KITS: School Readiness in Foster Care Efficacy Trial

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的总体目标是进行一项预防性干预的随机疗效试验-儿童向学校过渡（kit）计划-以提高学龄前寄养儿童的社会情感和学业入学准备。寄养儿童在社会和学业成绩方面面临着很大的风险。由于他们早期的逆境经历，这些孩子可能有特殊的脆弱性，从而降低了成功过渡到学校的可能性。先前的大量研究表明，慢性早期逆境与自我调节和应激反应相关的关键神经系统功能（特别是前额皮质功能和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴活性）的改变有关。这些系统的改变可能会干扰儿童与同伴交往、保持注意力集中、听从指示和学习学术技能的能力。此外，由于这些孩子可能经历过多次生活转变，他们可能在照顾者参与学校方面处于不利地位，这是早期学校成功的关键方面。寄养儿童（N = 200）将在春季进入幼儿园之前被招募，并随机分配到干预组（N = 100）和比较组（N = 100）。kit干预包括四个部分：(a) 28个疗程的儿童治疗游戏小组，以促进自我调节、社交和紧急识字技能的发展；(b)一个为期6期的心理教育支援小组，以促进照顾者参与儿童的识字和学校教育，并使用有效的育儿技巧；(c)有系统的发展筛选和转介；(d)以家庭和学校为基础的行为咨询。这次干预恰逢孩子们进入幼儿园。多方法、多主体的儿童社会情绪准备和读写能力评估将在基线、幼儿园入学和幼儿园后进行。我们将研究干预对入学准备和幼儿园成绩的直接影响。我们还将评估干预效果是否通过应激反应和调节机制以及照顾者变量介导。最后，我们将在研究过程中测试儿童和环境特征的调节作用，包括早期逆境（产前/新生儿健康、虐待史和安置史）、儿童认知功能和安置过渡。本研究的另一个探索性目的是检查干预对儿童亚样本的一年级和二年级结果的影响。群体比较和纵向增长模型将允许对假设进行评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overarching goal of the proposed research is to conduct a randomized efficacy trial of a preventive intervention-the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) program-to enhance socioemotional and academic school readiness among preschool-aged foster children. Foster children are at great risk for poor social and academic school outcomes. Because of their experiences of early adversity, these children may have particular vulnerabilities that decrease the likelihood of a successful transition to school. Extensive prior research has shown that chronic early adversity is associated with alterations in the functioning of key neural systems (specifically, prefrontal cortex function and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity) related to self-regulation and stress reactivity. Alterations in these systems may interfere with children's abilities to relate to peers, to maintain focused attention, to follow directions, and to learn academic skills. Additionally, because these children are likely to have experienced multiple living transitions, they may be at a disadvantage in terms of caregiver involvement in school, a critical aspect of early school success. Foster children (N = 200) will be recruited in the spring before they enter kindergarten and will be randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 100) and comparison conditions (" = 100). The KITS intervention includes four components: (a) 28-sesssions of child therapeutic play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and emergent literacy skills; (b) a 6-session psychoeducational support group to promote caregiver involvement in the child's emergent literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques; (c) systematic developmental screening and referral; and (d) home- and school-based behavioral consultation. The intervention coincides with the transition into kindergarten. Multi-method, multi-agent assessments of the children's socioemotional readiness and literacy skills will be conducted at baseline, kindergarten entry, and post kindergarten. We will examine the direct effects of the intervention on school readiness and kindergarten outcomes. We will also assess whether intervention effects are mediated through mechanisms of stress reactivity and regulation and caregiver variables. Finally, we will test for moderator effects of child and contextual characteristics including early adversity (prenatal/neonatal health, maltreatment history and placement history), child cognitive functioning, and placement transitions during the course of the study. An additional exploratory aim of the study is to examine intervention effects on first and second grade outcomes for subsamples of children. Group comparisons and longitudinal growth modeling will allow for evaluation of hypotheses.