SCIENCE DES ÉMOTIONS : Evaluation of a Psychosocial Skills Development Program for Middle School Students

Evaluation of the Impact of "Science Des Emotions", a Psychosocial Skills Development Program for Middle-School Students

The goal of this Quasi-experimental cluster randomized trial is:

• 1a. Primary purpose: to determine the feasibility of the "Science des Emotions" curriculum through a participatory and translational research methodology, involving educators in evaluating programme fidelity, acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience through quantitative and qualitative measures.
• 1b. Primary purpose: to assess the feasibility of the "Science des Emotions" curriculum from students' perspectives, including feasibility, acceptability, perceived usefulness, and overall experience, using quantitative and qualitative measures.
• 1c. Primary purpose: to determine whether the "Science des Emotions" curriculum improves psychosocial skills, emotional awareness, and adaptive emotion regulation strategies among 6th- and 7th-grade students.
• 2a. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme affects peer relationships, perceived closeness with classmates, and problematic behaviours among students.
• 2b. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme improves classroom climate reported by educators.
• 2c. Secondary purpose: to determine whether the programme improves educators' psychosocial skills and emotional awareness.
• 2d. Secondary purpose: to examine whether improvements in emotional awareness mediate the effect of the programme on educators' psychosocial skills.
• 2e. Secondary purpose: to examine whether improvements in emotional awareness and adaptive emotion regulation mediate the effect of the programme on students' psychosocial skills.
• 2f. Secondary purpose: to explore moderating factors of programme effectiveness, including students' behavioural difficulties and socio-economic background.
• 2g. Secondary purpose: to evaluate programme implementation through session-level assessments of clarity, feasibility, satisfaction, and visual materials completed by educators after each session. Changes in knowledge related to emotions and emotion regulation will also be assessed among students and educators.

This analysis will support recommendations for large-scale implementation and public policy.

Participants

Educators and educational staff delivering the programme (n = 100) Students aged 10-13 participating in the programme (n = 2400)

Measures

Primary objectives

• Students (both arms) will complete psychosocial skills, emotion regulation, and emotional awareness measures at pre-test (t0), post-test (t1), and 5-month follow-up (t2).
• Students in the intervention arm will complete a post-programme questionnaire assessing satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and acceptability, and may participate in a semi-structured interview assessing feasibility, usefulness, and overall experience.
• Educators in the intervention arm will complete a post-programme questionnaire assessing implementation fidelity and perceived usefulness, and may participate in a semi-structured interview assessing acceptability, usefulness, and overall experience.

Secondary objectives

• Students (both arms) will complete peer relationship, perceived closeness, problematic behaviour, and socio-demographic measures.
• Educators (both arms) will complete classroom climate, psychosocial skills, emotional awareness, and knowledge questionnaires at t0, t1, and t2. Schools will also provide absenteeism and behavioural data.
• Students (both arms) will complete an ad hoc knowledge questionnaire at t0, t1, and t2.
• Educators in the intervention arm will complete session-level feasibility, clarity, and satisfaction measures after each session.

The "Science des Emotions" project is a school-based research initiative implemented in collaboration with middle schools across the Créteil district (suburb east of Paris, France), including 23 schools, of which 9 are REP/REP+ and 3 are located in QPV areas (French priority education areas identified based on socio-economic criteria). The main objective of this project is to enhance adolescents' psychosocial skills by developing a novel psychosocial learning program that can be integrated into regular school activities by teachers themselves. The program is designed to improve students' psychosocial skills by incorporating structured lessons on emotional awareness and emotion regulation into the school curriculum. The program is based on the Psychosocial Competencies (CPS) framework defined by Santé Publique France and focuses specifically on fostering emotional awareness and self-regulation, key protective factors for short- and long-term well-being and mental health, but also academic success and socio-professional integration A pilot randomized controlled trial has been designed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the "Science des Emotions" program. Schools will be randomized into two arms: the intervention arm (n=12) will implement the program during regular school hours, while the control arm (n=12) will continue their usual "vie de classe" activities (such as group discussions, reflection on classroom rules, conflict resolution, and collective problem-solving).

Inclusion Criteria:

Youth participants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be enrolled in 6th or 7th grade in a school within the Créteil or Paris Districts
• Have parental authorization
• Provide written informed consent, as appropriate
• Be able to speak and understand French

Staff participants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be part of the educational staff in a school within the Créteil or Paris Districts
• Provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

Youth participants:

• Students with diagnosed severe neurodevelopmental or psychiatric disorders preventing participation in mainstream classroom activities
• SEGPA students (specialized adapted general and vocational education sections)
• Allophone students (recent non-French-speaking arrivals)
• Deaf students

No student is excluded from participating in the "Science des Emotions program itself, nor from completing the questionnaires (unless parental authorization is missing). The exclusions apply only to data analysis, in order to avoid any form of stigmatization or perception of exclusion.

Staff participants : none