The purpose of this study was to examine whether seventh-grade positive peer affiliation and conduct problems mediated the relationship between sixth-grade parental monitoring of behavior and eighth-grade school participation and grades among students with elevated behavior ratings (EBR; n = 821) and students with unelevated behavior ratings (UBR;…

In this study, the researcher examined the effectiveness of the WhyTry social skills program through the correlation of student behavioral change and improved attendance, after completing the 10 metaphor lessons over the course of a semester middle school curriculum rotation. The WhyTry program is designed to address a whole child approach rather…

The purpose of the current study was to understand the association between bullying experiences (i.e., bullying, victimization, and defending) and social, emotional, and cognitive factors. The social factor was social skills (i.e., empathy, assertion, cooperation, responsibility); the emotional factor was emotional difficulties (i.e., personal…

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) focuses on promoting social competence through the establishment of behavior expectations that are explicitly taught and reinforced by all teachers across all settings. This study investigated the validity of using adherence to SWPBS behavior expectations as a screening tool for predicting behavior…

Technology in schools is abundant as is the call for evidence-based interventions for students who need additional support to be successful. One promising use of technology is for self-monitoring interventions aimed at improving classroom behavior. In this study, two middle school students with disabilities used a multicomponent, self-monitoring…

Adolescents' perceptions of peers' relational characteristics (e.g., support, trustworthiness) were examined for subtypes of youth who evidenced chronic maladaptive behavior, chronic peer group rejection, or combinations of these risk factors. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify subgroups of participants within a normative…

This study tests the predictive associations between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms and examines the mediating roles of social competence, parent-child conflicts, and academic achievement. Using youth-, parent-, and teacher-reported longitudinal data on a sample of 523 boys and 460 girls from late childhood to early…

This paper examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youths' functioning in three domains: disruptive behavior problems, involvement with deviant peers, and social skills during the middle school years. Eight hundred ninety-one children had been randomly assigned by sets of schools within four sites to intervention (n =…

Students with hearing loss attending general education classrooms have been reported to experience difficulties in social skills and relationships. This 5-year longitudinal study examined the social skills and problem behaviors of students who were deaf or hard of hearing, and who attended general education classrooms. Data were obtained from…

Although there is literature supporting the effectiveness of tertiary behavioral supports, the majority of the studies have been conducted with single-subject designs. The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model is a standardized model of a school-based tertiary intervention. This study reports initial results from a randomized controlled trial to…

Interventions that aim to promote social competence, reduce problem behavior, and improve school climate are common at all levels of schooling. This whole-school focus, coupled with researchers' concerns about contamination or spillover effects in evaluations that randomly assign classrooms or students to conditions, as well as advances in…

This study demonstrates the efficacy of Equine Assisted Counseling (EAC) by comparing EAC to classroom-based counseling. Students (n = 164) identified as being at high risk for academic and/or social failure participated in 12 weekly counseling sessions. Within-group paired sample t-test results comparing pre- and post-treatment scores for…

Many social interactions between school-age children contain both competitive and cooperative elements. In order to gain a better understanding of how students at risk for emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) negotiate social exchanges in cooperative and competitive-related tasks in comparison with non-EBD students: (a) prosocial; (b)…

This article provides a methodological illustration of how to conduct scientifically rigorous secondary interventions within the context of three-tiered models of support. Specifically, the authors demonstrate one approach for using schoolwide data to identify middle school students (N = 65) with both academic and behavioral concerns. Then, they…

The present study used an ecological framework to examine the relationships among adolescents' perceptions of school climate, social competence, and behavioral and psychological adjustment in the middle school years. This study improved upon prior studies by using "structural equation modeling" to investigate the hypothesized mediating…