An Exploration of Systemic and Individual Drivers of Adoption of Early Interventions for Trauma in Schools

Childhood trauma exposure is prevalent and often associated with adverse outcomes. Despite evidence of effectiveness, systemic challenges hinder implementation of trauma-specific interventions within school settings. The current study explores implementation drivers of three school-based trauma interventions. Participants were 93 clinicians from 14 districts. Results revealed low adoption: only 17% of trained clinicians facilitated a full intervention following training. In contrast, 64.5% of trained clinicians reported using intervention components flexibly outside of a formal group. No differences in implementation drivers emerged between clinicians/districts who did and did not adopt groups. However, clinicians who used intervention components flexibly reported higher perceived intervention alignment and support from administrators than those who did not. Recommendations for implementation and pathways for future study are discussed.