Methodical principles and prevention-focused outcomes in professional youth work: A longitudinal analysis

Previous research has suggested that professional youth work settings empower socially vulnerable youngsters, strengthening their personal development and social participation. It is expected that youth work can prevent personal and social problems of youngsters, which may have longer term positive social returns. How the underlying methodical way of acting of youth workers contributes to prevention-focused outcomes remains unclear. This article presents a four-wave longitudinal cohort study (16 months) that investigated longitudinal associations between 12 individual methodical principles that youth workers apply in interactions with youngsters and four prevention-focused outcomes: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network and civic participation. The sample consisted of 1,597 Dutch youngsters with a mean age of 16.5 years (SD = 3.60). Findings: Linear mixed models analysis found that all individual methodical principles were longitudinally associated with one or more outcome. The strongest associations were observed with regard to prosocial skills and civic participation. Depending on the outcome measure, methodical principles seem to be more effective for boys, for youngsters who participate for 3 years or longer in youth work settings and for youngsters between 10 and 19 years old. With regard to the effect of methodical principles on improving self-mastery, 9 of the 12 principles appeared to play no positive role in increasing self-mastery of youngsters. Applications: This study provides youth workers with a better understanding of which methodical principles are positively associated with prevention-focused outcomes as well as reinforcing the evidence-based practice of professional youth work.

Associations Between Self, Peer, and Teacher Reports of Victimization and Social Skills in School in Children With Language Disorders

Previous studies have shown that teachers and parents of children with language disorders report them to have higher victimization scores, a heightened risk of low-quality friendships and social difficulties, and may be more vulnerable to peer rejection than control peers. However, there are few studies of bullying in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and reading difficulties (RD), and none has considered the mutual relationships between teacher reports, the perceptions of classmates, and children’s self-reports. We analyzed the experiences of bullying and peer relationships in primary school students with DLD and RD as compared to their age-matched peers using teacher reports, peer reports, and self-reports on victimization. Additionally, we explored how these three perspectives are associated. Results indicated lower levels of peer-rated prosocial skills in DLD and RD students compared to their peers, as well as higher levels of victimization as assessed by peers for students with DLD. In the same line, the teachers’ ratings showed that students with DLD presented poorer social skills, less adaptability, and more withdrawal in social interaction. Contrastingly, self-reports informed of similar rates of interpersonal relationships, social stress, and peer victimization between the three groups. Consequently, we found significant correlations between measures of peer reports and teacher reports that contrasted with the lack of correlations between self and other agents’ reports. These findings stress the importance of using self-reports, peer reports, and teacher reports at the same time to detect bullying situations that might go unnoticed.

Improving Relationships and Student Outcomes Through Restorative Practices

Students who exhibit externalizing behaviors may impede learning in the classroom and lead to cycles of negative teacher–student interactions. Positive relationships among students, peers, and educators serve as a protective factor against childhood adversity and are a predictor of academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. By incorporating restorative practices into their daily routine, educators and school leaders can strengthen relationships and promote safety while ensuring students are learning prosocial skills needed for future success.

Fostering Holistic Development with a Designed Multisport Intervention in Physical Education: A Class-Randomized Cross-Over Trial

Physical education (PE) is acknowledged as a relevant context for holistic child and youth development promotion. However, interventional research mostly builds on individual theories focused on specific outcome domains. This study presents a multisport enriched PE intervention that capitalizes on the intersection of different theory-based approaches to motor, cognitive and socio-emotional skills development promotion. With a cross-over design, 181 fifth graders, coming from a past class-randomized trial of enriched or traditional PE in their 1st–3rd grade, were stratified (based on their previous PE experience) and class-randomized to multisport enriched PE or control group. They completed pre-post assessments in motor and sport skills, cool (inhibition, working memory) and hot (decision making) executive functions, prosocial (empathy, cooperation) and antisocial (quick-temperedness, disruptiveness) behaviors. Children in the enriched PE group showed advantages in motor and prosocial skills after the intervention, which were linked by a mediation path, and an interactive effect of past and actual PE experience on decision making but no differential effects on other variables. The results suggest that a PE intervention designed with an integrative theory base, although not allowing disentangling the contribution of individual components to its efficacy, may help pursue benefits in motor and non-motor domains relevant to whole-child development.

Latent Profiles of Parental Burnout During COVID-19: The Role of Child-Related Perceptions

The present study examined latent profiles of parental burnout dimensions (e.g., exhaustion in parental role, contrast with previous parental self, feelings of being fed up, and emotional distancing, measured with a shortened version of the parental burnout assessment scale) among Finnish parents of sixth and eighth grade children. In addition, the role of children’s strengths and difficulties (e.g., prosocial skills, hyperactivity, somatic problems, conduct problems, and peer problems) and parents’ growth mindset in predicting membership in the latent parental burnout profiles was examined. The participants were 1,314 parents (80% mothers) from the Helsinki Metropolitan area who filled in a questionnaire concerning their parenting burnout and child-related perceptions during the fall 2020. The results were analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA) and three-step procedure. Three latent profiles of parental burnout were identified as: low parental burnout (85.7% of the parents), high parental burnout (8%), and emotionally distanced (6.3%) profiles. Parents who reported their children having some challenges (e.g., hyperactivity, somatic problems, conduct problems, and peer problems) more often belonged to the high burnout or emotionally distanced profiles rather than to the low parental burnout profile. Parents whose children had high prosocial skills and who employed growth mindset more often belonged to the low parental burnout rather than to the distanced profile.

Training of prosocial skills to migrant groups through serious games

Due to forced migration migrants, asylum seekers and refugees finding themselves in a new cultural environment and trying to build a new life, they need to feel affiliated, to achieve peer acceptance among natives and diverse migrant groups. Such affiliation needs can be achieved by tailored training interventions aiming to promote the development of prosocial skills of cultural diverse groups, as alternative actions to facilitate better migrants’/asylum seekers/refugees’ integration into the host society. The scope of this survey is to study the short-term effects of a social skills and prosocial behaviour training for adult migrants, refugees or asylum seekers. The method is based on the theory of prosociality and explores the effectiveness of a prosocial game in the development of prosocial skills, which are considered important for the social and emotional wellbeing and smoother integration of migrant groups in the new host community. A pre-test-post-test design was used, assigning 110 migrant participants to either an experimental or a control group and comparing them on their prosocial skills as evaluated through the NADINE questionnaire. Those who played the game significantly improved in their teamwork and interpersonal skills. Although further research should be made on the use of serious games in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in migrant adults, this study adds to the research literature, supporting the potential of a game-based SEL intervention for effectively assisting migrant groups develop their prosocial skills and facilitating their better integration into the host society.

Promoting proactive bystander responses to racism and racial discrimination in primary schools: a mixed methods evaluation of the ‘Speak Out Against Racism’ program pilot

Background Racism and racial discrimination are fundamental causes and determinants of health and health inequalities globally, with children and adolescents particularly vulnerable. Racial discrimination is a common stressor in the lives of many children and adolescents, with growing evidence of negative associations between racial discrimination and multiple domains of child and adolescent health. Addressing racism and racial discrimination must be core public health priorities, even more so among children and young people. Schools are key settings in the lives of children and adolescents and become increasingly more important to identity formation. School communities, teachers and peers greatly influence children and adolescents’ beliefs about race and difference. Schools are therefore key sites for the delivery of population-based programs to reduce racism and promote proactive bystander behaviour and healthy resistance to racism among all children and adolescents as well as among the adults. Methods This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of the ‘Speak Out Against Racism (SOAR)’ program, a whole of school, multi-level, multi-strategy program that aimed to promote effective bystander responses to racism and racial discrimination in primary schools. A mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design was used. Students in Years 5 and 6 (10–12 years) across six schools completed surveys pre- and post- intervention (N = 645; 52% female; 6% Indigenous, 10% Middle Eastern, African, Latinx or Pacific Islander, 21% Asian, 52% Anglo/European). Focus groups with students and interviews with staff collected qualitative data about their experiences of the program and their views about the program’s perceived need, implementation, impacts and suggested improvements. Results Quantitative data showed student prosocial skills and teacher inter-racial climate improved in intervention schools compared to comparison schools. Qualitative data highlighted teacher attitudinal and behaviour change regarding racism, and student reduced interpersonal racial discrimination, improved peer prosocial norms, commitment to anti-racism, knowledge of proactive bystander responses and confidence and self-efficacy to intervene to address racism. Conclusions This study provides quantitative evidence of the potential of the SOAR program to improve the prosocial skills of students and their perceptions of the inter-racial school climate provided by their teachers. This program also provided qualitative evidence of the potential to promote teacher and student attitudinal and behavioural change. Further refinement and testing of the program in a large scale implementation trial is recommended.

Psychometric Properties of the Elementary Social Behavior Assessment in Swedish Primary School: A Teacher Rated Index of Students’ Prosocial School Behaviors

This study examined the psychometric properties of a Swedish language adaption of the teacher-rated Elementary Social Behavior Assessment (ESBA), which provides an index of students’ prosocial school behaviors. Participants were eight teachers (two teachers per school in four schools) who rated their students (N = 143 children, M age = 8 years old). The ESBA factor structure was tested with Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a series of models. The two- and three-factor models showed better fit. ESBA showed high internal consistency at the observed level. ESBA’s psychometric properties show initial promise as a tool to help Swedish teachers to support students’ prosocial skills development.

Characteristics and outcome indicators in a specialist inpatient intellectual disability unit: an independent sector experience

AimsTo elucidate critical elements for effective outcomes in patients with complex and challenging behaviours admitted to specialist inpatient ‘locked rehabilitation’ intellectual disability unit (LRU).BackgroundPeople with intellectual disability of varying severity with or without associated mental disorder are at risk of deterioration presenting with problem behaviours at critical times of transition. In the context of their pre-set neurocognitive deficits, protective factors during early development include a robust psychosocial ‘parenting’ environment that optimises their strengths through nurturing and embedding a positive mind-set. Such environment is critical for the development of resilience as against reliance on external factors with high likelihood of change. The effect of early exposure to prenatal and or postnatal childhood adversities is a common denominator. The experience of abuse; from deprivation and neglect to physical violence and indeed sexual trauma predisposes to further perturbation and kindling effect on risks for early and later onset affective disorders. Specialist ID services become critical to the resetting of a distorted premorbid neuronal circuitry. A biopsychosocial approach to recreating a stable base and environmental enrichment may offer opportunities for enhancing neurocognitive remediation and enhance prosocial skills. Indicators for better outcomes may offer scope for focused intervention. This review highlights extent patients progress (response to treatment and symptom remission), length of Stay and discharge pathway could be predicated on their engagement with offered structured therapeutic activities.MethodUsing a mixed model approach, 12-months data regarding patient characteristics, elements from HoNOs LD, with patient's self-reported experience and utilization of therapy, progress of patients in the service were reviewed to elucidate factors that may predict improved outcomes..ResultOf 48 patients, 18 females and 30 males identified in the 12-months from January 2019, 7 females were discharged/transferred with one stepped up to LSU and another side-moved to a LRU. 6 have identified places and 5 require ongoing care. Of the males, 8 were discharged and 5 have identified placements. 16 inpatients with support completed questionnaires (10 males, 6 females). Majority identified structured therapeutic activities as helpful in their progress. Data for length of stay ranged from 12 to over 120 months with a mean of 31 months ignoring potential discharges.ConclusionFindings suggest patients able to engage in structured therapeutic activities in conjunction with concordance to treatment are more likely to progress earlier in their care.

The Contribution of Professional Youth Work to the Personal Development and Social Participation of Socially Vulnerable Youngsters: A Dutch Longitudinal Cohort Study

This article focuses on how length of participation in professional youth work is associated with five outcome variables: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network, civic participation (volunteering and organizing activities) and finding support from social care services. The study was designed as a longitudinal cohort study of four waves during a 16-month period, gathering the data of 1597 youngsters aged 10–24 who participated in Dutch professional youth work. The results show that, on average, youngsters who participated longer in youth work scored significantly higher on the outcome variables. Respondents did not show individual improvements on outcome variables over the period, but the results demonstrate a cautious positive trend over time in volunteering. Referring youngsters (33%) by youth workers to care services could prevent an exacerbation of existing problems. The results provide knowledge that legitimizes the role of professional youth workers and which can be used by them to improve the support of socially vulnerable youngsters in their personal development and social participation.