Promotion of Alternative Thinking Strategies
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Internalizing behaviors/problems
Low social–emotional competences
Low educational/academic performance
Juvenile delinquency
Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United States
Germany
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Ireland
Description

It is a socio-emotional learning program in the classroom for elementary school pupils aged five to 11. The aim is to reduce aggression and behavioral problems.

The curriculum teaches skills in five conceptual domains: self-control, emotional understanding, positive self-esteem, relationships and interpersonal problem solving. Classes are held two to three times a week and are sequenced according to the children's development and difficulties.

Activities include role-playing, storytelling by teachers and peers, social empowerment and self-reinforcement, and verbal mediation.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that program participants demonstrate a lower rate of conduct problems and aggressive behaviors, lower internalization and depression scores, better development of socio-emotional skills, reduced symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cognitive concentration, better scores on measures of acceptance of authority, social competence and academic performance, and reduced delinquency among adolescents [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Averdijk, M., Zirk-Sadowski, J., Ribeaud, D., & Eisner, M. (2016). Long-term effects of two childhood psychosocial interventions on adolescent delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behavior: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12, 21-47.

[2] Malti, T., Ribeaud, D., & Eisner, M. P. (2011). The effects of two universal preventive interventions to reduce children’s externalizing behavior: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40, 677–692. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.597084.

[3] Greenberg, M. T., Kusche, C. A., Cook, E. T., & Quamma, J. P. (1995). Promoting emotional competence in school-aged children: The effects of the PATHS curriculum. Development and psychopathology, 7(1), 117-136.

[3] Riggs, N. R., Greenberg, M. T., Kusché, C. A., & Pentz, M. A. (2006). The mediational role of neurocognition in the behavioral outcomes of a social-emotional prevention program in elementary school students: Effects of the PATHS curriculum. Prevention science, 7, 91-102.

[4] Kam, C. M., Greenberg, M. T., & Kusché, C. A. (2004). Sustained effects of the PATHS curriculum on the social and psychological adjustment of children in special education. Journal of emotional and behavioral disorders, 12(2), 66-78.

[5] Kam, C. M., Greenberg, M. T., & Walls, C. T. (2003). Examining the role of implementation quality in school-based prevention using the PATHS curriculum. Prevention science, 4, 55-63.

[6] Greenberg, M. T., & Kusché, C. A. (1998). Preventive intervention for school-age deaf children: The PATHS curriculum. Journal of deaf studies and deaf education, 49-63.

[7] Curtis, C., & Norgate, R. (2007). An evaluation of the PATHS curriculum at Key Stage 1. Educational Psychology in Practice, 23, 33-44.

[8] Crean, H. F., & Johnson, D. B. (2013). Promoting alternative thinking strategies (PATHS) and elementary school aged children’s aggression: Results from a cluster randomized trial. American journal of community psychology, 52, 56-72.

[9] Fishbein, D. H., Domitrovich, C., Williams, J., Gitukui, S., Guthrie, C., Shapiro, D., & Greenberg, M. (2016). Short-term intervention effects of the PATHS curriculum in young low-income children: Capitalizing on plasticity. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 37, 493-511.

[10] Goossens, F., Gooren, E., de Castro, B. O., Van Overveld, K., Buijs, G., Monshouwer, K., ... & Paulussen, T. (2012). Implementation of PATHS through dutch municipal health services: A quasi-experiment. International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), 6(2), 234-248.

[11] Humphrey, N., Barlow, A., Wigelsworth, M., Lendrum, A., Pert, K., Joyce, C., ... & Turner, A. (2016). A cluster randomized controlled trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum. Journal of school psychology, 58, 73-89.

[12] Hindley, P., & Reed, H. (1999). Promoting alternative thinking strategies (PATHS): mental health promotion with deaf children in school. Taking children seriously: applications of counseling and therapy in education. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 113-30.

[13] Ross, S. M., Sheard, M. K., Cheung, A., Elliott, L., & Slavin, R. (2011). Promoting primary pupils’ social-emotional learning and pro-social behaviour: longitudinal evaluation of the Together 4 All Programme in Northern Ireland. Effective Education, 3(2), 61-81.

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