***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: BACKGROUND 13 - 18 % of all preschool children have severe behavioral problems at least transiently , sometimes with long-term adverse consequences . In this study , the social training program " Lubo aus dem All ! - Vorschulalter " ( Lubo from Outer Space , Preschool Version ) was evaluated in a kindergarten setting . METHODS 15 kindergartens were r and omly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group , in a 2:1 ratio . The intervention was design ed to strengthen emotional knowledge and regulation , the ability to take another person 's point of view , communication skills , and social problem solving . The control group continued with conventional kindergarten activities . The primary endpoint was improvement in social-cognitive problem solving strategies , as assessed with the  Wally Social Skills and Problem Solving Game ( Wally ) . Secondary endpoints were improvement in prosocial behavior and reduction in problematic behavior , as assessed with the Preschool Social Behavior Question naire ( PSBQ ) and the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form ( C-TRF ) . Data were collected before and after the intervention and also 5 months later . Mixed models were calculated with r and om effects to take account of the cluster design and for adjustment for confounding variables . RESULTS 221 children in kindergarten , aged 5 - 6 years , were included in the study . R and omization was unsuccessful : the children in the intervention group performed markedly worse on the tests carried out before the intervention . Five months after the end of the intervention , the social-cognitive problem solving strategies of the children in the intervention group had improved more than those of the children in the control group : the intergroup difference in improvement was 0.79 st and ard deviations of the Wally test ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] 0.13 - 1.46 ) . This effect was just as marked 5 months later ( 0.63 , 95 % CI 0.03 - 1.23 ) . Prosocial behavior , as measured by the PSBQ , also improved more in the intervention group , with an intergroup difference of 0.37 st and ard deviations ( 95 % CI 0.05 - 0.71 ) . CONCLUSION An age-appropriate program to prevent behavioral disorders among kindergarten children improved both the children 's knowledge of prosocial problem solving strategies and their prosocial behavior Self-regulatory abilities are robust predictors of important outcomes across the life span , yet they are rarely taught explicitly in school . Using a r and omized controlled design , the present study investigated the effects of a 12-week mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum ( KC ) delivered in a public school setting on executive function , self-regulation , and prosocial behavior in a sample of 68 preschool children . The KC intervention group showed greater improvements in social competence and earned higher report card grade s in domains of learning , health , and social-emotional development , whereas the control group exhibited more selfish behavior over time . Interpretation of effect sizes overall indicate small to medium effects favoring the KC group on measures of cognitive flexibility and delay of gratification . Baseline functioning was found to moderate treatment effects with KC children initially lower in social competence and executive functioning demonstrating larger gains in social competence relative to the control group . These findings , observed over a relatively short intervention period , support the promise of this program for promoting self-regulation and prosocial behavior in young children . They also support the need for future investigation of program implementation across diverse setting Deficits in behavioral and cognitive regulation are prevalent in children reared in poverty relative to more affluent children due to the effects of adverse conditions on the developmental underpinnings of these skills . Despite evidence to suggest that these emergent processes are susceptible to environmental inputs , research documenting short-term intervention program influences on these regulatory domains in young impoverished children is limited . We sought to determine the proximal effects of a universal school-based intervention ( the PATHS Curriculum ) on social , emotional , relational , and cognitive outcomes in urban poor kindergarten children . Four schools in high-poverty neighborhoods with similar demographic characteristics were r and omly assigned to either PATHS or an attentional control . Teacher-reported measures of behavior ( e.g. , attention , concentration , aggression ) , peer nominations ( e.g. , likability , aggression , acceptance ) , and tasks gauging inhibitory control  were administered in the fall of kindergarten and again in the spring after one academic year ( about 6 months ) of PATHS . Children who received PATHS exhibited significantly greater improvements than control students across all teacher-rated behavioral measures of social competence ( i.e. , emotion regulation , prosocial behavior , peer relations ) and behavioral problems ( i.e. , aggression , internalizing behaviors , impulsivity and hyperactivity ) at post-test as well as improvements in motor inhibition . This line of research constitutes an important frontier for prevention research given the implication s for improving ultimate outcomes for otherwise disadvantaged children This study evaluated the post-treatment outcome effects of a classroom-based social skills program for pre-kindergarten children , using a teacher-consultation model . The pre-K RECAP ( Reaching Educators , Children , and Parents ) program is a semi-structured , cognitive-behavioral skills training program that provides teachers with in-classroom consultation on program implementation and classroom-wide behavior management . Data on children 's social skills and behavior problems were collected from parents and teachers at pre- and post-treatment , for 149 children aged 4–5 years ( of whom 56 % were girls ) . Significant treatment effects were found for teacher but not parent reports , with treatment group children improving significantly more than comparison group children in their teacher-rated social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems . These results provide some preliminary support for the efficacy of the program on children 's social skills and behavior problems , and for a teacher-consultation model for training teachers to implement school-based mental health programs Annual screenings of preschool children at kindergarten registration identified 158 children having high levels of aggressive , hyperactive , impulsive , and inattentive behavior . These " disruptive " children were r and omly assigned to four treatment conditions lasting the kindergarten school year : no treatment , parent training only , full-day treatment classroom only , and the combination of parent training with the classroom treatment . Results showed that parent training produced no significant treatment effects , probably owing largely to poor attendance . The classroom treatment produced improvement in multiple domains : parent ratings of adaptive behavior , teacher ratings of attention , aggression , self-control , and social skills , as well as direct observations of externalizing behavior in the classroom . Neither treatment improved academic achievement skills or parent ratings of home behavior problems , nor were effects evident on any lab measures of attention , impulse control , or mother-child interactions . It is concluded that when parent training is offered at school registration to parents of disruptive children identified through a brief school registration screening , it may not be a useful approach to treating the home and community behavioral problems of such children . The kindergarten classroom intervention was far more effective in reducing the perceived behavioral problems and impaired social skills of these children . Even so , most treatment effects were specific to the school environment and did not affect achievement skills . These findings must be viewed as tentative until follow-up evaluations can be done to determine the long-term outcomes of these interventions Separate studies of rural and urban Head Start systems tested the hypothesis that an emotion-based prevention program ( EBP ) would accelerate the development of emotion and social competence and decrease agonistic behavior and potential precursors of psychopathology . In both studies , Head Start centers were r and omly assigned to treatment and control/comparison group conditions . In Study 1 ( rural community ) , results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that compared to the control condition ( Head Start as usual ) , EBP produced greater increases in emotion knowledge and emotion regulation and greater decreases in children 's negative emotion expressions , aggression , anxious/depressed behavior , and negative peer and adult interactions . In Study 2 ( inner city ) , compared to the established prevention program I Can Problem Solve , EBP led to greater increases in emotion knowledge , emotion regulation , positive emotion expression , and social competence . In Study 2 , emotion knowledge mediated the effects of EBP on emotion regulation , and emotion competence ( an aggregate of emotion knowledge and emotion regulation ) mediated the effects of EBP on social competence This article reports findings from a cluster-r and omized study of an integrated literacy- and math-focused preschool curriculum , comparing versions with and without an explicit socioemotional lesson component to a business-as-usual condition . Participants included 110 classroom teachers from r and omized classrooms and approximately eight students from each classroom ( N = 760 ) who averaged 4.48 ( SD = 0.44 ) years of age at the start of the school year . There were positive impacts of the two versions of the curriculum on language , phonological awareness , math , and socioemotional outcomes , but there were no added benefits to academic or socioemotional outcomes for the children receiving explicit socioemotional instruction . Results are discussed with relevance to early childhood theory , policy , and goals of closing the school readiness gap ABSTRACT The present study investigates whether training preschool children in the active use of emotional state talk plays a significant role in bringing about greater underst and ing of emotion terms and improved emotion comprehension . Participants were 100 preschool children ( M=52 months ; SD=9·9 ; range : 35 - 70 months ) , r and omly assigned to experimental or control conditions . They were pre- and post-tested to assess their language comprehension , metacognitive language comprehension and emotion underst and ing . Analyses of pre-test data did not show any significant differences between experimental and control groups . During the intervention phase , the children were read stories enriched with emotional lexicon . After listening to the stories , children in the experimental group took part in  conversational language games design ed to stimulate use of the selected emotional terms . In contrast , the control group children did not take part in any special linguistic activities after the story readings . Analyses revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the underst and ing of inner state language and in the comprehension of emotion This paper reports the results from a r and omized clinical trial evaluating an adaptation of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies curriculum ( PATHS ) for preschool-age children in Head Start .  PATHS is a universal , teacher-taught social-emotional curriculum that is design ed to improve children ’s social competence and reduce problem behavior . Twenty classrooms in two Pennsylvania communities participated in the study . Teachers in the 10 intervention classrooms implemented weekly lessons and extension activities across a 9-month period . Child assessment s and teacher and parent reports of child behavior assessment s were collected at the beginning and end of the school year . Analysis of covariance was used to control for baseline differences between the groups and pretest scores on each of the outcome measures . The results suggest that after exposure to PATHS , intervention children had higher emotion knowledge skills and were rated by parents and teachers as more socially competent compared to peers . Further , teachers rated intervention children as less socially withdrawn at the end of the school year compared to controls . Editors ’ Strategic Implication s : n Findings from this and other r and omized clinical trials confirm that the Preschool PATHS program is clearly a promising practice for improving children ’s social and emotional competence . Head Start and school programs will find these multi-informant data to be of interest as they consider a curriculum to help prepare children for school entry Behavior problems among preschool children are common . They are important targets for intervention because early externalizing problems and self-regulation issues tend to persist without appropriate attention , and can affect later mental health and school achievement outcomes . However , few preschool curricula addressing social and emotional development exist , and evidence for effects are mixed . In this study , the Second Step Pre/Kindergarten Social and Emotional Learning curriculum was adapted and tested in a small cluster r and omized pilot study of community preschool classrooms to determine if it could improve outcomes in : ( 1 ) individual children ’s teacher-rated behavior problems and prosocial skills ; ( 2 ) classroom climate ( classroom interactions and two measures of disruptive behavior ) ; and ( 3 ) teacher interaction skills . Year 1 outcomes were modest and were accounted for by baseline differences . In Year 2 , classroom climate , measured by independent observers , differed significantly in intervention classrooms , largely because of declines in control classrooms , and there was some evidence for better teacher interaction skills in intervention classrooms . The pattern of effects suggests important impacts on classroom quality worth investigating in a larger study . Both fidelity and implementation rates , as well as positive teacher responses to the curriculum , indicate potential for widespread adoption Using information from research on the neuroplasticity of selective attention and on the central role of successful parenting in child development , we developed and rigorously assessed a family-based training program design ed to improve brain systems for selective attention in preschool children . One hundred forty-one lower socioeconomic status preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start program  were r and omly assigned to the training program , Head Start alone , or an active control group .  Electrophysiological measures of children ’s brain functions supporting selective attention , st and ardized measures of cognition , and parent-reported child behaviors all favored children in the treatment program relative to both control groups . Positive changes were also observed in the parents themselves . Effect sizes ranged from one-quarter to half of a st and ard deviation . These results lend impetus to the further development and broader implementation of evidence -based education programs that target at-risk families Despite reports of positive effects of high- quality child care , few experimental studies have examined the process of improving low- quality center-based care for toddler-age children . In this article , we report intervention effects on child care teachers ' behaviors and children 's  social , emotional , behavioral , early literacy , language , and math outcomes as well as the  teacher-child relationship . The intervention targeted the use of a set of responsive teacher practice s , derived from attachment and sociocultural theories , and a comprehensive curriculum . Sixty-five childcare classrooms serving low-income 2- and 3-year-old children were r and omized into 3 conditions : business-as-usual control , Responsive Early Childhood Curriculum ( RECC ) 
    Output:
    
Meaning Early childhood is a crucial period for children ’s social , emotional , and cognitive development , and these findings highlight what appears to be benefit of social and emotional learning interventions for young children across developmental domains