Building kindergarteners' social-emotional skills for better long-term mental health
Official title: Increasing Kindergarten Social-Emotional Skills for Positive Long-Term Mental Health: A Pilot Test of the Strengthening Social-Emotional Skills for Relating and Thriving at School (SSTRS) Program
Funded at Oregon Social Learning Center, INC. · NIH-11238102 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This pilot will teach kindergarten children and their parents skills to boost emotional and social coping and reduce later mental health risks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Oregon Social Learning Center, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Eugene, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $273,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R34MH138714-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11238102 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are children entering kindergarten and their caregivers, especially families from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
✕Less likely to help
Older children, adolescents, or adults and families who do not participate in the parent component are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this kindergarten-focused program.
What this research studies
Your child would receive classroom activities that teach social-emotional skills while parents take part in a matched curriculum to support positive discipline and school involvement. The program is an adaptation of the evidence-based Kids In Transition to School Program and is tailored for kindergarten learning needs. Participating schools will be assigned using a simplified dynamic waitlist-controlled, cluster-randomized design, and data will be collected at baseline, about 2 months after start, and at an 8-month follow-up. The pilot will track changes in children’s social-emotional skills, parent practices, and early mental health indicators.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could help children develop skills that lower the likelihood of later mental health problems such as depression, substance misuse, and suicidal behavior.
How similar studies have gone: The original Kids In Transition to School Program has shown improvements in social-emotional skills and downstream mental health outcomes, while this specific SSTRS adaptation is being piloted.
Where this research is happening
-
Oregon Social Learning Center, INC.
Eugene, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pears, Katherine C — Oregon Social Learning Center, INC.
- Study coordinator: Pears, Katherine C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.