Axis
Youth Violence Prevention
Problems addressed
Juvenile delinquency
Recidivism
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Internalizing behaviors/problems
Low social–emotional competences
Low educational/academic performance

Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

¿Quieres saber más acerca de esta clasificación? Consulte nuestro manual metodológico.

Description

These programs, which are usually implemented in school contexts, aim to help children and adolescents increase their ability to understand and manage emotions, as well as to develop positive relationships and make responsible decisions.
To this end, five essential skills are worked on: self-knowledge, self-regulation, sociability, competence in relationships, and responsible decisions.
Social and emotional competencies are considered relevant to promote an integral healthy development and are associated with long-term benefits due to the lower probability of prevalence of psychosocial problems, such as involvement in crime, alcohol and drug consumption, and association with risk groups, among others.

Country of application
  • Germany
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Spain
  • United States
  • Finland
  • Greece
  • Netherlands
  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Jamaica
  • Kenia
  • Mexico
  • Norway
  • New Zealand
  • Pakistan
  • Switzerland
Evidence

The Crime Solutions platform presents the results of a meta-analysis that evaluated 213 school-based social and emotional learning programs. This type of intervention generated an improvement in social and emotional skills, attitudes and behaviors, and school performance [1].
The Crime Reduction Toolkit platform presents the results of a systematic review that evaluated the impact of 84 social and emotional learning programs. This systematic review noted that social skills training programs for children led to a 39% improvement in social skills and a 40% improvement in social and cognitive skills, when comparing the treatment group to the control group. Also compared to the control group, the treatment group recorded a 26% reduction in the likelihood of youth recidivism, a statistically significant decrease. Also, according to this review, programs targeting at-risk groups performed on average better than those observed within universal programs [2].

Bibliography

[1] Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

[2] Lösel, F. and Beelmann, A. (2003). Effects of Child Skills Training in Preventing Antisocial Behavior: A Systematic Review of Randomized Evaluations. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 587(1), 84–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716202250793

Information Source

Evaluated cases

Protecting Strong African American Families (ProSAAF)

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: Promotion of Social and Emotional Development
Effectiveness:

Effective

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Effective
Problem type:
Drug abuse, Externalizing behaviors/problems, Low parental skills
Country:
United States
Open

ParentChild+

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: Promotion of Social and Emotional Development
Effectiveness:

Promising

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.

.

.

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Promising
Problem type:
Low social–emotional competences, School dropout, Low parental skills
Country:
United States
Open

Why might the cases evaluated have different levels of effectiveness in relation to their respective type of solution?
Click here to understand why.

Some cases were not included in the evidence bank due to deficiencies detected in the methodology of their impact evaluations.
Click here to see the list

 

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