Early Academic Skills as a Moderator of the Effects of the Early Risers Conduct Problems Prevention Program on Peer Acceptance and Social Stress: A Moderated Mediation Model

Comprehensive preventive intervention programs supporting youth behavior often support social functioning in youth with a goal of reducing social stress. However, we know less about the processes through which preventive interventions support children’s social functioning and the characteristics of children likely to derive the most benefit in this area. Using data from a randomized controlled trial of Early Risers, a comprehensive prevention program for children at risk for escalations in conduct problems, this study examined the role of early academic functioning in intervention-related response in the areas of peer acceptance and social stress over a 6-year period. Using a mediation model and a moderated mediation model, the current study examined whether pre-intervention academic skills (teacher-reported, kindergarten) moderated the intervention’s indirect effect on social stress (child-reported, sixth grade) via peer acceptance (teacher-reported, third grade). Covariates included participants’ sex and socioeconomic status. Our analyses revealed that intervention-related improvements in peer acceptance in third grade were associated with lower levels of social stress in sixth grade. Furthermore, children who began school with lower academic skills demonstrated greater intervention-related improvement in both peer acceptance and social stress levels over a 6-year period relative to children with stronger academic skills. The results suggest prevention programs may be particularly beneficial for children entering school with lower academic skills, highlighting the value of early intervention for these children and addressing both academic and social needs together.