Effectiveness of school-based emotional education program: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objectives: The acquisition of emotional competencies through emotional education programs improves both short- and long-term health outcomes. The 1,2,3,emoció! program directed at children aged 3-5 years aims to promote health through the development of emotional competencies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the program during its first year of implementation.

Study design: Cluster randomized trial.

Methods: The information sources were an ad-hoc questionnaire to evaluate emotional competencies and focus group discussions with the teachers implementing the program. For the quantitative data analysis, we compared mean emotional competencies scores pre- and postintervention for the intervention group and the comparison group. We also conducted a multilevel regression with repeated measures, adjusted by sociodemographic variables and stratified by gender and school year. For the qualitative data, we performed a thematic content analysis.

Results: The sample consisted of 2625 children (48.4% girls and 49.2% intervention group). Emotional competencies improved in both groups after the school year (P-value < 0.001), but the increase was greater in the intervention group. The multilevel analysis showed an improvement in the final scores attributed to the intervention, especially for those in the first year of preschool [boys: 12.33 points (95% CI 5.51-19.15), girls: 9.66 points (95% CI 3.36-15.96)]. The thematic content analysis also highlighted enhanced emotional competencies in the intervention group. The final scores did not vary by sociodemographic variables.

Conclusions: The 1,2,3,emoció! program had a positive effect on emotional competencies among children, with effectivity being higher among younger children.

Keywords: Cluster randomised trial; Emotional competencies; Emotional education; Preschool children; Universal preventive intervention.