Empowering Youth With School Discipline Referrals as Peer Coaches

In this proposal, the investigators evaluate the effects of PCT, an approach that deemphasizes existing problems and focuses instead on training youth to help their peers.

In urban public school districts across the US, exclusionary discipline (e.g., suspension and expulsion) disproportionally affects Black and Latinx youth. Although many school-based interventions are promising, they overlook the motivational potential of helping others and fail to build on the culturally grounded prosocial orientation of Black and Latinx students. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Peer Coach Training (PCT), a strengths-based intervention that deemphasizes existing problems and focuses instead on empowering youth to help their peers. A cluster randomized trial will be conducted across ten middle schools (n=150 youth), with schools randomized to either PCT or control (i.e., delayed treatment). Youth referred for disruptive behavior at intervention schools will receive PCT immediately, whereas youth at control schools will receive PCT nine months later. Outcomes related to disruptive and prosocial behavior, school engagement, and empowerment will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Successful completion of this trial will not only provide support for implementing PCT in school communities to empower youth prosocially, but also potentially validate an approach to reducing discipline disparities within school contexts.

• Engagement versus disaffection with learning - student report [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status - Youth Version [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessmentMacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status - Youth Version]
• Moral Identity Internalization Scale [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Personal Efficacy Scale [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Psychological Empowerment Indices - Youth School Belonging and Identification [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Wentzel Prosocial Peer Goals and Compliance Goals Scales [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Esbensen Gang Involvement Scale [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Possible selves survey [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Behavioral Problem Checklist - Youth Peer Assessment [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (Social Network Interview) [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]
• Teacher Construals Indices [Срок оценки: Baseline assessment, 3 months after baseline assessment, 8 months after baseline assessment]