Feasibility study of the programme Check-in-Check-out

External project member: Martin Karlberg, universitetslektor, Uppsala University

Children with disruptive behaviors risk to miss out on opportunities for learning and building relationships with others at school, which may lead to a heightened risk for mental ill-health. Therefore, research on interventions that support children with disruptive behaviors and prevent mental ill-health is important.

In this project we focus on the program Check-in-Check-out (CICO), which aims to support children with disruptive behaviors through positive contacts with adults at school and in collaboration with children’s families. Positive effects of CICO have been reported in research, but it is more challenging to implement CICO at schools
in areas characterized by socioeconomic stress. Families in these areas need more frequent positive and supportive contact with schools. The project aims to evaluate the feasibility of CICO, with a focus on how the
intervention can be aligned with social supports to children with disruptive behaviors and their families, provided by social workers, employed at the schools.

At each the two schools in the project, a CICO team responsible for coordination of the intervention is followed. Interviews with school professionals, children and their parents are conducted to evaluate feasibility in the CICO programme. This study is expected to contribute to research on wrap-around interventions that support both children with disruptive behaviors and their families. Reasons for disruptive behaviors are to be found in several contexts and interventions which enhance connections between the multiple contexts are important.

Project objective

The project aims to evaluate the feasibility of CICO, with a focus on how the intervention can be aligned with psychosocial supports to children with disruptive behaviors and their families, provided by social workers, employed at the schools.