Worldwide school-based psychosocial interventions and their effect on aggression among elementary school children: A systematic review 2010–2019

Abstract

Abstract Aggression in childhood has been linked to adverse outcomes in later life, for both victims and perpetrators. School-based prevention programs have been previously shown to be at least somewhat effective in reducing child aggression. The aim of this review is to evaluate the most recent literature regarding school-based prevention programs reporting aggression-related outcomes among school children ages 6–11 worldwide. Three online databases (PubMed, Embase, and Scopus) were searched for relevant articles published between 2010 and 2019. Preliminary searches yielded 255 results; fifteen articles fully met inclusion criteria. Of the fifteen studies included, fourteen reported at least some positive effect on aggression through improvement in social and/or emotional competencies. One study reported both an iatrogenic and a positive effect and a single study reported no effect. Moderation and mediation analyses suggest prevention programs may be particularly effective among students with relatively low self-regulation and/or high levels of problem behavior at baseline. Despite the heterogeneity among interventions, findings add to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of school-based prevention programs that target social and emotional competencies on the reduction of aggressive behavior in children. Public health interventions should promote these evidence-based programs in order to reduce the burden caused by aggressive behaviors in childhood.