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Individual and School Organizational Factors that Influence Implementation of the PAX Good Behavior Game Intervention

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Abstract

Evidence-based interventions are being disseminated broadly in schools across the USA, but the implementation levels achieved in community settings vary considerably. The current study examined the extent to which teacher and school factors were associated with implementation dosage and quality of the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG), a universal classroom-based preventive intervention designed to improve student social-emotional competence and behavior. Specifically, dosage (i.e., number of games and duration of games) across the school year and quality (i.e., how well the game is delivered) of PAX GBG implementation across four time points in a school year were examined. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the association between teacher-level factors (e.g., demographics, self-reports of personal resources, attitudes toward the intervention, and workplace perceptions) and longitudinal implementation data. We also accounted for school-level factors, including demographic characteristics of the students and ratings of the schools’ organizational health. Findings indicated that only a few teacher-level factors were significantly related to variation in implementation. Teacher perceptions (e.g., fit with teaching style, emotional exhaustion) were generally related to dosage, whereas demographic factors (e.g., teachers’ age) were related to quality. These findings highlight the importance of school contextual and proximal teacher factors on the implementation of classroom-based programs.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the Institute of Education [R305A130060 and R305A080326] and the National Institute of Mental Health [P30 MH08643]. The authors would like to thank the administration and the teachers of the Baltimore City School District who are devoted educators of children.

Conflict of Interest

Dr. Domitrovich is an author on the PATHS Curriculum and has a royalty agreement with Channing-Bete, Inc. This has been reviewed and managed by Penn State’s Individual Conflict of Interest Committee. Dennis D. Embry is the copyright and trademark holder of PAX GBG and accrues royalties and salary from the sale and implementation of PAX GBG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

    Celene E. Domitrovich

  2. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Elise T. Pas, Jennifer P. Keperling & Nicholas Ialongo

  3. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Catherine P. Bradshaw

  4. University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kimberly D. Becker

  5. PAXIS Institute, Tuscon, AZ, USA

    Dennis D. Embry

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  1. Celene E. Domitrovich
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  2. Elise T. Pas
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  3. Catherine P. Bradshaw
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  5. Jennifer P. Keperling
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  6. Dennis D. Embry
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  7. Nicholas Ialongo
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Correspondence to Celene E. Domitrovich.

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Domitrovich, C.E., Pas, E.T., Bradshaw, C.P. et al. Individual and School Organizational Factors that Influence Implementation of the PAX Good Behavior Game Intervention. Prev Sci 16, 1064–1074 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0557-8

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