Program Profile: Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT)

This is a program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children in elementary school. The program is rated Effective. Youth who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical aggression; in initiation of alcohol and tobacco; and in use over time of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; compared with control youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups in initiation of illicit drugs.

An Effective rating implies that implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes either 1) one study conducted in multiple sites; or 2) two or three studies, each conducted at a different site. Learn about how we make the multisite determination.

An Effective rating implies that implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes either 1) one study conducted in multiple sites; or 2) two or three studies, each conducted at a different site. Learn about how we make the multisite determination.

Program Goals

Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) is a preventive intervention designed to address two factors that put children at risk for subsequent antisocial behavior and delinquency: 1) aggressive and other at-risk social behaviors with teachers and peers at school and 2) certain parenting practices, including inconsistent discipline and lax supervision. The goal of LIFT is to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors.

Target Population

The target population is children within the elementary school setting, particularly first graders and fifth graders. The program is designed for children and their families living in at-risk neighborhoods.

Program Components

The program has three main components: 1) classroom-based child social skills training, 2) the playground Good Behavior Game (GBG), and 3) parent management training. It also focuses on systematic communication between teachers and parents. To facilitate communication, a “LIFT line” is implemented in each classroom. The LIFT line is a phone and an answering machine in each classroom that families are encouraged to use if they have any questions for the teachers or have concerns they wish to share. Teachers could also use the LIFT line to record daily messages about class activities, which could be accessed by parents.

Child social skills training sessions are held during the regular school day and are broken into distinct segments. The training is delivered in 20 one-hour sessions over a 10-week period. Each session includes 1) classroom instruction and discussion about specific social and problem-solving skills, 2) skills practice in small and large groups, 3) free play in the context of the GBG group cooperation game, and 4) review and presentation of daily rewards. Parts 1, 2, and 4 of the session take place in the classroom, and part 3 takes place on the playground. The curriculum is similar for all elementary school students; however, delivery format, group exercises, and content emphasis are modified depending on the grade level of the participants.

The playground GBG takes place during the free-play portion of the social skills training and is used to actively encourage positive peer relations on the playground. During the game, rewards are earned by individual children for demonstrating positive problem-solving skills and other prosocial behaviors with peers; these rewards accumulate over time so that the entire group or class can earn a reward. A point system is used to discourage negative behaviors.

The parent management training component of LIFT is conducted in groups of 10 to 15 parents, and consists of six weekly 2½-hour sessions. Sessions can provide training either shortly after school or in the evenings. Session content concentrates on positive reinforcement, discipline, monitoring, problem solving, and parent involvement in the school. Communication is fostered throughout the school year.

Program Theory

LIFT was informed by research on the development of delinquency—specifically coercion theory (for more details, see Patterson 1982 or Patterson, Reid, and Dishion 1992). An important assumption underlying the program is that social agents respond coercively to children who are at risk for conduct problems. The intervention components were developed to decrease oppositional/antisocial child behaviors and the coercive response to such behaviors, as well as to increase prosocial behaviors and their support.

Study

Reid and colleagues (1999) conducted a population-based, randomized, intervention trial to assess the immediate effectiveness of LIFT. Twelve schools from areas of high juvenile crime were selected at random to participate as either an intervention (n = 6) or control (n = 6) school. These schools were in neighborhoods with higher-than-average rates of juvenile crime from the Eugene/Springfield, Ore. region. All first and fifth grade classrooms within each school (32 classrooms total) participated. Participants consisted of 671 first and fifth graders, their families, and their teachers. Families were recruited by trained recruiters through letters, phone calls, and home visits.

The intervention school participants (n = 382) received LIFT. The control school participants (n = 289) joined in the assessment-only phase of the program. Participants were largely from white, lower- to middle-socioeconomic backgrounds. Participating students were 51 percent female, and 84 percent European American, 5 percent Hispanic, 3 percent American Indian, 3 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 2 percent African American, and 3 percent “other.” The two groups shared similar backgrounds, though some differences were noted between the groups (the control group had significantly more fathers age 50 or older, more fathers with some graduate education, more mothers with a college education, and more mothers of Asian/Pacific Islander descent). These differences were due to the clustering of demographic characteristics within neighborhoods, such as the inclusion of a graduate student housing complex of a local university.

The intervention took place during the fall. Participants were assessed preceding intervention and again during the spring following intervention. During each assessment, children, parents, and teachers were interviewed and completed a variety of paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Additionally, school and court records were collected, children were observed in the classroom and on the playground, and parents and children were observed during family problem-solving discussions at home or at the research center.

The hypothesis of the study was that the LIFT intervention would have a significant impact on three measures: child physical aggression on the playground, mother aversive behavior during mother-child interactions, and teacher ratings of child positive behaviors with peers during the year following the program. Data was collected from multiple reporting agents (teachers, parents, child, and assessment staff) using multiple methods (observation, questionnaire, and interview) across multiple settings (school, home, and laboratory). The Interpersonal Process Code (IPC) was used to index rates of maternal aversive behavior during mother-child interactions. The IPC was also used to measure rates of child physical aggression towards peers on the playground during recess. The Walker–McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment was used to measure social skills of students. Teachers rated students on the Peer-Preferred Social Behavior subscale, which included items such as “shares laughter with peers” and “makes friends easily with other children.”

The analyses involved examination of univariate distributions of the preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up variables. Variables that deviated significantly from normality were transformed using log or square root transformations. Change scores were also calculated (i.e. postintervention minus preintervention, or follow-up minus preintervention). The change score of each outcome variable was regressed on group, grade, sex, and the initial status on that variable, as well as all possible interactions. Random regression analyses included school as a clustering variable and accounted for group, grade, sex, and possible interactions among variables. The authors conducted subgroup analyses on gender and grade level.

Study

DeGarmo and colleagues (2009) conducted a follow-up study concentrating on long-term outcomes of the fifth graders from the Reid and colleagues 1999 study. Initial 2-year follow-up data indicated almost no substance use among first grade youths, but the data indicated high levels of initiation and growth in substance use among fifth grade youths. Therefore, the focus of the follow-up study was placed on the fifth-grade sample. They collected self-report data of substance use from the students for 7 years until they reached 12th grade, and then analyzed the data for the entire period. Students were included in the final sample if they participated fully in the baseline assessment or joined the study within the first 2 years of follow-up. The total sample was 351 students within 17 different classrooms in 6 randomized schools.

The study looked at substance use initiation and substance use growth over time. Substance use outcome measures included a simple frequency count of any tobacco use (smoking or chewing), any alcohol use (beer, wine, liquor), and any illicit drug use (marijuana, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine). The use of each substance was rated based on responses to the following question: "How many times have you used in the last 6 months?"

Latent variable growth models were used to analyze the data. The authors conducted subgroup analyses on gender.

Subgroup Analysis

Reid and colleagues (1999) conducted subgroup analyses on gender and grade level in relation to physical aggression following participation in Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT). Findings indicated that among children who participated in LIFT, boys showed greater reductions in physical aggression, compared with girls. This difference was statistically significant. There were, however, no statistically significant differences between grade levels in physical aggression. DeGarmo and colleagues (2009) also conducted subgroup analyses on gender. They found that girls in the LIFT intervention showed lower growth rates in tobacco and illicit drug use, compared with boys. This difference was also statistically significant.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Eddy, J. Mark, John B. Reid, and Rebecca A. Fetrow. 2000. “An Elementary School–Based Prevention Program Targeting Modifiable Antecedents of Youth Delinquency and Violence: Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT).” Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 8(3):165–76.

Patterson, Gerald R. 1982. Coercive Family Process. Eugene, Ore.: Castalia.

Patterson, Gerald R., John B. Reid, and Thomas J. Dishion. 1992. Antisocial Boys. Eugene, Ore.: Castalia.

Stoolmiller, Mike, J. Mark Eddy, and John B. Reid. 2000. “Detecting and Describing Preventive Intervention Effects in a Universal School-Based Randomized Trial Targeting Delinquent and Violent Behavior.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68:296–306.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs

Designed to foster the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies, in order to provide a foundation for better adjustment and academic performance in students, which can result in more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, and less emotional distress. The practice was rated Effective in reducing students’ conduct problems and emotional stress.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

	Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Multiple juvenile problem/at-risk behaviors
	Mental Health & Behavioral Health - Internalizing behavior

Universal School-Based Prevention and Intervention Programs for Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior

Universal school-based prevention and intervention programs for aggressive and disruptive behavior target elementary, middle, and high school students in a universal setting, rather than focusing on only a selective group of students, with the intention of preventing or reducing violent, aggressive, or disruptive behaviors. The practice is rated Effective in reducing violent, aggressive, and/or disruptive behaviors in students.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?