SCIENCE DES ÉMOTIONS : Evaluation of a Psychosocial Skills Development Program for Middle School Students

NCT07686874 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2025-12-7
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2,500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this Quasi-experimental cluster randomized trial is:

• 1a. Primary purpose: to determine the feasibility of the "Science des Emotions" curriculum through a participatory and translational research methodology, involving educators in evaluating programme fidelity, acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience through quantitative and qualitative measures.
• 1b. Primary purpose: to assess the feasibility of the "Science des Emotions" curriculum from students' perspectives, including feasibility, acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience, using quantitative and qualitative measures.
• 1c. Primary purpose: to determine whether the "Science des Emotions" curriculum improves psychosocial skills, emotional awareness, and adaptive emotion regulation strategies among 6th- and 7th-grade students.
• 2a. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme affects peer relationships, perceived closeness with classmates, and problematic behaviours among students.
• 2b. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme improves classroom climate reported by educators.
• 2c. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme improves educators' psychosocial skills and emotional awareness.
• 2d. Secondary purpose: to examine whether improvements in emotional awareness mediate the effect of the programme on educators' psychosocial skills.
• 2e. Secondary purpose: to examine whether improvements in emotional awareness and adaptive emotion regulation mediate the effect of the programme on students' psychosocial skills.
• 2f. Secondary purpose: to explore moderating factors of programme effectiveness, including students' behavioural difficulties and socio-economic background.
• 2g. Secondary purpose: to evaluate programme implementation through session-level assessments of clarity, feasibility, satisfaction, and visual materials completed by educators after each session. Changes in knowledge related to emotions and emotion regulation will also be assessed among students and educators. This analysis will support recommendations for large-scale implementation and public policy. Participants Educators and educational staff delivering the programme (n = 100) Students aged 10-13 participating in the programme (n = 2400) Measures Primary objectives
• Students (both arms) will complete psychosocial skills, emotion regulation, and emotional awareness measures at pre-test (t0), post-test (t1), and 5-month follow-up (t2).
• Students in the intervention arm will complete a post-programme questionnaire assessing satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and acceptability, and may participate in a semi-structured interview assessing feasibility, usefulness, and overall experience.
• Educators in the intervention arm will complete a post-programme questionnaire assessing implementation fidelity and perceived usefulness, and may participate in a semi-structured interview assessing acceptability, usefulness, and overall experience. Secondary objectives
• Students (both arms) will complete peer relationship, perceived closeness, problematic behaviour, and socio-demographic measures.
• Educators (both arms) will complete classroom climate, psychosocial skills, emotional awareness, and knowledge questionnaires at t0, t1, and t2. Schools will also provide absenteeism and behavioural data.
• Students (both arms) will complete an ad hoc knowledge questionnaire at t0, t1, and t2.
• Educators in the intervention arm will complete session-level feasibility, clarity, and satisfaction measures after each session.

Conditions

Efficacy of Intervention; Social Emotional Learning; Feasibility Studies - Efficacy of Intervention Psychosocial Skills Learning

Keywords

efficacy of intervention; psychosocial competencies; Social Emotional Learning; School intervention; middle school

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Educators' Implementation Fidelity and Perceived Usefulness Assessed by a Study-Specific Questionnaire

  Implementation fidelity and perceived usefulness will be assessed using a study-specific questionnaire completed by educators in the intervention arm.

  Immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline).

• Educators' Acceptability, Perceived Usefulness, and Overall Experience Assessed by Semi-Structured Interviews

  Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with educators in the intervention arm at the end of program implementation to assess acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience of the intervention.

  Immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline).

• Students' Satisfaction, Perceived Usefulness, and Acceptability Assessed by a Study-Specific Questionnaire

  Implementation satisfaction, perceived usefulness and acceptability will be assessed using a study-specific questionnaire completed by students in the intervention arm.

  Immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline).

• Students' Faisability, Perceived Usefulness, and Overall Experience Assessed via Semi-Structured Interviews

  Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with students in the intervention arm at the end of program implementation to assess acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience of the intervention.

  Immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline).

• Student Psychosocial skills Assessed by the Psychosocial skills scale

  The Psychosocial skills scale is a 17-item self-report questionnaire assessing psychosocial skills. For each item, students indicate how frequently the described situation applies to them using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ("never") to 4 ("always"). Mean scores are calculated for four dimensions: emotional competence, cognitive competence, social competence, and assertiveness. Higher scores indicate greater psychosocial skills.

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

• Students' Emotion Regulation Assessed by the Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA)

  Situation 2 of the Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA) will assess emotion regulation in a hypothetical situation t (i.e., preparing an important oral presentation in class and feeling that they have forgotten what they had prepared just before presenting). Responses are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("not at all like this") to 7 ("entirely like this"). Higher scores indicate greater emotion regulation in the given context.

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

• Students' Acceptance Assessed by the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)

  Acceptance capacity will be assessed using the Acceptance subscale of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("almost never") to 5 ("almost always"). Higher scores indicate greater use of emotion regulation and acceptance strategies.

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

• Students' Emotional Awareness Assessed by the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire FR (EAQ)

  The Emotion Awareness Questionnaire FR (EAQ) is a 30-item self-report questionnaire assessing emotional awareness in students. For each item, participants indicate the extent to which the described feeling or behavior applies to them using a 3-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("not true") to 3 ("true"), with 2 corresponding to ("sometimes true"). Higher scores indicate greater emotional awareness.

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Students' Peer Relationships Assessed by Peer Relationships subscale of the the Psychological Sense of School Membership - FR (PSSM)

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months after baseline).

• Students' Perceived Closeness with Classmates Assessed by the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months after baseline).

• Problematic Behaviors in Students Assessed by the Conduct Problems Subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire FR (SDQ)

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months after baseline), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months after baseline).

• Classroom Climate Quality Perceived by Educators Assessed by the Classroom Climate Quality Scale (French Version)

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

• Educators Psychosocial skills Assessed by the Pyschosocial Skill Scale

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 8 months), and 5 months post-intervention (approximately 13 months from baseline)

Other Outcomes (1)

• Educators' Perceived Clarity, Satisfaction, and Feasibility Assessed by a Study-Specific Questionnaire

  Immediately after each intervention session, up to 8 month

Study Arms (2)

"Science des Emotions" Program Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm receive the "Science des Émotions" socio-emotional learning curriculum during the study period.

Behavioral: Socio-emotional curriculum - Science des Emotions

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

No Intervention: usual "vie de classe" activities, Waitlist Control Participants in this arm follow the standard curriculum with no additional activities during the study period. They will receive the "Science des Émotions" program the following academic year (waitlist-control design). In some schools, optional, on-demand sessions may be provided for staff at the end of the school year, focusing on adolescent development. These sessions are not part of the intervention tested.

Interventions

Socio-emotional curriculum - Science des Emotions BEHAVIORAL

The "Science des Émotions" program is a structured socio-emotional learning curriculum delivered through 8 sessions integrated into the "vie de classe" period.

"Science des Emotions" Program Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Youth participants must meet all of the following criteria:
• Be enrolled in 6th or 7th grade in a school within the Créteil or Paris Districts
• Have parental authorization
• Provide written informed consent, as appropriate
• Be able to speak and understand French
• Staff participants must meet all of the following criteria:
• Be part of the educational staff in a school within the Créteil or Paris Districts
• Provide written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Youth participants:
• Students with diagnosed severe neurodevelopmental or psychiatric disorders preventing participation in mainstream classroom activities
• SEGPA students (specialized adapted general and vocational education sections)
• Allophone students (recent non-French-speaking arrivals)
• Deaf students
• Staff participants : none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Paris Nanterre University: collaborator
• University Paris 8 Vincennes Saint Denis: lead
• Observatoire des compétences psychosociales et du Bien-être en contextes Educatifs (OBE): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Laboratoire Dysco

Nanterre, 92001, France

Location

Related Publications (13)

• Tessier, D., et al. (in preparation). Échelle des compétences psychosociales (CPS). Manuscript in preparation.

  BACKGROUND

• St-Amand, J., Boily, R., Bowen, F., Smith, J., Janosz, M., & Verner-Filion, J. (2020). The development of the French version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire: An analysis of its structure, properties and potential for research with at-risk students. Interdisciplinary Education and Psychology, 2(3), 3.

  BACKGROUND

• Silvers JA. Adolescence as a pivotal period for emotion regulation development. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr;44:258-263. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.023. Epub 2021 Oct 9.

  PMID: 34781238 BACKGROUND

• Shojaei T, Wazana A, Pitrou I, Kovess V. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: validation study in French school-aged children and cross-cultural comparisons. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2009 Sep;44(9):740-7. doi: 10.1007/s00127-008-0489-8. Epub 2008 Dec 19.

  PMID: 19099168 BACKGROUND

• Lenoir, L., et al. (in preparation). Échelle des compétences psychosociales (CPS). Manuscript in preparation.

  BACKGROUND

• Lahaye M, Luminet O, Van Broeck N, Bodart E, Mikolajczak M. Psychometric properties of the emotion awareness questionnaire for children in a French-speaking population. J Pers Assess. 2010 Jul;92(4):317-26. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2010.482003.

  PMID: 20552506 BACKGROUND

• Fombouchet, Y., Pineau, S., Perchec, C., Lucenet, J., & Lannegrand, L. (2023). The development of emotion regulation in adolescence : What do we know and where to go next? Social Development, 32(4), 1227-1242. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12684

  BACKGROUND

• Fombouchet Y, Lannegrand L, Lucenet J. The Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA): How does emotion regulation vary according to context? Br J Dev Psychol. 2023 Sep;41(3):306-323. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12450. Epub 2023 Apr 12.

  PMID: 37046410 BACKGROUND

• Durlak JA, Weissberg RP, Dymnicki AB, Taylor RD, Schellinger KB. The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Dev. 2011 Jan-Feb;82(1):405-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x.

  PMID: 21291449 BACKGROUND

• d'Acremont M, Van der Linden M. How is impulsivity related to depression in adolescence? Evidence from a French validation of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. J Adolesc. 2007 Apr;30(2):271-82. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.02.007. Epub 2006 Apr 4.

  PMID: 16600359 BACKGROUND

• Cipriano C, Strambler MJ, Naples LH, Ha C, Kirk M, Wood M, Sehgal K, Zieher AK, Eveleigh A, McCarthy M, Funaro M, Ponnock A, Chow JC, Durlak J. The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions. Child Dev. 2023 Sep-Oct;94(5):1181-1204. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13968. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

  PMID: 37448158 BACKGROUND

• Black, A. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The effects of instructors' autonomy support and students' autonomous motivation on learning organic chemistry: A self-determination theory perspective. Science education, 84(6), 740-756.Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).

  BACKGROUND

• Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(4), 596-612.

  BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Marianne Habib, Associate Professor

  Université Paris 8, DysCo Lab

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Charlotte Pinabiaux, Professor

  Université Paris Nanterre, DysCo Lab

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Sophia Vorontsov, PhD Student

  Université Paris 8, DysCo Lab

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor, Université Paris 8, DysCo Lab

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 18, 2026
• First Posted: July 7, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 20, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 20, 2027
• Last Updated: July 7, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Locations

FR (1)