Effectiveness of a combined surf and psychological preventive intervention with children and adolescents in residential childcare: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

espanolEfectividad de una intervencion preventiva psicologica y de surf combinada con ninos y adolescentes en cuidado residencial: Un ensayo controlado aleatorizado. Los ninos y adolescentes que viven en acogimiento residencial tienen una mayor prevalencia de problemas de salud mental. Por lo tanto, esta poblacion debe ser un objetivo prioritario para las intervenciones preventivas de salud mental. El estudio actual analiza la efectividad del programa Wave by Wave, que combina el surf con una intervencion psicologica grupal, a traves de un ensayo controlado aleatorio. Setenta y tres jovenes (7-17 anos) que viven en acogimiento residencial participaron en el estudio. Los principales resultados de salud mental (problemas de ajuste, depresion, ansiedad y bienestar) y los resultados secundarios (autoeficacia, autorregulacion, calidad del sueno, actividad fisica, comportamiento prosocial y conectividad social) se evaluaron antes y despues de intervencion. Los resultados indicaron un impacto significativo de la intervencion sobre los resultados de salud mental reportados por el cuidador en la residencia. Especificamente, despues de la intervencion, hubo una reduccion significativa en los problemas emocionales y conductuales totales, y un aumento significativo del comportamiento prosocial de los jovenes y de la calidad de vida que no se observo en el grupo control. No hubo efectos significativos en otras medidas reportadas por los ninos (ex., depresion y ansiedad, autoestima) y en las medidas de las funciones ejecutivas. El programa Wave by Wave parece ser una intervencion efectiva para reducir los problemas de comportamiento y promover el comportamiento prosocial en una muestra de alto riesgo. La ausencia de efectos significativos en otras dimensiones puede indicar la necesidad de algun apoyo complementario para abordar las dificultades especificas de esta poblacion.. EnglishChildren and adolescents living in residential childcare have a higher prevalence of mental health problems as a result of a history of adverse childhood experiences. Therefore, this population should be a priority target for mental health preventive interventions. The current study analyses the effectiveness of the Wave by Wave surf therapy program, that combines surfing with a psychological group intervention, through a randomized controlled trial. Seventy-three youth (7-17 years) living in residential care participated in the study. Main mental health outcomes (adjustment problems, depression, anxiety, and wellbeing) and secondary outcomes (self-efficacy, self-regulation, sleep quality, physical activity, pro-social behavior, and social connectivity) were assessed at pre- and post-intervention. The results indicated a significant impact of the intervention on mental health outcomes reported by the key residential worker, with medium to large effect sizes. Specifically, after the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the total emotional and behavioural problems, and a significant increase of youth pro-social behaviour and quality of life that was not observed for the waiting list group. There were no significant effects on other measures reported by the children (e.g., depression and anxiety, self-esteem, emotion regulation, social connectedness, sleep quality, physical activity) and on executive functions measures. The Wave by Wave program seems to be an effective intervention to reduce behavior problems and to promote pro-social behavior in a high-risk sample. The absence of significant effects on other dimensions may indicate the need of some complementary support to address specific difficulties of this population.