Impacting the Afterschool Settings That Affect Youth: Cluster Randomized Trial of the Pax Good Behavior Game

Introduction:

Approximately 70% of all juvenile crime occurs between the hours of 3-6pm, making afterschool an important context for prevention. Dual-career and working families need monitoring and supervision for their children in quality afterschool settings that are safe and appropriately structured. While substantial work has identified features of quality afterschool programs, much less attention has been given in the published literature on how to foster afterschool quality. Conceptual models of social cohesion posit that bonding to adults improves the youth espousal of positive behavioral norms (Hirschi, 1970). Research demonstrates that quality afterschool characteristics include supportive interactions, clear norms, a focus on youth agency and engagement, and the use of evidence-based practices (Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Gottredson et al., 2004; Durlak, Weissberg, & Pachan, 2010). With an interest in strategies that might foster support and appropriate structure, and bolstered by research on the Good Behavior Game (GBG) in schools demonstrating longitudinal effects upon aggression and substance use, the team was interested in the science migration of GBG to afterschool (Kellam et al., 2008). PaxGBG is a commercialized, manualized version of GBG (Embry et al., 2002) with a focus on shared norms, cooperative teams, contingent activity rewards, and liberal praise, features that could potentially enhance not only appropriate structure and adult support, but also youth self-regulation.

Methods:

This study examined the PaxGBG among 76 afterschool programs, serving 811 youth ages 5-12, who were diverse in race-ethnicity, socio-economic status, and geographic locale. Demographically matched pairs of afterschool programs were randomized to PaxGBG or treatment-as-usual. Independent observers (50% involving 2 raters) conducted live simultaneous ratings of implementation fidelity and program quality across time, paired with pre and post child-reported behavior.

Results:

Controlling for pre-levels of behavior, gender, race-ethnicity, and grade, interaction effects were found using hierarchical linear modeling such that experimental programs evidencing higher implementation fidelity demonstrated better program quality than controls (i.e., less harshness, increased appropriate structure, support, and engagement), as well as reduced child-reported hyperactivity and intent-to-treat effects on prosocial behavior (caring, sharing, and listening).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that best practices fostered by PaxGBG and implemented with fidelity in afterschool settings result in higher quality contexts for youth socio-emotional development. Additional implications for the implementation of PaxGBG in other settings will be discussed.