Effects of Kanjertraining (Topper Training) on Emotional Problems, Behavioural Problems and Classroom Climate

Abstract

Reducing difficulties in social interactions and negative classroom climate at an early age may prevent escalation into severe problems that are harder to treat and save society from the associated costs and risks. Topper Training (Kanjertraining in Dutch) has been widely implemented in Dutch schools and mental healthcare centres as a preventive and curative programme for 4- to 15-year-olds. The programme aims to reduce social problems and to improve classroom climate. Given the scarcity of intervention studies in the Netherlands, it is highly relevant to study the effectiveness of Topper Training. Therefore, the main aim of this dissertation is to study the effectiveness of Topper Training. In addition, the quality of the Topper questionnaire is examined, measuring social functioning of 8- to 13-year-olds. The dissertation starts with a literature review on risk and protective factors for positive social interaction. Topper Training is directed at many of the evidence-based effective elements (i.e., cognitive behavioural strategies, parent involvement, group training) and includes two additional characterizing elements: activating children’s latent intentions to behave prosocially and making children aware of their responsibility for their own behaviour (‘I can choose how to act’). Chapter 3 demonstrates that the Topper questionnaire is able to reliably and validly measure four distinctive aspects of social functioning: Negative intentions, Unhappy & Gloomy, Prosocial and Restless & Disruptive behaviour. Normative data are based on a representative sample of 10,552 primary school children aged 8 to 13 in the Netherlands. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 provide the first indications of the effectiveness of Topper Training in schools and in mental healthcare centres. Chapter 4 describes a quasi-experimental study on 696 children aged 8 to 13. Fourteen disruptive primary school classes in urgent need for help were trained and were compared to fourteen classes of the same schools. Psychologists delivered the program, including a parent evening and 15 hours of training in class with parents. After correction for pre-test differences, significant effects were found for relationship with the teacher, perceived social acceptance, self-esteem, depressed mood and prosocial behaviour.Chapter 5 and 6 examined the effectiveness of Topper Training in a mental healthcare setting directed at eight-to-eleven-year-olds with mild to severe problems in social interaction. Psychologists delivered the programme consisting of 10 lessons of 1,5 hour directed at children and their parents. In Chapter 5 we used a quasi-experimental design on 185 intervention and 39 waitlist control children. Significant effects were found for parent-reported overall problems, internalising, externalizing and social relationship problems, aggression and withdrawn depressed mood. We found no effects for rule breaking and thought problems. In Chapter 6 we used a randomised controlled trial on 77 intervention and 55 waitlist control children. We found significant effects on parent-reported (but not teacher-reported) emotional problems, peer problems, and impact of the problems. Teachers reported a significant effect on conduct problems. No effects were found on prosocial behaviour. Children reported a significant effect on self-worth and child-perceived victimization of bullying. All effects persisted over a 6-month period.