The Effectiveness of a Classroom-based Intervention Promoting a Prosocial Classroom Climate in Children

NCT05891067 | Active Not Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: UtrechtU23-0082
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,360
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a classroom-based program promoting a prosocial classroom climate is more effective than treatment-as-usual (control condition).

Conditions

Child Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Change in prosocial behavior as an injunctive form assessed with three items specifically developed for this study

  It is a self-reported instrument rated on a 3-point scale from 1 (not true) to 3 (definitely true), measuring children's attitudes towards prosocial behavior that are on average held in the classroom. Higher scores reflect a higher injunctive norm of the group towards prosocial behavior.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in individual prosocial behavior assessed with four items based on the subscale prosocial behavior of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

  The adapted SDQ subscale prosocial behavior is a self-reported instrument rated on a 4-point scale from 1 (never) to 4 (always). Higher scores reflect more prosocial behavior.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in prosocial relations in the classroom assessed with sociometric nominations

  Children see a list with the names of all classmates and select the classmates that fit the question best according to them. Two items are used, assessing the child's prosocial behavior according to classmates. The number of received nominations is devided by the number of possible nominations, resulting in a proportion score for prosocial relations.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in cooperation and conflict in the classroom assessed with the Classroom Peer Context Questionnaire (CPCQ), subscales cooperation and conflict.

  The CPCQ is a self-reported instrument. The cooperation subscale consists of four items assessing the extent to which children experience positive behavior. The conflict subscale consists of two items assessing the extent to which children experience negative behavior. The items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (not true) to 4 (completely true). Higher scores on the cooperation subscale reflects more positive behavior, while for the conflict subscale it reflects more negative behavior.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in intrinsic (prosocial) motivation assessed with four items specifically developed for this study

  This instrument is a self-reported instrument, rated on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 (not true) to 3 (definitely true). Higher scores reflect more intrinsic (prosocial) motivation.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in social competence assessed with five items based on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)

  The adapted RSES is a self-reported istrument, rated on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 (not true) to 3 (definitely true). Higher scores reflect more social competence.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in social autonomy assessed with five items based on the School as a Caring Community Profile-II (SCCP-II) and the Child Development Project

  It is a self-reported instrument, rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (always). Higher scores reflect more autonomy.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in social relatedness assessed with the Classroom Peer Context Questionnaire (CPCQ), subscales comfort and cohesion.

  The CPCQ is a self-reported instrument. The comfort subscale consists of four items assessing the extent to which children feel at ease in the classroom. The cohesion subscale consists of two items assessing the extent to which the children in the classroom spend time together. The items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (not true) to 4 (completely true). Higher scores on both subscales reflect more positive behavior.

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in school wellbeing assessed with seven items specifically developed for this study

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in school wellbeing assessed with one item specifically developed for this study

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in social position (kindness, leadership, unkindness, popularity, best friends) assessed with sociometric nominations

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in bullying and bullying victimization assessed with the Olweus Bully-Victim Questionnaire (OB-VQ)

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

• Change in bullying and bullying victimization (where child is victimized) assessed with the Olweus Bully-Victim Questionnaire (OB-VQ)

  T1 (baseline); T2 (mid-intervention) approximately 5 months after the start of the intervention; T3 (postintervention) approximately 10 months after the start of the intervention

Other Outcomes (6)

• Child characteristics assessed with items specifically developed for this study

  T1 (baseline)

• Teacher characteristics assessed with items specifically developed for this study

  T1 (baseline)

• School characteristics assessed with items specifically developed for this study

  T1 (baseline)

Study Arms (2)

SterkWerk

EXPERIMENTAL

SterkWerk is a classroom-based approach (throughout the school year) for primary school groups 5-8 (children aged 8-12 years old) in which children are given specific roles to actively work on responsibility, ownership and prosocial behavior. SterkWerk consists of three main components: meaningful roles, classroom meeting and compliments.

Behavioral: SterkWerk

Treatment-as-usual

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Schools in the control group do not receive the intervention (do not receive material or training), and function as normal (treatment-as-usual). Control schools are requested to not start any social-emotional program during the school year 2023/2024.

Behavioral: Treatment-as-usual

Interventions

SterkWerk BEHAVIORAL

Classroom-based intervention program

SterkWerk

Treatment-as-usual BEHAVIORAL

Active control group

Also known as: TAU

Treatment-as-usual

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Primary school children of grades 5-8 (mostly aged between 8-12 years)
• Teachers and school leaders of participating schools (no age limit)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Utrecht University: lead
• KiVa B.V.: collaborator
• Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Utrecht University

Utrecht, 3584CS, Netherlands

Location

Related Publications (1)

• van Loon AWG, Kaufman TML. The effectiveness of the Dutch Meaningful Roles program in children: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled study. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jul 27;23(1):1440. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16362-8.

  PMID: 37501078 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Child Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Tessa Kaufman, dr.

  Utrecht University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Postdoc

Model Details: The design of the current study is a cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two conditions: the intervention condition and a waitlist control condition (TAU: treatment-as-usual). Schools are randomized into the intervention or control condition.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2023
• First Posted: June 6, 2023
• Study Start: May 11, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2024
• Study Completion: July 31, 2024
• Last Updated: May 8, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The data will become available after the completion of the program and data collection.
• Access Criteria: The data will become publicly available

Locations

NL (1)