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This article reports the effectiveness of two universal prevention programs in reducing externalizing behavior in elementary school children. A sample of 1,675 first graders in 56 Swiss elementary schools was randomly assigned to a school-based social competence intervention, a parental training intervention, both, or control. Externalizing psychopathology and social competence ratings were provided by the children, primary caregivers, and teachers at the beginning and end of the 2-year program, with a follow-up 2 years later. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed that long-term effects on teacher- and parent-rated externalizing behavior were greater for the social competence intervention than for the control. However, for most outcomes, no statistically significant positive effects were observed.
Malti et al. (Thu,) studied this question.