Fast Track Project
About This Program
Target Population: Children at high-risk of conduct problems beginning at age 6-7 (1st grade) through age 15/16 (Grade 10)
For children/adolescents ages: 6 – 16
For parents/caregivers of children ages: 6 – 16
Program Overview
Fast Track is a comprehensive intervention which includes parent training, home visiting/case management, social skills training, academic tutoring, and teacher-based classroom intervention that is designed to prevent conduct problems among high-risk children. The intervention is guided by a developmental theory positing that the interaction of family and school influences antisocial behavioral development. Familial conflict and instability can yield inconsistent and ineffective parenting. These children may be poorly prepared for the social, emotional, and cognitive demands of school. These children are then often negatively influenced by disruptive classrooms and punitive teacher practices. Over time, these children tend to demonstrate negative behaviors, experience family and peer rejection, and receive less teacher support, thus increasing aggressive exchanges and academic difficulties. The Fast Track project is designed to improve child competencies, parenting effectiveness, school context, and school-home communications through developmentally appropriate services from 1st grade through 10th grade.
Program Goals
The goals of Fast Track are:
- Prevent severe and chronic conduct problems in children at high risk of behavioral problems when they first enter school
- For elementary school-aged children:
- Increase social and emotional competence of the child
- Develop child's friendship and play skills, self-control skills, anger-coping strategies and interpersonal problem-solving skills
- Help teachers build a healthy classroom atmosphere that supports the child's use of these skills and fosters the development of positive peer relations
- Develop positive family-school relationships
- Teach parents effective communication and discipline skills to promote positive parent-child relationships
- For Adolescent youth:
- Encourage youth involvement in normative, healthy peer and community activities (e.g., clubs, sports teams, and church groups)
- Introduce skills (e.g., decision-making skills, study skills, goal setting, character development, coping with peer pressure, and problem-solving skills) that can delay the onset and reduce the severity of adolescent problems
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Fast Track Project.
Essential Components
The essential elements of Fast Track include:
- Elementary School Phase:
- Teacher-led classroom curriculum called PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies)- 57 classroom lessons
- One-hour parent training groups designed to promote the development of positive family–school relationships and to teach parents behavior management skills, particularly in the use of praise, time-out, and self-restraint – number of sessions vary by grade
- One-hour child social skill training groups (called Friendship Groups) - number of sessions varies by grade
- 30-minute parent-child sharing-learning activity sessions - number of sessions varies by grade
- Home visits for the purpose of fostering parents' problem-solving skills, self-efficacy, and life management - number and length of sessions varies by grade and need
- 30-minute child academic tutoring sessions - number of sessions varies by grade and child's need
- One-hour child friendship enhancement sessions in the classroom (called Peer Pairing) - number of sessions varies by grade and child's need
- Adolescent Phase:
- Curriculum-based parent and youth group meetings to support children in their transition into middle school (Spring of 5th Grade and Fall of 6th Grade) which include 10 middle school transition sessions for children and 8 middle school transition sessions for parents
- 6th grade: 4 one-hour parent and child group sessions on adolescent development
- 7th and 8th Grade: 8 youth forums to explore life skills and employment opportunities
- 7th through 10th Grade: Individualized services (according to criterion-based assessment performed every 4 months) designed to strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors in areas of particular need for each youth; based on the assessments, youth and families either receive the base level of intervention contact (once per month) or additional contact (e.g., academic tutoring, mentoring, support for positive peer-group involvement, home visiting and family problem solving, and liaisons with school and community agencies) for up to several hours more per month
Program Delivery
Child/Adolescent Services
Fast Track Project directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:
- Conduct problems, insufficient social and emotional competence
Parent/Caregiver Services
Fast Track Project directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:
- Parent of child with conduct problems, insufficient communication skills with teachers and child, insufficient parenting and disciple skills
Recommended Intensity:
Varying degrees of intensity per grade (see Essential Component section above)
Recommended Duration:
1st grade through 10th grade (10 years)
Delivery Settings
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Adoptive Home
- Birth Family Home
- Foster / Kinship Care
- School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
Homework
This program does not include a homework component.
Resources Needed to Run Program
The typical resources for implementing the program are:
Educational Coordinators (ECs) have three core job responsibilities: (1) providing training and consultation to teachers and other school personnel in the implementation of the PATHS Curriculum and classroom behavior management, (2) leading the child social skills training groups and co-leading the parent–child interaction sessions, and (3) training and supervising paraprofessional tutors.
Family Coordinators (FCs) responsibilities include: leading the parent groups, co-leading parent–child interaction sessions, and conducting home visits. They also took responsibility for general case management and referral for other services.
ECs and FCs work in pairs, serving an average of 15–18 families.
Paraprofessional tutors responsibilities include conducting the tutoring and peer-pairing sessions with the children, under the guidance of the ECs.
School and teacher commitment to implement PATHS.
School or community center commitment for space to hold child and parent training sessions after school hours.
Manuals and Training
Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications
Educational Coordinators (ECs) need education, special education, or counselor education backgrounds and teaching experience.
Family Coordinators (FCs) require social work or counseling psychology degrees, and/or extensive work experiences in human services that involved relating to and working with high-risk families comparable to our participants.
Paraprofessional tutors will need 40 hours of training and ongoing supervision from ECs.
Manual Information
There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.
Training Information
There is training available for this program.
Training Contacts:
- Robert J. McMahon, PhD
Simon Fraser University
robert_mcmahon@sfu.ca - Mark T. Greenberg, PhD
Pennsylvania State University
mxg47@psu.edu
phone: (814) 863-0112 - Karen L. Bierman, PhD
Pennsylvania State University
kb2@psu.edu
phone: (814) 863-7002
Training Type/Location:
Consultation on the model available. For training of interventionists who would interact with parents, contact Dr. McMahon above. For training of interventionists who would interact with teachers, contact Dr. Greenberg above. For training of interventionists who would interact with children, contact Dr. Bierman above.
Number of days/hours:
Varies based on type of training.
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). Initial impact of the Fast Track prevention trial for conduct problems: I. The high-risk sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 631-647. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.5.631
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Mean=6.5 years, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were behaviorally disturbed kindergarten children and their caregivers.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study explored the effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention to alter key child and family risk factors for antisocial development. Assignment was based upon the school level with 445 children assigned to the intervention and 446 in the control group. Measures utilized include the Authority Acceptance Scale of Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation- Revised (TOCA-R), the Teacher Report Form, the Emotion Recognition Questionnaire, the Interview of Emotional Experience, the Social Problem-Solving Measure, the Home Inventory with Child (HIWC), the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised, the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 (CBCL), the Social Competence Scale – Parent Form, and the Parent Questionnaire. Results indicated the Fast Track group children, relative to the children in the control group, progressed significantly in their acquisition of almost all of the skills deemed to be critical protective factors by the model. Parents in the intervention group, relative to parents in the control group, demonstrated more warmth and positive involvement and less harsh discipline. Limitations possible selection bias, reliance on self-reported measures, and generalizability due to ethnic composition of sample.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Unclear – summer after end of first grade, with services received during first grade.
Bierman, K. (2002). Evaluation of the first 3 years of the Fast Track prevention trial with children at high risk for adolescent conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(1), 19-35. doi:10.1023/A:1014274914287
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were behaviorally disturbed children and their caregivers who had participated in the Fast Track program.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). The purpose of the current study was to describe the effects of the Fast Track program at the end of the third grade for children that participated in the intervention and whether continued intervention would contribute to an impact on antisocial behavior at home and at school that persists later in elementary. Measures utilized include the Authority Acceptance Scale of Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R), the Parent Daily Report (PDR), the Parent Ratings of Child Behavior Change, the Teacher Ratings of Child Behavior Change, the Social Problem-Solving Measure, the Home Inventory with Child (HIWC), the Parent Questionnaire, and the Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire. Results indicated the children assigned to receive the intervention were significantly less likely to be exhibiting evidence of serious conduct problems than were children in the control group. Additionally, by the end of 3rd grade teachers were reporting greater rates of improvement across the year for intervention children as compared to control children. Parents also reported less problem behaviors than parents in the control group. Limitations include possible selection bias, reliance on self-reported measures, and generalizability due to ethnic composition of sample.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None – the intervention continued through third grade and beyond.
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Using the Fast Track randomized prevention trial to test the early-starter model of the development of serious conduct problems. Development and Psychopathology, 14(4), 925-943.
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were behaviorally disturbed children and their caregivers who had participated in the Fast Track program.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). The Fast Track prevention trial was used to test hypotheses from the Early-Starter Model of the development of chronic conduct problems. Because part of the intervention involved a school-based intervention, entire elementary schools were assigned to either the intervention (N=445 children in 191 first grade classrooms) or control group (N=446 children in 210 first grade classrooms). Measures utilized include the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Social Problem-Solving measure, the Home Interview with Child (HIWC), the Parent Ratings of the Child Behavior Change Instrument, the Things Your Friends Have Done instrument, the Teacher Rating of Child Prosocial Behavior Change instrument and the Revised Problem Behavior Checklist. Results indicate as compared to the control group the Fast Track intervention had positive effects on outcomes at home, at school, and in the peer group that were evident after 4 years. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and missing data.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None - The intervention continued through the end of grade 4 and beyond.
Bierman, K. L., Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., Foster, E. M., Greenberg, M. T., Lochman, J. E., ... Pinderhughes, E. E. (2004). The effects of the Fast Track program on serious problem outcomes at the end of elementary school. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(4), 650-661. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3304_1
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were behaviorally disturbed children and their caregivers who had participated in the Fast Track program.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study examines the impact of Fast Track intervention on children's problematic functioning in four domains (social competence and social-cognitive functioning, involvement with deviant peers, behavioral functioning in home or community context, and behavioral and academic functioning in the school context) across the final 2 years of elementary school (fourth and fifth grades). Measures utilized include the Authority Acceptance Scale of Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation- Revised (TOCA-R), the Parent Daily Report (PDR), the What Do You Think instrument, the Social Competence-Teacher instrument, the Things That Your Friends Have Done scale, Parent Ratings of Child Behavior Change instrument. Results indicated Fast Track did have a significant but modest influence on children's rates of social competence and social cognition problems, problems with involvement with deviant peers, and conduct problems in the home and community when compared to children in the control condition. There was no evidence of intervention impact on children's serious problems in the school setting at Grades 4 and 5. Limitations include a tendency for some children identified as high risk in kindergarten to spontaneously improve without intervention, unable to empirically determine which of the multiple intervention components are most critical in producing the obtained outcome effects, and reliance on self-reported measures.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None - intervention group meetings were held monthly during Grades 3 through 5 for 9 sessions each year.
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2007). Fast Track randomized controlled trial to prevent externalizing psychiatric disorders: Findings from grades 3 to 9. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(10), 1250-1262.
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study tests the efficacy of the Fast Track program in preventing antisocial behavior and psychiatric disorders among groups varying in initial risk. Measures utilized include the Teacher Observation of Child Adjustment-Revised (TOCA-R), the Self-Report of Delinquency (SRD) instrument, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results indicated the Fast Track intervention had a statistically significant and clinically meaningful positive effect on preventing childhood and adolescent externalizing psychiatric disorders and antisocial behavior, but only among the highest risk subgroup of kindergarteners. Intervention effects were detected as early as grade 3 and were robust through grade 9. Among the highest risk group in grade 9, assignment to intervention was responsible for reducing the risk of conduct disorder cases by 75%, of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by 53%, and of all externalizing psychiatric disorder cases by 43%. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and lack of generalizability since these schools were selected for high rates of local crime and poverty.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None – intervention was delivered through Grade 9.
Lochman, J. E., Bierman, K. L., Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., Greenberg, M. T., McMahon, R. J., & Pinderhughes, E. E. (2010). The difficulty of maintaining positive intervention effects: A look at disruptive behavior, deviant peer relations, and social skills during the middle school years. Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(4), 593-624. doi:10.1177/0272431609340513
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youths' functioning in three domains: disruptive behavior problems, involvement with deviant peers, and social skills during the middle school years. Measures utilized include the Self-Report of Delinquency (SRD) instrument, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Self-Report of Close Friends, and the Teacher Ratings of Student Adjustment (TRSA). Results indicated in contrast to prior findings of the effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention during the elementary school years, the current findings indicate that Fast Track had little overall impact on children's functioning in these domains during this age period. There were positive intervention effects on only 2 of 17 outcomes examined. Although the intervention had positive impact on children's hyperactive and self-reported delinquent behaviors in seventh grade, there were no intervention effects on other externalizing behavior problems or on social skills, and there was a negative intervention effect on children's involvement with deviant peers during this age period. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and attrition.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.
Jones, D. E., Godwin, J., Dodge, K. A., Bierman, K. L., Coie, J. D., Greenberg, M. T., & Pinderhughes, E. E. (2010). Impact of the Fast Track prevention program on health services use by conduct-problem youth, Pediatrics, 125, 130-136. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0322
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study tests the efficacy of the Fast Track program in preventing antisocial behavior and psychiatric disorders among groups varying in initial risk. Measures utilized include the Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA). Results indicated the Fast Track intervention had significantly reduced use of professional general health, pediatric and emergency department services relative to control youth on the basis of parent report data. For control-group youth, the odds of greater use of general health services for any reason and general health services use for mental health purposes were roughly 30% higher and 56% higher, respectively. On the basis of self-report data, the intervention reduced the likelihood of outpatient mental health services among older adolescents for whom odds of services use were more than 90% higher among control-group youth. No differences were found between intervention and control youth on the use of inpatient mental health services. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and lack of generalizability since these schools were selected for high rates of local crime and poverty.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Approximately 2 years.
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2010). Fast Track intervention effects on youth arrests and delinquency. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6(2), 131-157. doi:10.1007/s11292-010-9091-7
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youth arrests and self-reported delinquent behavior through age 19. Measures utilized include the Self-Report of Delinquency (SRD) and juvenile court records. Results indicated the Fast Track intervention reduced court-recorded juvenile arrest activity based on a severity weighted sum of juvenile arrests. Additionally, findings also indicated that an intervention effect on the reduction in the number of court-recorded moderate-severity juvenile arrests, relative to control children. In addition, among youth with higher initial behavioral risk, the intervention reduced the number of high-severity adult arrests relative to the control youth. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and attrition.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Varied – approximately 2 years.
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2011). The effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on the development of conduct disorder across childhood. Child Development, 82(1), 331-345. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01558.x
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on externalizing behaviors. Measures utilized include the Parent and Child Interview versions of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) and juvenile court records. Significant interaction effects between intervention and initial risk level indicated that Fast Track prevented the lifetime prevalence of all diagnoses, but only among those at highest initial risk. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures and attrition.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Approximately 2 years.
Dodge, K. A., Bierman, K. L., Coie, J. D., Greenberg, M. T., Lochman, J. E., McMahon, R. J., & Pinderhughes, E. E. (2014). Impact of early intervention on psychopathology, crime, and well-being at age 25. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(1), 59-70. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13060786
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study utilizes information from Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). This study examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on externalizing behaviors. Measures utilized include the Adult Self-Report, the Adult Behavior Checklist–Friend, the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs survey, the Short-Form Health Survey, the General Violence Questionnaire, the Being a Parent Scale, and Conflict Tactics Scales. Results indicated that 69% of participants in the control arm displayed at least one externalizing, internalizing, or substance abuse psychiatric problem at age 25, in contrast with 59% of those assigned to the Fast Track intervention. This pattern also held for self-interviews, peer interviews, scores using an "and" rule for self- and peer reports, and separate tests for externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and substance abuse problems, as well as for each of three cohorts, four sites, male participants, female participants, African Americans, European Americans, moderate-risk, and high-risk subgroups. Intervention participants also received lower severity-weighted violent and drug crime conviction scores, lower risky sexual behavior scores, and higher well-being scores. Limitations include active ingredients of the intervention are not clear, reliance on self-reported measures, and attrition.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Approximately 7 years.
Pasalich, D. S., Witkiewitz, K., McMahon, R. J., Pinderhughes, E. E., & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2016). Indirect effects of the Fast Track intervention on conduct disorder symptoms and callous-unemotional traits: Distinct pathways involving discipline and warmth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(3), 587-597. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0059-y
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial – secondary analysis (school site level)
Number of Participants:
891
Population:
- Age — Children: Not specified, Parents: Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Children: 51% African American, 47% European American, and 2% Other; Parents: Not specified
- Gender — Children: 69% Male and 31% Female, Parents: Not specified
- Status — Participants were adolescents that were recruited into the Fast Track program as kindergartners.
Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; central Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study examines whether the effects of parental harsh discipline and warmth in childhood differentially account for Fast Track intervention effects on conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and callous-unemotional (CU) traits in early adolescence. Measures utilized include the Interaction Rating Scales (IRS), the Coder Impressions Inventory (CII), the Life Changes, the Parent Interview of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC), and the Antisocial Process Screening Device. Results indicated effects of the Fast Track intervention on reducing risk for youth antisocial outcomes. That is, Fast Track was associated with lower scores on harsh discipline, which in turn predicted decreased levels of CD symptoms. In addition, Fast Track was associated with higher scores on warmth, which in turn predicted reduced levels of CU traits. Limitations include limited generalizability due to ethnicity and gender of participants, some participants in the Fast Track intervention group received individualized intervention components, and attrition.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None – intervention still active when outcomes collected.
Additional References
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1992). A developmental and clinical model for the prevention of conduct disorders: The Fast Track Program. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 509-527. doi:10.1017/S0954579400004855
Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). The implementation of the Fast Track program: An example of large-scale prevention science efficacy trial. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(1), 1-17. doi:10.1023/A:1014292830216
Contact Information
- Jennifer Godwin, PhD
- Agency/Affiliation: Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University
- Website: www.fasttrackproject.org
- Email: jgodwin@duke.edu
- Phone: (401) 644-6818
- Fax: (919) 684-3731
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: October 2020
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: March 2019
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: March 2019
