Prevention Science, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2006 ( C  2006) DOI: 10.1007/s11121-005-0022-1 The Mediational Role of Neurocognition in the Behavioral Outcomes of a Social-Emotional Prevention Program in Elementary School Students: Effects of the PATHS Curriculum Nathaniel R. Riggs, 1,4 Mark T. Greenberg, 2 Carol A. Kusch´ e, 3 and Mary Ann Pentz 1 Received August 12, 2005; accepted October 14, 2005 Published online: 30 March 2006 Neuropsychology is one field that holds promise in the construction of comprehensive, devel- opmental models for the promotion of social competence and prevention of problem behav- ior. Neuropsychological models of behavior suggest that children’s neurological functioning affects the regulation of strong emotions, as well as performance in social, cognitive, and behavioral spheres. The current study examines the underlying neurocognitive conceptual theory of action of one social-emotional development program. Hypothesized was that in- hibitory control and verbal fluency would mediate the relationship between program con- dition and teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Participants were 318 regular education students enrolled in the second or third grade. A series of regres- sion analyses provided empirical support for (a) the effectiveness of the PATHS Curriculum in promoting inhibitory control and verbal fluency and (b) a partial mediating role for in- hibitory control in the relation between prevention condition and behavioral outcomes. Im- plications are that programs designed to promote social and emotional development should consider comprehensive models that attend to neurocognitive functioning and development. Lack of consideration of neurocognitive pathways to the promotion of social competence may ignore important mechanisms through which prevention affects youth outcomes. Fur- thermore, the findings suggest that developers of social-emotional preventions should design curricula to explicitly promote the developmental integration of executive functioning, verbal processing, and emotional awareness. Doing so may enhance prevention outcomes particu- larly if those preventions are implemented during a time of peak neurocognitive development KEY WORDS: neuro-cognition; social-emotional development; mediation. Youth problem behavior can place children and adolescents at considerable risk for the development of serious future problems including delinquency, substance abuse, and school dropout (Cairns et al., 1989; Flory et al., 2003; Galaif et al., 2001; Lahey et al., 1997; Moffitt & Caspi, 1998; White et al., 2001). 1 The Institute for Prevention Research, University of Southern California, California. 2 The Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania. 3 Department of Psychology, University of Washington, District of Columbia. 4 Correspondence should be directed to Mark T. Greenberg, Insti- tute for Prevention Research, University of Southern California, 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Unit #8, Alhambra, California, 90813; e- mail: nriggs@usc.edu. Consequently, recent decades have experienced a rapid increase in the number of prevention programs targeting the promotion of social-emotional compe- tence in young people as one strategy to decrease risk for behavior and mental health problems (Drug Strategies, 1998; Greenberg et al., 1999; U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Services, 1999). Many of these programs strive to promote com- petencies in a number of developmentally appropri- ate skills including inhibition of impulsive behavior, awareness and regulation of feelings, accurate per- ception of the perspectives of others, correct identifi- cation of problems, and development of positive and informed problem solutions and goals (Zins et al., 2000). In turn, it is believed that these skills allow children to modify and integrate behaviors, actions, 91 1389-4986/06/0300-0091/1 C  2006 Society for Prevention Research