Evaluation of two early prevention programs in daycare centers with high-risk children – EVA

Prof. Tamara Fischmann

The project examines the differential effectiveness of the two prevention programs FAUSTLOS and FRÜHE SCHRITTE (Early Steps) in children with difficult developmental conditions. The two prevention projects are being carried out in seven selected daycare centers and aim to investigate whether the additional effort involved in FRÜHE SCHRITTE is worthwhile in the short and long term compared to the standardized FAUSTLOS program, and what advantages and disadvantages there are. Numerous studies in empirical infant research, attachment research, and psychoanalysis report how formative social relationships in the first years of life are the best prerequisite for successful psychological, cognitive, and psychosocial development, including language acquisition. Although a wide range of prevention programs draw on these empirical findings and strive to provide early support for children as early as kindergarten age, these services do not reach all families, as families with a migrant background, for example, are often unaware of them.

Project Start: 01/2008
Project End: 01/2018

• Hartmann, L. K. (2015). Mentalisierungsförderung als professionalisierter Erkenntnisprozess: Eine empirische Studie zur psychoanalytischen Fallsupervision bei Frühpädagogischem Fachpersonal.Kassel: Kassel University Press.
• Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Fischmann, T., Läzer, K. L., Pfenning-Meerkötter, N., Wolff, A., & Green, J. (2011). Frühprävention psychosozialer Störungen bei Kindern mit belasteten Kindheiten. Psyche, 65, 989–1022.
• Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Fischmann, T., Neubert, V., Hartmann, L., Läzer, K. L., Pfenning-Meerkötter, N., … Ackermann, P. (2014). Project Eva: Evaluation of two prevention programs with high-risk children in Kindergarten. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 62, 29–31. doi:10.1177/0003065114539553.
• Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Läzer, K. L., & Pfenning-Meerkötter, N. (2011). Frühprävention - Gesellschaftliche Notwendigkeit und Chance: Erste Ergebnisse des ""EVA""-Projekts belegen positive Effekte zweier Präventionsprogramme - Enge Kooperation mit Frankfurter Kindertagesstätten. Forschung Frankfurt, 29, 26–31.
• Laezer, K.L., Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Rüger, B., Fischmann, T. (2013): Evaluation of two prevention programs „Early Steps“ and „Faustlos“ in day-care centers with children at risk: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Trials, 14:268 doi:10.1186/1745-6215-14-268.
• Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Laezer, K.L., Neubert, V., Pfenning-Meerkötter, N., Fischmann, T. (2013): „Aufsuchende Psychoanalyse“ in der Frühprävention – klinische und extraklinisch-empirische Studien. Frühe Bildung, Vol.2 Nbr.2, 72-83, doi: 10.1026/2191-9186/a000087.
• Fischmann, T. (2017). Migration, Flucht, Trauma – Erkenntnisse aus psychoanalytischen Frühpräventionsprojekten. In: M. Leuzinger-Bohleber, U. Bahrke, T. Fischmann, S. Arnold, S. Hau (Hg.). Flucht, Migration und Trauma: Die Folgen für die nächste Generation. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 235-258.
• Fischmann, T., Asseburg, L. K., Green, J., Hug, F., Neubert, V., Wan, M.W., & Leuzinger-Bohleber, M. (2020). Can Psychodynamically-oriented early prevention for “Children-at-Risk” in Urban Areas with High Social Problem Density strengthen their developmental potential? A cluster randomized trial of two Kindergarten-based prevention programs. Frontiers in Psychology (section Psychology for Clinical Settings), December 2020, Vol. 11, 553-17. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599477.