Blueprints
Model Programs
Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS)
Program
Background
The PATHS (Promoting Alternative
THinking Strategies) Curriculum was developed to fill
the need for a comprehensive, developmentally-based
curriculum intended to promote social and emotional
competence and prevent or reduce behavior and emotional
problems. From its inception, the goal of PATHS was
focused on prevention through the development of essential
developmental skills in emotional literacy, positive
peer relations, and problem-solving. The Curriculum
(Kusché & Greenberg, 1994) is designed
to be taught by elementary school teachers from grade
K through grade 5.
Two decades of prior research had indicated an increasing
emphasis on the need for universal, school-based curricula
for the purposes of both promoting emotional competence
and decreasing risk factors related to later maladjustment.
However, although previous research has suggested
that such approaches might be especially effective
during the elementary school years, most evaluations
had been restricted in scope and/or had involved programs
with considerable limitations (e.g., narrow developmental
focus, short duration, and unreliable and invalid
outcome measures). Extensive focus on teaching emotional
competency, understanding, and awareness was notably
lacking, and comprehensive evaluations and inclusive
programs were rare. These shortcomings were surprising,
given the wide range of curricula utilized in elementary
education that were intended to promote social competence
and prevent disorder. Nevertheless, research strongly
suggested that a comprehensive prevention program
in the classroom setting had the potential to provide
much needed assistance for both normally-adjusted
and behaviorally at-risk students.
In addition, we believed that the rapid and complex
cultural changes of the past few decades, as well
as those predicted for the foreseeable future, made
emotional and social competency crucial requirements
for adaptive and successful functioning of children
and for their continuing adaptation as adolescents
and adults. Although social and emotional competence
had never been considered a necessary component of
education in the past, we felt that it had become
as critical for the basic knowledge repertoire of
all children as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Teachers acknowledged that they had little background
or established strategies to deal with emotional and
social competency, so we felt that it was necessary
to provide detailed lessons, as well as materials
and instruction.
As with many of the more recent school-based preventive
interventions, PATHS was designed to be taught by
regular classroom teachers (initially with support
from project staff) as an integrated component of
the regular year-long curriculum. However, it is important
to ensure that children generalize (i.e., apply the
skills to new contexts) the use of PATHS skills to
the remainder of the day and to other contexts. Thus,
generalization activities and strategies were incorporated
to be used in (and outside of) the classroom throughout
each school day, and materials were included for use
with parents.
More recent literature reviews have indicated that
successful programs have the following characteristics:
(a) utilizing a program of longer duration, (b) synthesizing
a number of successful approaches, (c) incorporating
a developmental model, (d) providing greater focus
on the role of emotions and emotional development,
(e) providing increased emphasis on generalization
techniques, (f) providing ongoing training and support
for implementation, and (g) utilizing multiple measures
and follow-ups for assessing program effectiveness.
All seven of these under-emphasized but critical
factors have been incorporated into the PATHS curriculum.
Furthermore, as PATHS has been utilized with different
cohorts and populations over the past 15 years, multiple
field-tests with extensive feedback from teachers
has led to expansion and improvement in PATHS over
time.
Theoretical Rationale/Conceptual
Framework
The PATHS prevention-intervention program is based
on five conceptual models. The first, the ABCD (Affective-Behavioral-Cognitive-Dynamic)
Model of Development focuses on the promotion of optimal
developmental growth for each individual. The second
model incorporates an eco-behavioral systems orientation
and emphasizes the manner in which the teacher uses
the curriculum model and generalizes the skills to
build a healthy classroom atmosphere (i.e., one that
supports the children's use and internalization of
the material they have been taught). The third model
involves the domains of neurobiology and brain structuralization/organization,
while the fourth paradigm involves psychodynamic education
(derived from Developmental Psychodynamic Theory).
Finally, the fifth model includes psychological issues
related to emotional awareness, or as it is more popularly
labeled, emotional intelligence.
The ABCD Model
The ABCD model incorporates aspects
of diverse theories of human development including
psychodynamic developmental theory, developmental
social cognition, cognitive developmental theory,
cognitive social-learning theory, and attachment theory.
The ABCD model places primary importance on the developmental
integration of affect (i.e., emotion, feeling, mood)
and emotion language, behavior, and cognitive understanding
to promote social and emotional competence. A basic
premise is that a child's coping, as reflected in
his or her behavior and internal regulation, is a
function of emotional awareness, affective-cognitive
control, and social-cognitive understanding. Implicit
in the ABCD model is the idea that during the maturational
process, emotional development precedes most forms
of cognition. That is, young children experience emotions
and react on an emotional level long before they can
verbalize their experiences. In early life, affective
development is an important precursor of other ways
of thinking and later needs to be integrated with
cognitive and linguistic abilities, which are slower
to develop. Table 1 presents a summary of stages in
the ABCD Model (See Greenberg & Kusché,
1993 for elaboration).
During the first three years of life, the entire repertoire
of emotional signals develops, and these signals/displays
are subsequently used throughout the rest of an individual's
lifetime. Thus, by the time children are beginning to
utilize language fluently to express internal states
of being (e.g., feeling sad, happy, jealous), most of
their emotional responses have already become habitual.
By the end of the preschool years, most children have
become skilled in both showing and interpreting emotional
displays, although there are considerable individual
differences in children's emotional profiles. The child
also begins to demonstrate affective perspective-taking
skills (i.e., the ability to differentiate the emotions,
needs, and desires of different people in a particular
context). The preschooler gradually finds new ways to
cope with unpleasant emotions and discovers that internally
experienced affects can be directly shared with others
through verbal means. Furthermore, the child begins
to regulate internal affective states through verbal
self-regulation, a critical developmental achievement.
An example of this ability is when a preschooler is
able to tell someone he is angry instead of showing
aggression towards a peer or object.
Between the ages of 5 and 7, children undergo a major
developmental transformation that generally includes
increases in cognitive processing skills, as well as
changes in brain size and function. This transition
and the accompanying alterations allow children to undertake
major changes in responsibilities, independence, and
social roles.
During the elementary school years, further developmental
integrations occur between affect, behavior, and cognition/language.
This integration is of crucial importance in achieving
socially competent action and healthy peer relations.
For example, in the early elementary years when a child
has been rebuffed when attempting to enter a game with
peers, she might walk away, calm down, assess how both
she and the other kids feel, and think of another strategy
to enter the game, or think of something else to do
or someone else with whom she can play.
Although research has demonstrated the linkage between
deficits in emotional development and psychopathology,
surprisingly little attention has been paid to the crucial
role of emotional development in models of preventive
intervention. Taking this factor into account, the PATHS
Curriculum model synthesizes the domains of self-control,
emotional awareness and understanding, and social problem-solving
to increase social and emotional competence.
Table 1
ABCD Model
(Affective-Behavioral-Cognitive-Developmental)
Stages of Developmental Integration
1. Infancy (Birth to 18 months)
Emotion = Communication
Arousal and Desire = Behavior
2. Toddlerhood (18 months to 36 months)
Language Supplements Emotion = Communication
Very Initial Development of Emotional Labeling
Arousal and Desire = Behavior
3. Preschool Years (3 to 6 years)
Language Develops Powerful Role in Communication
Child can Recognize/Label Basic Emotions
Arousal and Desire > Symbolic Mediation >
Behavior
Development of Role-taking Abilities
Beginning of Reflective Social Planning Problem-Solving
(Generation of Alternative Plans for Behavior)
4. School Years (6 to 12-13 years)
Thinking in Language has become Habitual
Increasing Ability to Reflect on and Plan Sequences
of Action
Developing Ability to Consider Multiple Consequences
of Action
Increasing Ability to Take Multiple Perspectives
on a Situation
5. Adolescence
Utilize Language in the Service of Hypothetical
Thought
Ability to Simultaneously Consider Multiple Perspectives
The Eco-Behavioral Systems
Model
The second conceptual model incorporates
an eco-behavioral systems orientation and examines learning
primarily at the level of systems change. School-based
programs that focus independently on the child or environment
are not as effective as those that simultaneously educate
the child and instill positive changes in the environment.
Training programs may appr opriately be considered person-centered
when skills are taught in the absence of creating environmental
supports for continued skill application in daily interactions.
In contrast, ecologically oriented programs emphasize
not only the teaching of skills, but also the creation
of meaningful real-life opportunities to use skills
and the establishment of structures to provide reinforcement
for effective skill application. Thus, although a central
goal of PATHS is to promote the developmental skills
of each child by providing learning that integrates
affect, cognition, and behavior, a critical ingredient
for success is the development of a healthy classroom
and school environment.
From this perspective, the success of skills training
programs may depend largely on their attention to encouraging
and supporting socialization patterns and supports in
the intervention setting. For example, ecologically
oriented problem-solving programs try to introduce a
common social information processing framework that
children and teachers can use to communicate more effectively
about problem situations. In other words, they try to
change not only the child's behavior, but also the teacher's
behavior, the relationship between the teacher and child,
and classroom and school-level resources and procedures
to support adaptive problem-solving efforts, assuming
that the interactions are dysfunctional or ineffective.
The generalization procedures, extensive teacher training,
and focus on some level of parent participation used
in PATHS have the goal of combining classroom instruction
with efforts to create environmental support and reinforcement
from peers, family members, school personnel health
professionals, and other concerned community members.
Further, training emphasizes the manner in which the
teacher uses the curriculum model and generalizes the
skills to build a healthy classroom atmosphere (i.e.,
one that supports the children's use and internalization
of the material they have been taught).
Neurobiology and Brain
Structuralization/Organization
When designing PATHS, we paid special attention to developmental
models of brain organization. Two of the most relevant
concepts we incorporated involve "vertical"
control and "horizontal" communication (Kusché,
1984).
"Vertical" control refers to higher-order
processing and regulation of emotion and actions by
the frontal lobes over the limbic system and sensory-motor
areas. When adults first experience emotional information,
it is rapidly perceived and processed in the limbic
system in the middle part of the brain. This initial
information is then transmitted to the frontal lobes
in the neocortex for further processing and interpretation,
and, subsequently, the frontal lobes can transmit messages
back to the limbic system to modify emotion signals
and to the sensory-motor cortex to influence potential
actions.
For example, if you saw a car coming towards you and
you startled and jumped to the side of the road, all
of this rapid processing would have occurred primarily
in the limbic system without any true conscious awareness
on your part. Afterwards, however, you would take in
and process further information at a cortical level
(e.g., the thought, "That car almost hit me!";
the color of the car; the license plate number, etc.).
In addition to the initial fear, you would probably
start to feel angry, as well as relieved, and you might
decide to report the incident to the police.
Rapid primary processing is sometimes crucial for survival,
as in this case, but secondary processing in the frontal
cortex is important because it allows us to integrate
data involving emotions with knowledge-based information,
which, in turn, assists with making appropriate plans
for further action.
Early in development (i.e., by the time of toddlerhood),
there are few interconnections between the limbic system
and the frontal lobes; thus, during the "terrible-twos,"
children frequently hit, bite, or kick "automatically"
when they feel angry. As children mature, however, increasing
neuronal interconnections evolve between the frontal
lobes and the limbic system. This is especially important
with regard to the development of self control, because
the frontal cortex becomes increasingly able to regulate
impulses from the limbic areas and modify potential
actions. Between the ages of 5 and 7, a major shift
occurs in which networks in the frontal areas achieve
significant dominance with regard to exerting emotional
self-regulation and behavioral self-control.
However, these developmental milestones do not automatically
unfold, but rather are heavily influenced by environmental
input throughout early childhood. Moreover, if these
networks do not dev elop in an optimal manner, children
will not have the neuronal structure necessary to control
their actions in response to strong emotional signals.
Thus, in order to promote the development of executive
or vertical control with PATHS, we teach children to
practice conscious strategies for self-control, including
self-talk (i.e., verbal mediation and the Control Signals
Poster). For younger children and those with either
delayed language or difficulties in behavioral and emotional
control, we utilize the "Turtle Technique,"
which includes a motor-inhibiting response in addition
to self-talk.
"Horizontal" communication refers to a phenomenon
that results from the asymmetry of information processing
in the two halves of the neocortex (the outermost and
evolutionarily newer part of the brain).
The left hemisphere is responsible for processing receptive
and expressive language as well as expressing positive
affect. The right hemisphere is specialized for processing
both comfortable and uncomfortable receptive affect
and uncomfortable expressive affect in the majority
of English-speaking adults, the only cultural group
on which research is available (Bryden & Ley, 1983).
Nonlinguistic information (such as emotional signals)
is often processed without awareness (preconscious processing)
unless we verbally "think" about it. To verbally
label our emotional experiences, and thus become consciously
aware of them, this information must be transmitted
to the left hemisphere. However, the left and right
hemispheres can communicate with one another only via
the corpus callosum, a "bridge" that horizontally
connects the two sides of the brain. Therefore, in order
to be truly aware of our emotional experiences, we must
utilize both the right and left hemispheres. The language
areas on the left side of the brain can also modify
and influence affective processing in the right (Davidson,
1998; Sutton & Davidson, 1997).
An interesting situation occurs if, for some reason,
emotion information does not reach the left hemisphere
(e.g., an adequate neural network has never developed
or interconnections are blocked from intercommunication).
When this occurs, an individual will experience emotion,
but will not be aware of having done so. Thus, other
people can be aware of how the person feels (i.e., by
observing facial cues), but the individual will not
be aware of having experienced the feelings. A frequent
illustration of this phenomenon occurs when a teacher
observes a child who is clearly feeling angry, but that
child truly has no conscious awareness of such an emotion
("I am not angry; I feel fine").
Development of the corpus callosum is relatively slow,
so that it is only with maturation that optimum hemispheric
communication is possible. As with vertical neural networks,
the way in which interhemispheric communication occurs
depends heavily on environmental input during development.
Based on this theory of "horizontal" communication
and control, we hypothesized that verbal identification
and labeling, especially of uncomfortable feelings,
would powerfully assist with managing these feelings,
controlling behavior, and improving hemispheric integration.
Thus, we stress the use of Feeling Face cards that include
both the facial drawing of each affect (recognition
of which is mediated by the right hemisphere) and its
printed label (which is mediated by the left). In addition,
we also utilize a color-coded differentiation of comfortable
(yellow) versus uncomfortable (blue) feelings. In addition,
encouraging children to talk about emotional experiences
(both at the time they are occurring and in recollection)
further strengthens neural integration.
In summary, our knowledge of the neurobiological development
of the brain was heavily influential in the development
of PATHS. Research strongly suggests that learning experiences
in the context of meaningful relationships during childhood
influence the development of neural networks between
different areas of the brain, which in turn affect self-control
and emotional awareness. Thus, we incorporated strategies
in PATHS to optimize the nature and quality of teacher-child
and peer-peer interactions that are likely to impact
brain development as well as learning (Greenberg &
Snell, 1997). Optimum development of both "vertical"
and "horizontal" communication and control
during childhood should promote better adaptation in
both current and later life.
Psychodynamic Education
The application of psychoanalytic theory to the education
of children has only recently received significant attention.
Psychodynamic education is intended to enhance developmental
growth, promote mental health, and prevent emotional
distress, but it is not treatment. In this regard, teachers
are not therapists and are not expected to act as such.
However, teachers are powerful role models (individuals
with whom children can identify in a positive manner),
and the information they impart is often given the status
of absolute truth (i.e., omniscience), especially during
the elementary school-age years. When teachers express
an interest in children's feelings and emotional experiences
or show respect for children's opinions, their students
are impacted in a profound manner. As the teacher-student
relationships grow increasingly more positive and enriched,
learning is enhanced.
Psychodynamic education
is derived from a developmental theory and aims
to coordinate social, emotional, and cognitive growth.
Teachers are encouraged to utilize actual classroom
experiences and use children's creative, imaginal processes.
Students can then develop a healthy sense of self-esteem
from observing the positive reactions of others towards
them, not because they have been encouraged to parrot
simplistic affirmations. Further, teachers play a crucial
role by providing clarifications and explanations of
emotions and situations.
An important way in which psychodynamic education differs
from other models is its emphasis on internalization,
the process of healthy development of conscience, or
"taking ownership" and self-responsibility
for one's actions.
By promoting the development of internal self-control
and self-motivation along with healthy standards for
behavior, children develop an optimal sense of autonomy
and decision-making while also considering the needs
and feelings of others. For example, students contemplate
and discuss the consequences of having good vs. bad
manners and evaluate why good manners are important
(e.g., the way we act affects how other people feel),
rather than simply being taught a list of good manners
that they are supposed to use. In this way, the children
come to "own" the concepts as belonging to
themselves (i.e., they internalize them); as a result,
they voluntarily choose to use good manners because
they believe it is the right thing to do.
In summary, some of the long-range goals of psychodynamic
education are for each child to develop a kind but fair
sense of prosocial behavioral control, positive sense
of self, respect for self and others, healthy internal
motivation, curiosity and love for learning, and so
on that operate independently of the external environment.
These factors enhance developmental growth, improve
school functioning, and optimize mental health, while
preventing antisocial tendencies, violent behavior,
and substance abuse.
Psychological Issues
Related to the Crucial Role of Emotional Awareness
Research suggests that as children develop more complex
and accurate plans and strategies regarding emotions,
these plans have a major influence on their social behavior.
For example, the ability to think through problem situations
and to anticipate their occurrence is critical for socially
competent behavior. However, these "cold"
cognitive processes are unlikely to be effectively utilized
in real world conditions (e.g., when being teased) unless
the child can both accurately process the emotional
content of the situation and effectively regulate his
or her emotional arousal so that he and she can think
through the problem.
Similarly, if children misidentify their own feelings
or those of others, they are likely to generate maladaptive
solutions to a problem, regardless of their intellectual
capacities. In addition to these types of challenges,
the child's motivation to discuss these feelings and
problem-solve in interpersonal contexts will also be
greatly impacted by the modeling and reinforcement of
adults and peers.
Emotional awareness and understanding are implicit
in many models that have been developed to promote social
competence, but have rarely been a central focus, even
though numerous studies have assessed social problem-solving
ability as both a mediator and outcome of intervention.
Recently, emotional competence has been subsumed under
a new, more popular term, emotional intelligence (Goleman,
1995; Mayer & Salovey, 1997), defined as the ability
to recognize emotional responses in oneself, other people,
and situations, and use this knowledge in effective
ways (e.g., in managing one's own emotional responses,
motivating oneself, and handling relationships effectively).
"Self-awareness—recognizing a feeling as
it happens—is the keystone of emotional intelligence….[T]he
ability to monitor feelings from moment to moment is
[also] crucial to psychological insight and self-understanding.
An inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at
their mercy. People with greater certainty about their
feelings are better pilots of their lives" (Goleman,
1995, p. 43). Thus, it has been proposed that emotional
intelligence may be more important than cognitive intelligence
in achieving success and happiness in life.
As such, a central focus of PATHS is encouraging
children to discuss feelings, experiences, opinions,
and needs that are personally meaningful, and making
them feel listened to, supported, and respected by
both teachers and peers. As a result, the internalization
of feeling valued, cared for, appreciated, and part
of a social group is facilitated, which, in turn,
motivates children to value, care for, and appreciate
themselves, their environment, their social groups,
other people, and their world.
This focus cannot be emphasized enough. Although
all children need to feel listened to or respected
by others, especially adults, many children do not
have an adult role model who will support them in
this manner; hence, they do not learn to respect themselves
or others. These aspects of socialization must be
taught to children, and to become truly socialized,
children must internalize and embrace them as their
own, hopefully prior to reaching adolescence. It is
important to recognize, however, that this cannot
be forced upon children, but rather is best achieved
through nurturance and respect.
Summary
The PATHS prevention model contains a number of basic
principles that are drawn from the five theories discussed.
First, the school environment is a fundamental ecology
and one that can be a central locus of change. Second,
to affect significant changes in children's social
and emotional competence, it is necessary to take
a holistic approach that includes a focus on affect,
behavior, and cognitions. Third, children's ability
to understand and discuss emotions is related to their
ability to inhibit behavior by utilizing verbal self-control.
Fourth, children's ability to understand their own
and others' emotions is a central component of effective
problem-solving and social interactions. Fifth, developmental
models indicate that it is important to build protective
factors (e.g., promote reflective thinking, problem
solving, and the ability to accurately anticipate
and evaluate situations) that decrease maladjustment.
These skills, in turn, increase children's access
to positive social interactions and provide opportunities
for a greater variety of learning experiences. As
such, these skills should also contribute to the amelioration
of significant underachievement and promote skills
that are beneficial to the prevention of other types
of adolescent problem behaviors in the future (e.g.,
aggression, substance abuse, dangerous risk-taking,
etc.).
Brief Description of Intervention
The PATHS Curriculum consists of an Instructional
Manual, six volumes of lessons, pictures, photographs,
posters, Feeling Faces, and additional materials.
PATHS is divided into three major units: (1) the Readiness
and Self-Control Unit, 12 lessons that focus on readiness
skills and development of basic self-control; (2)
the Feelings and Relationships Unit, 56 lessons that
focus on teaching emotional and interpersonal understanding
(i.e., Emotional Intelligence); and (3) the Interpersonal
Cognitive Problem-Solving Unit, 33 lessons that cover
eleven steps for formal interpersonal problem-solving.
Two further areas of focus in PATHS involve building
positive self-esteem and improving peer communications/relations.
Rather than having separate units on these topics,
relevant lessons are interspersed throughout the other
three units. There is also a Supplementary Unit containing
30 lessons which review and extend PATHS concepts
that are covered in the major three units. The PATHS
units cover five conceptual domains:
- self-control,
- emotional understanding,
- positive self esteem,
- relationships, and
- interpersonal problem solving skills.
Each of these domains has a variety of sub-goals,
depending on the particular developmental level and
needs of the children receiving instruction.
PATHS is an expansive and flexible program that allows
implementation of the 131 lessons over a 5 year period,
but it should be noted that any particular lesson
is not necessarily equivalent to one session; indeed,
depending on the needs of any specific classroom,
one PATHS lesson can run from one to five or more
PATHS sessions. Pictures and photographs are included
for all of the lessons, with smaller graphics provided
in the margins of the scripts to make the curriculum
more user-friendly. Most of the materials that are
needed are included in The PATHS Curriculum kit, but
supplementary materials can certainly be added as
desired.
A separate volume is also included with PATHS to
serve as an Instructional Manual for teachers. To
encourage generalization to the home environment,
parent letters and information are provided periodically
in the curricular lessons and can be sent home by
the teachers as desired. "Home activity assignments"
(separate versions for younger and older students)
are also included for children to do at home (e.g.,
Ask your mom or dad or other adult about a time when
they felt proud) to further involve parents (please
see Appendices E and F).
Evidence of Program Effectiveness
Three controlled studies with randomized control
vs. experimental groups (using one year of PATHS implementation
with pre, post, and follow-up data) have been conducted
by the present authors. These have included three
different populations including deaf/hearing impaired,
regular education, and special education-classified
children.
Increasing Protective Factors
In all three clinical trials,
compared to matched
control children, the use of the PATHS Curriculum
has significantly increased the children's ability
to:
- Recognize and understand emotions
- Understand social problems
- Develop effective alternative solutions
- Decrease the percentage of aggressive/violent
solutions
In all three groups of children, teachers
report significant improvements in children's prosocial
behavior in the following domains:
- Self-control
- Emotional understanding
- Ability to tolerate frustration
- Use of effective conflict-resolution strategies
Cognitive testing indicates that PATHS leads to improvements
in the following skills:
- Ability to plan ahead to solve complex tasks with
normal and special needs children
(WISC-R Block Design and Analogies of the Test of
Cognitive Abilities; not tested in the Deaf/Hearing-Impaired
group)
- Cognitive flexibility and low impulsivity with
non-verbal tasks
(Coding from the WISC-R)
- Improved reading achievement for young deaf children
Reducing Maladaptive
Outcomes
Teachers report the following reductions in behavioral
difficulties at one-year post intervention:
- Decreased internalizing symptoms (sadness, anxiety,
and withdrawal) in special needs classrooms
- Decreased externalizing symptoms (aggressive and
disruptive behavior) in special education classrooms
Students (in regular and special needs classes) self-report
the following reductions in behavioral difficulties
at one-year post intervention:
- Decreased symptoms of sadness and depression (Child
Depression Inventory)
- Decreased report of conduct problems
Initial Finding from
the National Fast Track Demonstration Program
The FT/PATHS Curriculum (a revised version of PATHS
which maintains the critical components of the original
curriculum) is the central universal prevention component
of the Fast Track Program. Fast Track is a comprehensive
program whose goals include the prevention of aggression
and delinquency and the promotion of social and academic
competence. The Fast Track Program involves a longitudinal
design and is conducted in four American locations
(Seattle, Nashville, Durham, and rural Pennsylvania).
Findings at the end of first grade (after one year
of implementation) indicate that in schools in which
PATHS is operating, there is improved social adaptation
(as compared to matched control schools) as indexed
by more positive reports of the following dimensions:
- Lower peer aggression scores based on peer ratings
(Sociometrics)
- Lower teacher ratings of disruptive behavior (Teacher
report)
- Improved classroom atmosphere (assessed by Independent
Observers)
Summary
PATHS has been shown to improve protective factors
and reduce behavioral risk across a wide variety of
elementary school-aged children. In addition, these
findings have shown cross-rater validity, as they
have been reflected in teacher ratings, self-reports,
child testing/interviewing, and independent ratings
by classroom observers.
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