Cognitive abilities are closely related to social emotional competences (SEC). These abilities are important foundations in order to adapt to school, interact with peers and adults, as well as to navigate the wider socio-cultural context in which one develops. Further, young children are also acquiring and deepening their language and preliteracy skills which are important for later academic learning. Central to cognitive abilities are the processes that enable deliberate and goal-oriented actions, which fall under the conceptual umbrella of executive functions (EFs). In this study, we applied a conceptually broad perspective to examine cognitive abilities, preliteracy and SEC in preschool aged children. Children were participants in an intervention trial of the preschool edition of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS^®) conducted in preschools located in three municipalities within a large city in Sweden. Pre-test data were used to examine cognitive abilities and SEC in this sample of Swedish 4 to 5-year-old children (N = 247). We first performed an exploratory factor analysis including the wide range of examined abilities, and found that measures of abilities typically viewed as SEC, did not group with measures of preliteracy skills and abilities typically considered as EFs. Second, we performed confirmatory factor analyses on remaining relevant indicators of cognitive abilities, which indicated a two-factor model best fit the data, with one factor involving inhibitory control and one factor involving more complex and high-demanding skills (working memory, cognitive flexibility, and preliteracy skills). Results indicated that more complex EFs and preliteracy skills were closely linked, and can be differentiated from inhibitory control, already in the preschool years. Findings also point to the importance of including a broad range of cognitive abilities (e.g., pre-literacy skills) in order to gain a nuanced description of possible interrelations between cognitive and social emotional development. Furthermore, this study contributes to the theoretical discussion on EF structure during childhood, and provides a sound empirical rationale for the further development of early interventions that consider young children’s executive functions and preliteracy skills.

Introduction: Cultural adaptation of interventions is complex and yet vital to achieving the intended benefits of interventions with new populations. However, little is known regarding deliverers’ perceptions of cultural adaptation and when a cultural adaptation process can be considered complete. The purpose of this study was to explore aspects of cultural adaptation that need further attention in an intervention that had undergone an initial cultural adaptation.

Methods: Four focus groups (FGs) were conducted with preschool teachers who had worked with a culturally adapted version of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS©) in Sweden for approximately 6 months. In total, 16 teachers from eight preschools were included, with 3–5 teachers in each group. All FGs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis with an inductive approach was applied to the transcribed data.

Results: Three themes were identified where teachers described the need for further cultural adaptation for the intervention to align with personal and societal fundamental cultural values and be useful for their work as teachers in the Swedish preschool setting. The themes pertained to culturally adapting a manual-based intervention to a foundational, value-based approach, such as the practical application of core values and the steering documents of the Swedish preschool. Furthermore, the practical function of the culturally adapted intervention in the new cultural context revealed a further need to adjust materials and activities in interaction with the children. Finally, the prerequisites within the Swedish cultural setting, including resources and collaboration with parents as part of the work structure for preschool teachers in Sweden, needed further attention in relation to the intervention.

Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the importance of the deliverer in the cultural adaptation process in addition to adaptations that focus on end users (children in the case of preschool PATHS). Furthermore, the study indicates a need for a more open-ended view of the cultural adaptation process for interventions than perhaps previously described in models of cultural adaptation of interventions.

Introduction: Social emotional competence is fundamental to the positive development of children and youth. Accurately understanding and assessing children’s social emotional competencies, using psychometrically sound instruments, are essential to global efforts to support children’s social emotional learning, academic achievements, and health. This study examined the psychometric properties of a teacher-reported measure of young children’s social emotional competence, the Social Competence Scale – Teacher edition (SCS-T), in two samples of children growing up with varied economic resources/conditions, cultural norms, and educational experiences, namely Pakistan (N = 396) and Sweden (N = 309).

Methods: Participants were aged 4–6 years old. The study design was cross-sectional.

Results and Discussion: Using structural equation modelling, bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis models implying shared variance, among all items and domain-specific shared variance, among the prosocial items, emotion regulation items, and academic skills items resulted in good fitting models in each respective sample. Invariance testing across samples revealed a subset of items from each factor structure with partial scalar invariance, whereby five items had equal thresholds and could be comparable across the two samples. Thus, results provided partial support for hypotheses 1, 2, and 3, in that the posited three factor model (H1) was not clearly supported and a bi-factor model evidenced the best fit, among tested models, for both samples. Further, partial scalar invariance (H3) was found for five items out of 25 items, concerning social competence and academic skills. In regards, to the posited research question, the results of Z-tests showed significant (p < 0.001) latent mean differences between the samples. Compared to the Swedish sample, the Pakistani sample was 1.80 units lower on social competence (z = −6.41, p < 0.001) and 1.86 units lower on academic skills (z = −7.87, p < 0.001). The implications of these findings in light of efforts to promote positive child development in diverse parts of the world are considered.

Introduction: The goal of these studies was to investigate the reliability and validity of virtual systematic social observation (virtual SSO) using Google Street View in a Swedish neighborhood context.

Methods: This was accomplished in two studies. Study 1 focused on interrater reliability and construct validity, comparing ratings conducted in-person to those done using Google Street View, across 24 study sites within four postal code areas. Study 2 focused on criterion validity of virtual SSO in terms of neighborhoods with low versus high income levels, including 133 study sites within 22 postal code areas in a large Swedish city. In both studies, assessment of the neighborhood context was conducted at each study site, using a protocol adapted to a Swedish context.

Results: Scales for Physical Decay, Neighborhood Dangerousness, and Physical Disorder were found to be reliable, with adequate interrater reliability, high consistency across methods, and high internal consistency. In Study 2, significantly higher levels of observed Physical Decay, Neighborhood Dangerousness, and signs of garbage or litter were observed in postal codes areas (site data was aggregated to postal code level) with lower as compared to higher income levels.

Discussion: We concluded that the scales within the virtual SSO with Google Street View protocol that were developed in this series of studies represents a reliable and valid measure of several key neighborhood contextual features. Implications for understanding the complex person-context interactions central to many theories of positive development among youth were discussed in relation to the study findings.

Well implemented, universal parental support is often effective in families with younger children, but research on their effects on families with adolescent children is scarce. In this study, a trial of the universal parent training intervention Parent Web in early adolescence is added to the social emotional learning intervention Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS (R)), completed in early childhood. The Parent Web is a universal online parenting intervention based on social learning theory. The intervention aims to promote positive parenting and family interaction through five weekly modules completed over 6-8 weeks. The main hypothesis is that participants in the intervention group will exhibit significant pre- to post- intervention-related benefits relative participants in the comparison group. The aims of this study are: 1) provide Parent Web as a booster aimed at improving parenting support and practices at the transition into adolescence to a cohort of parents whose children have previously participated in preschool PATHS, and 2) examine the effects of the universal edition of Parent Web. The study has a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-testing. The incremental effects of this internet-delivered parent training intervention are tested in parents of early adolescents (11-13 years) who participated in PATHS when 4-5 years old compared to a matched sample of adolescents with no prior experience of PATHS. The primary outcomes are parent reported child behavior and family relationships. Secondary outcomes include self-reported parent health and stress. The proposed study is one of the few trials to test the effects of universal parental support in families of early adolescents and will therefore contribute to the understanding of how mental health in children and young people can be promoted across developmental periods through a continuum of universal measures.

Early interventions that foster the participation, engagement, and development of children attending preschools, including those in economically disadvantaged (low-income) neighborhoods, are of high priority. One such intervention is a universal socioemotional learning (SEL) program called Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS^®) which aims to promote social emotional competence and positive adjustment in children, in general, and may have unique benefits for children attending preschool in low incomes areas. In the SEL field, areas in need of exploration include the possible role that neighborhood income level (i.e., all residents' income in a postal code that a preschool is located in) could have for children's social emotional competence and positive adjustment and how neighborhood income level may relate to benefits of an intervention such as PATHS. The study aims were to investigate 1) the baseline group differences in social emotional competence and adjustment depending on the neighborhood income level and 2) to determine if neighborhood income level moderated the effects of PATHS on children's social emotional competence and adjustment from pre to posttest. Participants were 275 children aged four to five years old, from the preschools randomized into an immediate intervention (n = 145 children) or a wait-list control group (n = 130 children). Overall, 42.9% (n = 118) of the children attended preschools in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and 57.1% (n = 157) of the children attended preschools in economically advantaged neighborhoods. Children's social emotional competence and adjustment were assessed through child tasks, child observations and teacher reports. The moderation of intervention effects by the preschools' neighborhood income was tested in a series of just-identified structural equation models (SEM) that explored interaction effects (income*PATHS interactions). At baseline, relative to children attending preschool in economically advantaged preschools, children attending preschool in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods showed lower levels of inhibitory control, working memory, task orientation and higher levels of inattention. Children attending preschools in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods participating in PATHS also showed reductions in inattention, social withdrawal and anxiety compared to control group children also attending preschool in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Additionally, PATHS children from advantaged neighborhoods improved their prosocial behavior, but not their social independence, relative to control group children who also attended preschool in advantaged neighborhoods. Offering PATHS as an SEL intervention in early childhood education and care settings could help to reduce disparities among children in a number of key outcomes.

The preschool edition of Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS(R)) is a school-based, teacher implemented universal intervention developed in the United States designed to promote social emotional competence (SEC) in children as a foundation for improved mental health. PATHS is delivered as a curriculum and it is based on theories and research regarding SEC, brain development, and optimal school environments. A majority of children in Sweden attend preschool, which is government-subsidized and follows a national curriculum focusing on both academic and social emotional learning. However, there is not so much focus on formal instruction nor manual-based lessons. The purpose of this study was to assess the short-term (pre- to post-test) effects of PATHS in the Swedish preschool setting. Using a two-wave cluster randomized trial with multi-method and informant assessment (N = 285 4 and 5-year-old Swedish children; n = 145 wait-list control; n = 140 intervention; K = 26 preschools; k = 13 intervention; k = 13 control) we assessed changes in child emotional knowledge, emotional awareness, social problem solving, prosocial play, inhibitory control, and working memory using structural equation modeling (SEM). We included schools with at least one classroom of 4-5-year-old children from three municipalities. We excluded open preschools, parent cooperative preschools, and family day homes. After random assignment, schools were informed of condition assignment. Research team members were not blind to assignment. We hypothesized that relative to children in control schools, children in intervention schools would evidence improvements in social emotional competence as well as other outcomes. Children in PATHS, relative to children in the control, evidenced improvements in working memory and prosocial play, but also showed an increase in hyperactive behaviors. Girls in PATHS, relative to girls in the control, showed improvement in emotional knowledge and reduced anxiety. These results are considered in light of efforts to promote positive development and mental health.

This cross-sectional study established the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) and an index of empathy in a sample of Swedish four to six year olds (N = 115). Using Bayesian structural equation modeling, we found that a five-factor PKBS and one-factor empathy model provided good fit to the data, posterior predictive p-value (PPP) = .246. Results indicated good internal consistency (ω .73 to .92). Consistent with the CASEL model and prior research, positive associations were found between social emotional competencies. Relationship skills were positively associated with empathy and negatively associated with internalizing problems. Results provided support for the use of the PKBS as well as the empathy scale in Swedish preschools.

Language abilities in preschool years, including those measured with letter knowledge, are predictors of reading development in later school years. The aim of this study was to investigate variation in children's language abilities before they started school in relation to gender and neighborhood level socioeconomic status (SES). Schools from three municipalities with varied resources and living conditions participated in this study. The participants were 231 children 4-6 years old (girls n = 117, boys n = 114; mean age 4.8 years old; SD = 6 months). In this cross-sectional study, children took the Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) object test and a Letter Knowledge task. Results showed no significant differences in task performance between boys and girls. Children attending preschools situated in average to above average SES areas had higher scores on the RAN object task compared to those who attended preschools located in low SES neighborhoods. Finally, a significant association was found between children's first language and SES. The implications of these results are explored in this article.

This chapter is a commentary regarding advances in the intervention cultural adaptation research literature, particularly as it concerns positive development (PD) interventions. An overview of research on PD interventions is provided. Thereafter, the chapter focuses on the implementation of PD interventions cross-nationally, highlighting the importance of cultural adaptation in this process. The Planned Intervention Adaptation (PIA) protocol is used along with a case study, as an illustration of steps that can be taken in the cultural adaptation of interventions and to highlight issues that can be at stake when culturally adapting PD interventions. The case is an overview of the cultural adaptation of the preschool edition of PATHS^®. PATHS^® is an American (U.S.) developed, school-based teacher implemented intervention designed to support young children’s social emotional competence and to change schools’ climate in ways that foster social emotional learning. Social emotional competence is an important expression of PD. This chapter provides an overview of how specific aspects of culture and context were considered in a PATHS^® effectiveness trial. This chapter concludes with a summary of lessons learned from this case and the need to culturally recast some concepts in the process of translation, as well as a consideration of promising approaches to advance the development, impact, and spread of adaptable culturally relevant PD interventions.