score than those who received 0 years of PA or zero lessons. Participants who received 1 year of PA also reported significantly lower school hassle scores than those who received 0 years. Dosage had no statistically significant effects on aggression or internalizing score. Implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
Aggression · Developmental psychology · Injury prevention · Intervention (counseling) · Multilevel model · Poison control · Psychiatry · Self-esteem · Suicide prevention · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Psychology · Youth Development and Social Support
A systematic review of the long-term benefits of school mental health and wellbeing interventions for students in Australia
Can universal school-based social and emotional learning programs reduce early antisocial behaviours? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Students' ratings of school climate as a moderator between self‐esteem and internalizing symptoms in a community‐based high school population
The North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center
The impact of the positive action program on substance use, aggression, and psychological functioning
Testing the Nurturing Environments Framework on Youth Violence Across Ethnically and Geographically Diverse Urban and Rural Samples of Adolescents
Program Integrity in Primary and Early Secondary Prevention
Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Routine Mental Health Service Settings
The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects
Hierarchical linear models
Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys
Use of a Social and Character Development Program to Prevent Substance Use, Violent Behaviors, and Sexual Activity Among Elementary-School Students in Hawaii
A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Positive Action Program in a Low-Income, Racially Diverse, Rural County
An Introduction to Causal Inference
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2025 (8) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |