This study describes the rationale, design, development, and technical properties of SELweb MS, a direct assessment of social and emotional competencies in middle school students. Assessment and item design were iteratively developed with input from youth and experts to measure five domains: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness,…

Previous research has shown that a classroom management package can be used to prevent challenging behaviors and promote positive student behavior. Replicating and extending previous research, the purpose of this study was to investigate if a package of precorrection, explicit timing, and active supervision can have a positive effect across…

The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) is one of the most-commonly used self-report scales to assess personal identity in studies of developmental processes. While it has been translated and validated in many countries around the world, evidence of its applicability in Greek is absent. The purpose of this study was to…

This study examines the impact of grade retention on behavioral outcomes under a comprehensive assessment-based student promotion policy in New York City. To isolate the causal effect of grade retention, we implement a fuzzy regression discontinuity (RD) design that exploits the fact that grade retention is largely determined by whether a student…

Adolescence can be a particularly difficult time for youth as they experience the physical, social, and academic changes that accompany maturation. One of the most critical challenges for schools is teaching adolescent students positive social and emotional skills, which are crucial for them to succeed academically and emotionally. "Strong…

This paper explored whether or not In School Suspensions (ISS) is effective in reducing student behavioral problems. Research was conducted with 6-8th grade students in a rural middle school in the upstate of South Carolina for the purposes of determining if ISS, in its current design a viable and effective method to reduce negative student…

We report findings of a convergent validity study examining the internalizing subscale (SRSS-I6) of the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) with the internalizing subscale of the Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991). Participants included 227 sixth- through 12th-grade students from nine schools across…

Key concerns about the psychometric properties of the 25-item version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) have consistently been raised in the literature. The present study aimed at examining the meaningfulness of an alternative model to the SDQ in which 7 problematic items are excluded. French-speaking parents of 262 boys and…

This study explored the directionality of the relations between global life satisfaction (LS) and internalizing and externalizing behaviors using a sample of regular education students who were initially enrolled in Grade 7 ("n" = 470). Self-report measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors and LS were administered on 2…

Korean middle school students are experiencing high rates of behavioral and emotional problems, suggesting a need for comprehensive screening instruments with strong psychometric properties in school settings. The present study investigated the utility of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 Self-Report of Personality, Adolescent Form…

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…

The comprehensive assessment of middle school student bonding is important for basic research and to evaluate interventions. In this study, the psychometric properties of three assessment tools found in the literature were examined individually and then combined to create a shorter survey. With minor modifications, the tools were found to be…

A comprehensive function-based intervention was developed to address the chronic, high levels of off-task behavior by a 15-year-old ninth grade Caucasian male with learning disabilities and ADHD. A descriptive FBA identified that the student's off-task behavior was reinforced by peer attention and task avoidance. Intervention involved the…

The purpose of this study was to examine if the presence/absence of a classroom pet dog impacted reading skills in four 5th grade middle school students with emotional/ behavioral disabilities. An alternating treatment design was used to assess the fluency and comprehension measures in students during reading a reading intervention package…

As more schools turn to positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) to address students' academic and behavioral problems, there is an increased need to adequately evaluate these programs for social relevance. The present study used social validation measures to evaluate a statewide PBIS initiative. Active consumers of the program were…