Acceptability and feasibility of implementing the I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) program among preschoolers in Chile: results of a pilot randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Mental health disorders often begin early in life and are disproportionately prevalent among children in low-resource settings. School-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs have shown promise in promoting cognitive and emotional skills in young children, yet few have been culturally adapted and evaluated in Latin America. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a culturally adapted versionof the I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) program implemented in vulnerable preschools in Santiago, Chile. This was a pilot three-arm randomizedcontrolled trial. Schools were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) ICPS delivered by internal early educators, (2) ICPS delivered by external earlyeducators, or (3) a control group. We approached schools from four municipalities in Santiago, Chile. Ten schools were randomized to study conditions.One school withdrew after allocation but before baseline assessment and intervention delivery. Therefore, nine schools entered the implementation phaseand completed the study. The intervention consisted of 59 sessions delivered over 5–6 months. The primary outcomes were feasibility, acceptability, andimplementation fidelity. Secondary outcomes included executive functioning, emotion recognition, social problem-solving, and psychological functioning. A total of 234 preschoolers from 9 schools participated (83% of those eligible), and 84% completed post-intervention assessments. Sessioncompletion reached 99.5% for external facilitators and 68.6% for internal facilitators. Implementation fidelity was high across both conditions, withslightly higher scores among external facilitators. Acceptability was also high: 80% of children reported enjoying the program, and over 75% of teachersrated it positively. Most parents (88%) were aware of the program, and more than one-third reported behavioral improvements in their children.Preliminary analyses indicated significant gains in executive functioning among children taught by internal facilitators (β = 6.26, 95% CI [2.16, 10.35], p =.008), along with modest improvements in emotion recognition and social problem-solving. Parent- and teacher-rated difficulties (SDQ) showed smallreductions over time. The ICPS program was feasible and acceptable in this Chilean preschool context, with early signals of effectiveness inkey developmental domains. These findings support further evaluation through a fully powered trial and suggest that culturally adapted SEL programs maybe a viable strategy to promote early mental health in socio-economically vulnerable settings.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2026 · DOI ↗