Joel Hektner, assistant professor of child development and family science, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research on May 27 in Washington, D.C. The paper was titled "More Than Just Role Models: The Role of Well-Adjusted Peers in the Early Risers Skills for Success Program.” He also chaired a paper session titled “Adolescent Friendships: Risk, Mediators, and Protection.”

The paper presentation covered the goals, components and strategies of the Early Risers program, as well as some initial results regarding its effectiveness. “Early Risers is a comprehensive program to build social, emotional and behavior competence in children at high risk for early development of mental health problems,” Hektner said. “Well-adjusted children are included in the program both as role models and to learn how to interact with their less well-adjusted peers.”

The program is in the second year of a three-year grant funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Hektner found that after three months of the program, both children with adjustment problems and well-adjusted children gained in social skills and leadership relative to a control group. He will continue to collect data for another year.

As chair of the paper session, Hektner served on the program selection committee that accepted the papers. At the conference, he introduced each presenter and moderated the discussion. “Presenters shared studies finding that middle schoolers with older friends are more likely to be involved with cigarette, marijuana and alcohol use; and that victims of peer violence tend to lose friends, which makes them even more vulnerable to victimization,” Hektner said.