From Theory to Action: Operationalizing the Social Development Model in Chilean Communities

Introduction: Communities that Care (CTC) is an evidence based system for preventing youth health and behavior problems, such as substance use and delinquency. It is based on a public health approach, aiming to reduce youth risk and promote protective factors, and on the Social Development Model (SDM, Hawkins and Catalano, 1996), a theory that explains the development of prosocial and antisocial behavior. According to the SDM, we can promote positive youth development by modeling healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior, providing opportunities for children to engage in positive social behavior, teaching them skills to be effective, and providing recognition for their efforts and achievements, which promotes bonding. Increasing protective factors can buffer children from risk, thus contributing to the prevention of youth problems. The CTC system was tested in the U.S., and has been adapted for use in Chile, where it has included efforts to operationalize the SDM by embedding it into existing local programs for children.

Method: In this pilot study, the SDM was embedded into an environmental-education program (“Saliendo Aprendo”, SA) for grade 5 and 6 students in three public schools. SA was delivered by 2 trained facilitators to entire classrooms (averaging 24 students per class). SA consisted of 12 sessions during regular school hours, including 9 hour-long classroom sessions and 3 half-day field trips. In addition to their environmental science training, facilitators attended a full day SDM training. During the implementation of SA, facilitators completed several assessment instruments to monitor their use of opportunities and recognition, and well as their students’ skill development and respect for classroom standards for behavior.

Results: A content knowledge test delivered at the end of the SDM training indicated that both facilitators demonstrated good understanding of the SDM (average score=93%). Facilitators self-reported that in most sessions they offered students multiple opportunities to engage in positive behaviors (94%) and rewarded them for their efforts and achievements (84%). Facilitator ratings of student behavior (completed at the end of every session) indicated the majority of students developed the expected skills in over half of the sessions (59%) and demonstrated respect for behavioral standards (in 54% of the sessions).

Conclusions: Results from this pilot study are promising: students appear to be receiving opportunities and recognition for prosocial involvement, and are for the most part developing skills and respecting standards for positive behavior during program activities. The pilot illustrates how key elements of the SDM can be operationalized and integrated into existing systems that already serve children, thus optimizing the implementation of preventive strategies within schools. Future challenges include corroborating facilitators’ self-report measures with external observations and developing a more rigorous evaluation strategy to test whether operationalizing the SDM through the SA program can impact student outcomes and their levels of risk and protection.