Investigators: Patrick N. Tolan, Ph.D., David B. Henry, Ph.D., and Richard VanAcker, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago, L. Rowell Huesmann, Ph.D. University of Michigan, Nancy Guerra, Ed.D. University of California at Riverside and Leonard Eron, Ph.D. University of Michigan

 

The Metropolitan Area Child Study (MACS) is a long-term multidisciplinary collaboration of researchers in psychiatry, psychology, and education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Michigan, and University of California. The aim of MACS was to prevent the development of antisocial and violent behavior in children and to promote the development of academic achievement and social competence. MACS is a longitudinal research demonstration project that was conducted in selected schools in Chicago and Aurora, Illinois from the 1990-91 school year until the 1996-1997 school year. Data from MACS are still undergoing analysis. In its seven years of operation, over 4,000 children in 23 schools participated.

Initially, 16 schools were randomly assigned to one of three increasingly intensive intervention conditions or a no-treatment control condition in a "stair-step" research design. Four schools were assigned to be no-treatment control schools. Four schools were assigned to receive a classroom enhancement intervention for teachers and all students. Four schools were assigned to receive the classroom enhancement intervention plus a small group social skills training intervention for high risk children, and four schools were assigned to receive the classroom enhancement intervention, plus the small group intervention, plus a family intervention for the families of high risk children.

Results indicate the MACS program had positive effects on aggression and academic achievement among high risk youth, particularly in schools with more resources. Results also suggest that the teacher training and consultation portion of the general enhancement intervention changed teacher behaviors, particularly toward the highest risk students. Finally, analyses suggest that some of the change in aggression was due to changes in children's thoughts about aggression.