School Climate

The goals of the online mental health program for Hispanic families are to prevent and reduce depressive and anxious symptoms, suicide ideation/behaviors, and drug use in Hispanic youth. The program is rated No Effects. The program did not have a statistically significant impact on past-90-day alcohol use and family functioning. The treatment group had a statistically significant reduction in past-90-day drug use, prescription drug use, and cigarette use, compared with the control group.

The goal of this bystander-focused, classroom-delivered curriculum is to reduce rates of interpersonal violence among high school students. The program is rated No Effects. The program had no statistically significant impact on various measures of interpersonal violence, victim empathy, and measures of proactive bystander behavior. There was a statistically significant decrease for the treatment group in bystander denial about the role students could play in preventing interpersonal violence.

This is a curriculum that targets students with emotional and behavioral disorders, with the overall goal of improving knowledge and development of social problem-solving skills. The program is rated Effective. Students who participated in the Take CHARGE! program had a statistically significant greater likelihood of reporting increased knowledge of and improvements in problem-solving behaviors, compared with students who did not participate.

This is a school program to address student misbehavior and repair harm. The program is rated No Effects. Middle schoolers in the treatment group had a statistically significant higher likelihood of disciplinary referrals and out-of-school suspensions, compared with comparison group students, which was the opposite of what was intended. There were no statistically significant differences in disciplinary referrals or suspensions between high schoolers in the treatment and the comparison groups.

This is a framework of recommended practices for integrating police into the educational environment to enhance a safe school climate. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences in treatment and control school students’ delinquency, victimization, exclusionary discipline, relationships with adults, perceptions of police, nor school bonding, connectedness, and safety. Treatment school students had statistically significant increases in rule clarity.

This was a sexual assault prevention program adapted for American Indian girls that sought to reduce sexual assault victimization and to improve sexual assault resistance skills and self-defense knowledge. The program is rated Promising. Girls who received the intervention reported statistically significantly lower rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment, compared with girls in the comparison group. However, there was no impact on reported rates of physical dating violence.

This is a group-based learning approach that seeks to enhance peer relations by increasing opportunities for positive social integration between adolescents. The program is rated Promising. Students in intervention schools reported they were less willing to use alcohol, had fewer deviant peer affiliations, lower perceived student stress and emotional problems, and had higher academic engagement, compared with students in control schools. These differences were statistically significant.

This is an anti-bullying program for adolescents in Spain, which is designed to decrease bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization both in the classroom and virtual environments. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant decrease in bullying and victimization and cyberbullying and cybervictimization for the treatment group, compared with the control group.

This is an online video program that seeks to promote and increase high school and college students’ efficacy in performing helpful bystander behavior in instances of relationship or sexual violence, to reduce sexual violence among young adults and adolescents. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed statistically significant increases in observed and self-reported bystander behavior and in efficacy to intervene, compared with the control group.

This is a schoolwide, multicomponent intervention to reduce and prevent aggression and bullying among students. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant intervention effect on teachers’ ratings of students’ physical, verbal, and relational aggression and victimization. However, there was no statistically significant intervention effect on students’ self-reports of physical and relational aggression and victimization.

The program aims to increase school/community competence in responding to and preventing student emotional and behavioral health crises. This program is rated Promising. Compared with control schools, intervention schools had statistically significantly lower rates of suspensions and office referrals and had conducted more threat assessments and crisis interventions. However, there were no significant effects on bullying, juvenile justice referrals, and emotional or behavioral health incidents.

This is a program for low-income elementary schools that encourages healthy and meaningful play, delivered by trained coaches. Program components include recess activities, class game time, and after-school activities. This program is rated Promising. There was a small, statistically significant increase in attendance rates for students who participated in Playworks, compared with students who did not participate.

A classroom-based intervention, delivered by teachers, designed to prevent emotional and behavioral disorders in high-risk children. The program is rated Effective. Intervention group children showed statistically significant improvement in behaviors, social and behavioral competence, and student-teacher relationships, compared with control group children. Intervention group teachers showed statistically significant improvements in instructional practices, compared with control group teachers.

This is a preschool-based program designed to strengthen teachers’ classroom-management strategies and develop children’s social and problem-solving skills. The program is rated Promising. Across multiple measures, there was a statistically significant reduction in conduct problems and increase in prosocial behavior among participating children, compared with non-participating children. However, some measures showed no statistically significant effect of the program.

This is a school-based, structured mentoring program designed to reduce school absences and promote student engagement. This program is rated No Effects. One study found students in the program had statistically significant fewer days absent and more days in school. However, program students also had statistically significant lower math scores. There were no other statistically significant differences in outcomes. A second study also found no statistically significant differences

This is a universal, school-based social-emotional learning program aimed at reducing violence and encouraging academic success among middle school students. The program is rated No Effects. While the program had a statistically significant impact on reducing physical aggression, there was no statistically significant impact on sexual-violence victimization and perpetration, peer victimization, bullying victimization and perpetration, cyberbullying, or homophobic name calling.

This is a school-based, social–emotional learning program for elementary school students. Teachers incorporate 25-40-minute lessons within the usual classroom curriculum. The program is rated No Effects. The treatment group displayed a statistically significant reduction in hyperactivity; however, there were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups on measures of conduct problems, peer problems, social–emotional competence, or disruptive behaviors.

This program is designed to increase active-bystander behaviors and reduce dating and sexual violence in college and high school students. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in the program had a statistically significantly greater number of observed and self-reported active-bystander behaviors than students who did not participate. However, there was no statistically significant impact on sexual violence victimization or sexual harassment.

This is a classroom-based intervention that facilitates the development of social–emotional competence among students through “mindful attention” training. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed statistically significant increases in social–emotional competence, empathy, and perspective-taking; and decreases in aggressive and oppositional behaviors, fight starting, and rule breaking, compared with nonparticipants. However, there was no impact on measures of kindness.

This is a school-based, suicide prevention program designed to build socioecological-protective influences across a full student population, using youth opinion leaders from diverse social cliques to develop and deliver messaging aimed at changing the norms and behaviors of their peers. This program is rated Promising. Peer leaders in the intervention schools showed statistically significant improvements on perceptions and behaviors pertaining to suicide and on social connectedness.

This program was a preventive intervention for first-grade students, which was designed to reduce substance use risk by improving teachers’ behavior-management skills and enhancing classroom curricula. The program is rated Promising. Overall, results were mixed. The treatment group showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of self-reporting initiation of tobacco use and other drugs, compared with the control group. The program had no statistically significant impact on alcohol, mariju

The program was a universal, preventive intervention for first-grade students, designed to reduce the risk for substance use by improving teachers’ and parents’ communication and behavior-management skills. The program is rated Promising. Approximately 6 to 7 years after the program, participants showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of having initiated tobacco use, compared with nonparticipants. The program had no impact on alcohol, marijuana, inhalant, or other drug use.

This program is a multiyear classroom curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade incorporating professional development for teachers, school staff, and leaders with literacy-based, skill-building, social–emotional learning programs. This program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant effects on emotional support, positive classroom climate, and emotion-focused interactions. However, there were no effects on negative classroom climate and classroom supportiveness.

This is a school-based, small-group program designed to prevent social aggression and increase empathy, prosocial behavior, and social problem–solving skills among fifth-grade females. The program is rated No Effects. Through treatment group, students demonstrated some statistically significantly improved social problem–solving skills, compared with control group students. There was no effect on prosocial behavior or social aggression.

This is a semi-structured, school-based intervention program developed for pre-kindergarten students seeking to improve emotional and behavioral problems and promote social skills development. The program is rated Promising. Evaluation results showed no differences regarding parent-rated behavioral problems or social skill, but teacher ratings of child behavioral problems and social skills statistically significantly improved in the intervention group.

This is a short-term intervention program designed to assess children in transition to kindergarten. The goal of the program is to increase school-readiness and to develop early literacy and social and self-regulation skills. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group displayed statistically significantly lower levels of oppositional and aggressive behavior as well as statistically significantly higher levels of self-regulation.

This is a high school-based, relationship abuse prevention program. The goal of the program was to identify students’ knowledge of abusive behaviors and teach them about relationship abuse and resources for its prevention. The program was rated No Effects. There was no statistically significant impact on recognition, use, and knowledge of adolescent relationship abuse resources, and intentions to intervene, but participants had greater increases in recognition of sexual coercion.

This is a community-based, schoolwide intervention aimed at children in grades 1 through 3 that targets socially competent behaviors and risks for peer victimization. The program was rated Promising. The program was shown to have statistically significant, positive effects on physical and relational victimization and social competence, but not on social responsibility or physical aggression.

This is a school-based intervention designed to promote nonviolent goals and beliefs and to discourage aggression. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant impacts on individual norms for aggression or nonviolence, goals and strategies supporting aggression or nonviolence, or beliefs supporting fighting or nonviolence.

This is a school-based education program designed to teach students the warning signs of dating violence. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant impacts on perceptions of helpfulness in others, likelihood of seeking help, perpetration, victimization, and abusive or fearful dating experiences. However, there was a statistically significant increase in knowledge of dating violence in treatment group students.

A high school transition program that targets ninth-grade students who are at risk of dropping out. Its goal is to improve high school graduation rates. This program is rated No Effects. The program did not have a statistically significant overall effect on students’ high school graduation rates or on several other measures (such as credits earned). There was a statistically significant positive effect on school attachment.

This is a school-based intervention program focused on reducing instances of bullying and victimization, while increasing the safety of students in grades 3–5. The program is rated Promising. In all outcomes, the treatment schools showed statistically significant reductions in bullying, victimization, and witnessed aggression, as well as statistically significant increases in perceptions of safety at school.

This is a school-based intervention involving administrators, teachers, staff, and parents that aims to improve relationships and school climate to enhance student achievement. The program is rated Promising. Students in treatment schools reported statistically significant reductions in the frequency of angry feelings and acting out, and greater disapproval of misbehavior, compared with students in control schools. There were no statistically significant differences in substance use.

This is a social, cognitive–behavioral treatment program that targeted children ages 8 to 12 who exhibited disruptive or aggressive behavior and conduct disorder. The program is rated No Effects. Overall, the evidence from the evaluation found that students who participated in the intervention did not statistically significantly differ from those students in the waitlist control group on measures of conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and externalization of behaviors.

This is a universal, school-wide prevention strategy aimed at reducing behavior problems that lead to discipline referrals and suspensions, and change perceptions of school safety. The program is rated Effective. Students in the SWPBIS schools received statistically significantly fewer school suspensions than students in schools that did not receive SWPBIS training. Perceptions of safety improved in the schools that implemented SWPBIS, but declined in the schools that did not implement SWPBIS.

This program consisted of an open-enrollment school choice plan in the Charlotte–Mecklenburg, N.C., School District, which was designed to offer slots at oversubscribed schools through a lottery-based system. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between middle or high school students who won the lottery and middle or high school students who did not win the lottery in number of drug, property, or violent felony arrests, at the 7-year follow up.

This is a prevention program targeted at middle school students, which is designed to reduce stressors by teaching coping and decision-making skills. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in the intervention demonstrated a statistically significant greater level of coping skills to reduce stressors, compared with students who did not receive any intervention.

This program comprises a violence prevention curriculum, which is designed to assist youth in detention to overcome obstacles such as gangs, violence, crime, and substance abuse. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group youth who participated in the program had lower rates of recidivism and took a longer amount of time to recidivate, compared with control group youth, at the 1-year follow up. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a school-based, conflict resolution program designed to teach students how to manage conflicts constructively. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of using constructive strategies, such as negotiating, and lower likelihood of using detrimental strategies, compared with the control group. There were no statistically significant effects on the use of smoothing or withdrawing as conflict resolution strategies.

This is a peer-mediation program designed to handle conflicts both in and out of school and to help maintain drug-free schools. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group had statistically significantly fewer assaults, expulsions, discipline referrals, absences, a greater improvement in self-efficacy, and statistically significantly improved in academic performance, compared with the control group.

This was an antibullying program for all students involved: victims, passive bystanders, and bullies. The program is rated Promising. Elementary, middle, and high school treatment groups experienced statistically significant greater proportions of students reporting no participation in bullying-related roles at the posttests. The elementary student treatment group saw statistically significant reductions in bullying and victimization but no statistically significant change in bystander behavior.

This is a school-based program designed to improve conflict resolution in children. The program is rated Promising. Participants had a statistically significant lower level of aggressive interpersonal negotiation strategies, conduct problems, aggressive behavior, hostile attribution bias, and depressive symptoms, and a higher level of competent negotiation strategies and prosocial behavior, compared with nonparticipants. There was no statistically significant difference in aggressive fantasies.

This is a school-based program designed to improve the ease of students’ transition from elementary to middle or junior high school and address problem behavior. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students demonstrated a statistically significant lower level of school transition stress, behavior problems, and psychological distress, and higher grade point averages, academic expectations, and improved classroom behaviors, compared with control group students.

This is a school-based program designed to improve students’ school attitudes and reduce delinquency. The program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant positive effect on participants’ attainment of higher rates of supportive behavior and spontaneous prosocial behavior, compared with students who did not participate. There were no statistically significant effects on negative behavior, harmoniousness, substance/alcohol use, property damage, theft, or victimization.

This is a prevention program for disruptive kindergarten boys and their parents, designed to reduce short- and long-term antisocial behavior. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group boys had a statistically significant greater likelihood of graduating from high school and having lower rates of property violence, compared with comparison group boys, at the 19-year follow up. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in rates of personal violence.

This was an afterschool program intended to build children’s resilience and positive connections. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group children demonstrated greater adaptive skills and lower rates of behavioral problems, school problems, attention problems, and externalizing problems, compared with children in the control group. These differences were all statistically significant. However, there was no statistically significant difference in depression.

This is a classroom and school reform model that emphasizes shared responsibility for learning and classroom organization between teachers and students. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group demonstrated statistically significantly greater improvement in reading and mathematics achievement on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills reading subtest from pretest to posttest at the end of the second year of intervention.

This is a prevention program for elementary school students, which is designed to reduce aggressive and violent behavior. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in aggressive behavior, rule-breaking behavior, social problems, or attention problems.

This is a schoolwide bullying prevention program that seeks to reduce bullying perpetration and victimization by increasing staff awareness and students’ social–emotional skills. The program is rated No Effects. Despite some statistically significant findings, there were no statistically significant differences between students in intervention and control schools in self-reported bullying victimization, observed nonphysical bullying, self-reported bullying perpetration, and gossip victimization.

This is a school-based life skills training curriculum for middle-school students aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use. The program is rated No Effects. There were statistically significant effects on past-30-day marijuana use and on marijuana- and alcohol-refusal skills for treatment group students, compared with control group students, but no statistically significant impacts on past-30-day alcohol, cigarette, or other illicit substances use and in cigarette- and cocaine-refusal skills.

This is a school-based violence prevention and character education program designed to improve student behavior and minimize aggression. The program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant positive effects on risk and protective factors related to student violence for students in grade 3. There were also statistically significant positive effects on factors related to alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and violence for students in grades 9 through 12.

This was a universal prevention program designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children. The program is rated No Effects. Intervention students had a statistically significant lower likelihood of using aggression while negotiating, needing adult intervention in conflict resolution, and showing more socially competent behavior and prosocial goals. However, the differences between the groups were small and there were no statistically significant differences in antisocial behavior.

This is a school-based intervention designed to promote positive youth development and reduce substance use. This program is rated Promising. Intervention students showed statistically significant improvements in teacher ratings of antisocial behavior and social competency and reported a statistically significant decline in frequency of alcohol and marijuana use, compared with control students. However, there were no differences in prevalence of alcohol, marijuana, or cigarette use.

This is a program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children in elementary school. The program is rated Effective. Youth who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical aggression; in initiation of alcohol and tobacco; and in use over time of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; compared with control youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups in initiation of illicit drugs.

This is a program that aims to reduce behavior problems in children and increase their social and problem-solving skills. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group children demonstrated statistically significant improvements in conduct problems, social competence, and problem-solving skills, compared with control group children, at the posttest.

This prevention program promotes emotional and social competencies and reduces aggression and behavior problems in children. The program is rated Effective. Statistically significant findings included lower peer-ratings for aggressive, hyperactive, or disruptive behavior for intervention children, compared with control children. Further, intervention classrooms showed higher quality climate, levels of interest and enthusiasm, and ability to stay focused, compared with control classrooms.

This program uses a curriculum-based approach to improve youth academics, behavior, and character. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group students reported statistically significantly less substance use, sexual activity, violent behavior, serious violence-related behavior, and bullying behavior, compared with control group students. There were no statistically significant differences in measures of disruptive behaviors.

This is a charter middle school that serves predominately low-income, minority students (grades 6–8) in Harlem who are usually 2 or 3 years behind grade level. The program is rated Effective. Students who were admitted to the school showed statistically significant improvements in English Language Arts scores, math scores, and attendance rates, compared with students who were not admitted. However, there were no significant differences between groups on matriculation.

This violence prevention program seeks to reduce negative child behavior for school-aged children. The program is rated No Effects. Overall, there were no differences on teacher and student reported aggression in students. The studies also found mixed statistically significant differences among age groups with students in grades 3-5 displaying less aggressive behavior, but also lower prosocial behavior. The evidence suggests the program did not have the intended effect on students.

This school-based program delivered to elementary school students to reduce bullying and victimization was designed for national use in the Finnish comprehensive schools. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions for self-reported bullying and victimization and peer-reported victimization for KiVa schools compared with control schools; however, there were no significant differences between treatment and comparison schools on peer-reported bullying.

This is a school-based prevention program for students between the ages of 12 and 16, which is designed to increase peer support, improve conflict-resolution skills, and decrease acceptance attitudes toward aggression and violence. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students reported a statistically significant lower likelihood of using negative conflict-resolution skills (e.g., verbal or physical aggression), compared with comparison group students, at the posttest.