After-School Programs and Children's Mental Health

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes to adapt and pilot test an efficacy-based, manualized intervention to enhance the mental health benefits for children attending publicly funded, inner city, after-school programs. The proposed study is consistent with objectives of the R34 mechanism (1. Development and Pilot Testing of New or Adapted Interventions, and 2. Adaptation and Pilot Testing for Effectiveness) towards a planned program of research to study how mental health consultation and support can strengthen the benefits of after-school programs for inner city children's academic, social, and behavioral functioning. Despite extensive problems facing urban communities during after-school hours, few empirical studies have examined children's use of time, quantity and quality of programs available, participation rates, and the potential mental health benefits of programs. We propose to collaborate with a large, publicly funded provider of after-school programs - Chicago Park District's Park Kids program - toward three research goals. Children (n=318) in grades 1 to 8 who attend one of the participating programs will be enrolled in the study. First, we will collaborate with after-school program staff toward the adaptation and application of a manualized, efficacy-based intervention (Pelham, 1985) to meet the needs, capabilities, and constraints of their program, and we will provide training and ongoing support. Second, we will develop and implement a fidelity measure of staff adherence to the intervention. Third, we will use random-effects regression models to pilot test the impact of the intervention at three (experimental) after-school sites compared to three (comparison) after-school-as-usual sites on four domains of children's outcomes (Hoagwood et al., 1996): symptoms (children's externalizing and internalizing problems), functioning (children's academic, social, and behavioral outcomes), environmental outcomes (staff psychological climate), and satisfaction (parent and staff). This proposal responds to recent national concerns about after-school care, and the need for alternative venues for mental health service delivery in inner cities (Stephenson, 2000; Surgeon General's report).