Computer-Assisted Violence Prevention in Kindergarten

描述(由申请人提供)：本申请建议开发综合情感培训(CAT)计划，这是一种互动的、基于多媒体的预防课程，适用于学前和幼儿园年龄的儿童。对该产品的需求源于美国社会暴力和其他犯罪行为令人震惊的普遍存在。早年社交和情感知识不足的儿童往往会被同龄人拒绝，这反过来又会使他们面临更大的风险，使他们形成根深蒂固的、容易发生暴力的思维和行为模式。为了避免这种发展轨迹，专家们主张在学龄前几年制定侧重于社会和情感技能的预防方案。然而，主要是由于成本和广泛的培训要求，绝大多数学前和幼儿园年龄的儿童无法获得这种类型的节目。为了帮助解决这个问题，当前的应用程序建议将情感知识的最新发现和理论与多媒体计算机技术相结合。这个以儿童为重点的项目将通过一种引人入胜的形式提供，包括动画和视频，以及由家长和教师进行的个性化反馈和辅助后续练习。成人部分也是为家长和教师设计的，将由一系列音频文件组成，演示通过电话或互联网传递的成人-儿童对话样本。第二阶段的开发工作将包括刺激验证研究，一系列可用性研究，以及最终程序的生产。最后的计划将在学校环境中进行现场实验，在家庭环境中进行探索性情境研究，并接受教师、家长和孩子的验收测试。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes development of the Comprehensive Affective Training (CAT) program, an interactive, multimedia-based prevention curriculum for Pre-K and Kindergarten age children. The need for this product arises from the alarming prevalence of violence and other delinquent behaviors in American society. Children with inadequate social and emotional knowledge early in life tend to be rejected by peers, which, in turn, places them at greater risk for the development of entrenched, violence-prone patterns of thought and behavior. To avoid this developmental trajectory, experts advocate the creation of prevention programming focusing on social and emotional skills during the preschool years. However, mostly due to cost and extensive training requirements, the vast majority of Pre-K and Kindergarten age children do not have access to this type of programming. To help address this issue, the current application proposes combining the latest findings and theories on emotional knowledge with multimedia computer technology. The child-focused program will be delivered through an engaging format involving animation and video, as well as personalized feedback and adjunct follow-up exercises to be conducted by parents and teachers. Also intended for parents and teachers, the adult component will consist of a series of audio files demonstrating sample adult-child, "emotion coaching" dialogues delivered over the phone or internet. The Phase II development effort will include a stimulus validation study, a series of usability studies, and production of the final program. The final program will then be subject to an experimental field trial in a school-based setting, an exploratory situational study examining use of the CAT program in a home-based setting, and acceptance testing involving teachers, parents, and children.