The Evaluation of Family Support Programmes in Spain. An Analysis of their Quality Standards / La evaluación de los programas de apoyo familiar en España. Un análisis de sus estándares de calidad

Since the well-known publication of the Society for Prevention Research about standards for evidence related to research on prevention interventions, a rigorous evaluation is considered one of the main requirements for evidence-based programmes. Despite their importance, many programmes do not include evaluation designs that meet the most widely agreed quality standards. The aim of this study was to examine the evaluation processes of fifty-seven Spanish programmes identified in the context of the COST European Family Support Network. The obtained results provide a fairly positive picture of the quality of programme evaluation standards, although more designs that include a control group, follow-up evaluations assessing long-term effects, and the evaluation of child and indirect outcomes are needed. The results are discussed from a comprehensive and plural perspective of evaluation which, in addition to methodological rigor, considers the usefulness, feasibility, and ethical rigor of evaluation research.(AU)

A partir de las propuestas de la Society for Prevention Research sobre los estándares de evidencia necesarios para las intervenciones preventivas, contar con una evaluación rigurosa se considera como uno de los principales requisitos de los programas basados en la evidencia. A pesar de su importancia, muchos programas de apoyo familiar no cuentan con diseños de evaluación que cumplan con los estándares de calidad más consensuados. El objetivo de este artículo fue analizar los procesos de evaluación de cincuenta y siete programas españoles identificados en el marco del proyecto COST European Family Support Network. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una imagen bastante positiva de los estándares de calidad que caracterizan la evaluación de los programas, aunque es necesario ampliar el número de diseños que incluyan grupos de comparación, que contemplen medidas de los efectos en el bienestar infantil y que lleven a cabo evaluaciones de seguimiento para medir los efectos a largo plazo de las intervenciones. Se analizan los resultados desde un enfoque plural de la evaluación, que además del rigor metodológico considera la necesidad de tener en cuenta la utilidad, la viabilidad y el rigor ético de las investigaciones de evaluación.(AU)

Evaluation of a multi-component and multi-agent intervention to improve classroom social relationships among early elementary school-age children.

We present the preliminary evaluation of a comprehensive, multi-component and multi-agent 2-year classroom intervention to enhance children's relationships with their peers and teachers among early elementary school students in Spain. The intervention contained universal components directed to the whole class plus targeted components for children with peer problems. Using a quasi-experimental design, 229 children (in 10 classrooms) formed a comparison group whose teachers engaged in their typical practices, followed the next year by 214 children (in 9 classrooms) who received the intervention. Children completed a sociometric procedure, and reported their self-perceptions of peer functioning and their relationship quality with teachers at the beginning of 1st grade (pretest) and the end of 2nd grade (posttest; 93% retention). After statistical control of pretest functioning, by posttest those in the intervention group received fewer negative sociometric nominations, perceived themselves to receive fewer negative sociometric nominations and to have greater overall peer acceptance, and reported their teachers to have greater warmth and organization, compared to children in the comparison group. However, intervention group children also received fewer positive sociometric nominations (as well as perceived themselves to receive fewer positive nominations) than comparison group children. Target children, selected for being disliked by peers, received accentuated benefits from the intervention on the outcome variables of fewer negative nominations received and greater teacher warmth. Implications for practice are discussed.

Children's Awareness of Peer Rejection and Teacher Reports of Aggressive Behavior / La percepción del niño del rechazo de sus compañeros y el comportamiento agresivo según los docentes

Lack of awareness of one's negative social reputation is linked to aggressive behavior among older school-age children. The present study extends this research to the first year of elementary school. The first goal was to compare generalized and dyadic perspectives in studying discrepancies between children's actual and perceived rejection. The second goal was to determine whether discrepancies between actual and perceived rejection are related to sociometric status. The third goal was to examine whether discrepancies between actual and perceived rejection are related to aggressive behaviors at school. Actual peer rejection was measured with peer negative nominations, perceived peer rejection with students' self-ratings and meta-perceptions, and aggressive behavior with teacher ratings. The discrepancies between actual and self-perceived rejection were substantial in the total sample. Furthermore, non-rejected children had higher scores than rejected children in dyadic overestimation (identifying peers who they believed disliked them but did not), while it was the reverse for dyadic underestimation (not identifying peers who in fact disliked them). High levels of dyadic underestimation were negatively associated with the concurrent aggressive behavior. Rejected children's underestimation of their peer rejection appeared to have protective effects on antisocial and aggressive problems. Findings are discussed in terms of theories of symbolic interactionism and social information processing

No ser consciente de la mala reputación propia está relacionado con el comportamiento agresivo de niños y niñas. El presente trabajo amplia la investigación al inicio de la escuela primaria. El primer objetivo fue comparar la percepción generalizada y diádica en la discrepancia entre el rechazo real y el percibido. El segundo objetivo fue determinar si la discrepancia entre rechazo real y percibido está relacionada con el tipo sociométrico. El tercer objetivo fue examinar si la discrepancia entre rechazo real y percibido está relacionada con conductas agresivas. El rechazo real se midió con nominaciones negativas, el rechazo percibido con autoinformes y el comportamiento agresivo con calificaciones de los docentes. La discrepancia entre rechazo real y autopercibido fue sustancial en la muestra total. Además, los niños y niñas no rechazados obtuvieron puntajes más altos que los rechazados en la sobreestimación diádica (identificar como rechazadores a compañeros que de hecho no les rechazaron), mientras se dio la pauta inversa en la subestimación diádica (no identificar como rechazadores a compañeros que sí rechazaron al niño o a la niña). Los niveles elevados de subestimación diádica se asociaron negativamente con el comportamiento agresivo. La subestimación de los niños o niñas rechazados parece tener efectos protectores sobre los problemas antisociales/agresivos. Se comentan los hallazgos en relación con la teoría del interaccionismo simbólico y el procesamiento de la información social

Interpersonal Perceptions of Adverse Peer Experiences in First-Grade Students.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify which adverse peer experiences better predict perceived negative peer relationships among elementary school first graders according to sex. The peer experiences examined were peer rejection, peer victimization, and mutual antipathy; the interpersonal perceptions studied were perceived peer victimization, dyadic meta-perception of peer disliking, and loneliness. Methods: The participants were 809 children (Mage = 6.4 years, SD = 0.32; ngirls = 412, 50.9%) enrolled in 35 first-grade classes from 15 schools in 4 Spanish regions: Valencia, n = 276, 34.1%; Balearic Islands, n = 140, 17.3%; Andalusia, n = 199, 24.6%; Castile-Leon, n = 194, 24%. We calculated sex differences in peer experiences and interpersonal perceptions by means of one-way ANOVA for means differences and Fisher's r-to-z transformation for correlations differences. We used a multilevel regression analysis (nesting variables: class and region) to determine whether the associations between each peer experiences and each perception were unique. Results: Each adverse peer relationship predicted each interpersonal perception differentially. Peer victimization was a good predictor of the three interpersonal perceptions, and the only predictor of perceived peer victimization. Peer rejection predicted loneliness, whereas mutual antipathies predicted dyadic meta-perception of peer disliking, although more so among girls. A significant effect at region level was found but not at class level. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that research should take into account the different levels of the social peer system when analyzing peer experiences within the classroom context. The study contributes to sensitize teachers about the greater responsiveness of 6-year-old girls to adverse peer experiences, and it could be useful for designing interventions that would help children oppose rejection and empower active bystanders to fight against peer mistreatment.

An Adjusted Probability Method for the Identification of Sociometric Status in Classrooms.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the performance of an adjusted probability method for sociometric classification proposed by García Bacete (GB) in comparison with two previous methods. Specific goals were to examine the overall agreement between methods, the behavioral correlates of each sociometric group, the sources for discrepant classifications between methods, the behavioral profiles of discrepant and consistent cases between methods, and age differences. Method: We compared the GB adjusted probability method with the standard score model proposed by Coie and Dodge (CD) and the probability score model proposed by Newcomb and Bukowski (NB). The GB method is an adaptation of the NB method, cutoff scores are derived from the distribution of raw liked most and liked least scores in each classroom instead of using fixed and absolute scores as does NB method. The criteria for neglected status are also modified by the GB method. Participants were 569 children (45% girls) from 23 elementary school classrooms (13 Grades 1-2, 10 Grades 5-6). Results: We found agreement as well as differences between the three methods. The CD method yielded discrepancies in the classifications because of its dependence on z-scores and composite dimensions. The NB method was less optimal in the validation of the behavioral characteristics of the sociometric groups, because of its fixed cutoffs for identifying preferred, rejected, and controversial children, and not differentiating between positive and negative nominations for neglected children. The GB method addressed some of the limitations of the other two methods. It improved the classified of neglected students, as well as discrepant cases of the preferred, rejected, and controversial groups. Agreement between methods was higher with the oldest children. Conclusion: GB is a valid sociometric method as evidences by the behavior profiles of the sociometric status groups identified with this method.

Understanding Rejection between First-and-Second-Grade Elementary Students through Reasons Expressed by Rejecters.

Objective: The aim of this research was to obtain the views of young children regarding their reasons for rejecting a peer. Method: To achieve this goal, we conducted a qualitative study in the context of theory building research using an analysis methodology based on Grounded Theory. The collected information was extracted through semi-structured individual interviews from a sample of 853 children aged 6 from 13 urban public schools in Spain. Results: The children provided 3,009 rejection nominations and 2,934 reasons for disliking the rejected peers. Seven reason categories emerged from the analysis. Four categories refer to behaviors of the rejected children that have a cost for individual peers or peer group such as: direct aggression, disturbance of wellbeing, problematic social and school behaviors and dominance behaviors. A further two categories refer to the identities arising from the preferences and choices of rejected and rejecter children and their peers: personal identity expressed through preferences and disliking, and social identity expressed through outgroup prejudices. The "no-behavior or no-choice" reasons were covered by one category, unfamiliarity. In addition, three context categories were found indicating the participants (interpersonal-group), the impact (low-high), and the subjectivity (subjective-objective) of the reason. Conclusion: This study provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive taxonomy of reasons for rejection that contributes to enrich the theoretical knowledge and improve interventions for preventing and reducing peer rejection.

Problematic Social Situations for Peer-Rejected Students in the First Year of Elementary School.

This study examined the social situations that are problematic for peer-rejected students in the first year of elementary school. For this purpose, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on the Taxonomy of Problematic Social Situations for Children (TOPS, Dodge et al., 1985) in 169 rejected pupils, identified from a sample of 1457 first-grade students (ages 5-7) enrolled in 62 classrooms of elementary school. For each rejected student, another student of average sociometric status of the same gender was selected at random from the same classroom (naverage = 169). The model for the rejected students showed a good fit, and was also invariant in the group of average students. Four types of situations were identified in which rejected students have significantly more difficulties than average students. They are, in descending order: (a) respect for authority and rules, (b) being disadvantaged, (c) prosocial and empathic behavior, and (d) response to own success. Rejected boys have more problems in situations of prosociability and empathy than girls. The implications concerning the design of specific programs to prevent and reduce early childhood rejection in the classroom are discussed.