Applied and Preventive Psychology
Decline in Anxious and Depressed Behavior
Schick, A., & Cierpka, M. (2005). Faustlos: Evaluation of a curriculum to prevent violence in elementary schools. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 11, 157–165.
An experimental study of the Faustlos program (German translation of the SECOND STEP program) was conducted with 716 children ages five to eight.
Empathy and aggression were assessed by teachers and parents who completed a measure of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. After one semester, students who participated in the Faustlos program showed significant declines in anxious, depressed, and socially withdrawn behavior compared to the control groups, based on parents' ratings.
Parent reports also revealed significant gender differences. Only girls in the experimental group showed decreases in physical aggression and increased social competence when compared to control students.
