An Analysis of Response Shifts in Teacher Reports Associated with the Use of a Universal School-Based Intervention to Reduce Externalising Behaviour

Abstract

School-based psychosocial interventions are a widely used approach to prevent or reduce externalising behaviour. However, evaluating the effects of such interventions is complicated by the fact that the interventions may not only change the target behaviour, but also the way that informants report on that behaviour. For example, teachers may become more aware of bullying behaviour after delivering lessons on the topic, resulting in increased teacher reports of the behaviour. In this study, we used multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate whether teachers exposed to the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) intervention changed the way they reported on child externalising behaviour. Using data from the z-proso study (802 participants; 51% male; 69 teachers), teacher reports of aggressive behaviour, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and non-aggressive conduct disorder symptoms were compared pre- and post- intervention and across the intervention and control conditions. There was no evidence that teacher reporting was affected by exposure to the intervention. This helps bolster the interpretation of intervention effects as reflecting changes in child behaviour, rather than in the manner of informant reporting.