Sustained Effects of the PATHS Curriculum on the Social and Psychological Adjustment of Children in Special Education

Compared to students in general education, students in special education classrooms have a higher risk of developing emotional and interpersonal problems. Special education students have to deal with the frustrations they experience that accompany their learning difficulties (Grande, 1988; Keilitz & Dunivant, 1987). Quite often, these children also suffer from compromised mental or physical health conditions that can disrupt their school learning and social relationships (Gallico, Burns, & Grob, 1988; Myers & Hammill, 1990). Many special education students lack the skills to negotiate positive relationships in school (Bryan, 1991, 1997; Kavale & Forness, 1996; La Greca & Vaughn, 1992; Landau & Moore, 1991). Moreover, compared to students in general education, students with special needs also engage more often in problem behaviors that may disrupt their relationships with peers and teachers (Chapman, 1988; Dudley-Marling & Edmiaston,1985; Pearl, 1987, 1992; Schumaker & Hazel, 1988). Within integrated classrooms, students with special needs are more likely to be nominated by their nondisabled peers for aggressiveness and disruptiveness, and they are also more likely to be rejected by their schoolmates (Farmer, 2000; Farmer & Hollowell, 1994). Studies have also shown that students with learning disabilities are at a greater risk for depression and suicide (Bender, Rosenkrans, & Crane, 1999; Bender & Wall, 1994; Huntington & Bender, 1993; McBride & Seigel, 1997). Despite the fact that some kind of social skills training or behavior management program for addressing children’s deficits in social competence are usually implemented in special education, many of these practices have not been adequately evaluated and supported by evidence. Within special education, there is a pressing need for the implementation of evidence-based preventive interventions to reduce children’s risk of developing maladaptive behaviors and enhance children’s social and emotional competence. Recently, special educators have called for a new agenda of prevention within special education (Farmer, Quinn, Hussey, & Holahan, 2001; Forness et al., 2000; Kamps,Kravits,Stolze,& Swaggart,1999; Kauffman, 1999a; Walker et al., 1998). Others have called on school psychologists and special educators to make better use of evidence-supported prevention/intervention (Carnine, 1997; Kratochwill & Stoiber, 2000; Simpson, 1999; Stoiber & Kratochwill, 2000). In particular, some leaders in the field have suggested that In this study, the authors examined the long-term effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum on the adjustment of school-age children with special needs. The PATHS curriculum focuses on promoting children’s emotional development, self-regulation, and social problem–solving skills. Eighteen special education classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions in this controlled trial.Teachers received both training and ongoing consultation and provided PATHS to students in Grades 1 through 3. Data were collected before the intervention and for 3 successive years. Growth curve analysis indicated that the intervention reduced the rate of growth of teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors 2 years after the intervention and produced a sustained reduction in depressive symptoms reported by the children.Discussion focuses on the need for social–emotional learning (SEL) programs in special education and factors that can promote SEL among children with special needs.