This article describes our state of knowledge regarding the development and prevention of conduct problems in early childhood, then identifies directions that would benefit future basic and applied research. Our understanding about the course and risk factors associated with early-developing conduct problems has been significantly enhanced during…

What causes challenging behavior and what can adults do about it? That is a basic question parents and caregivers face everyday. Some needs are easy to meet, others take more work, and some require outside help. This article is the fourth and final segment of a multi-part series about dealing with Challenging Behavior, both at home and school. The…

Every teacher has had at least one student who has given him or her pause to wonder why he or she became a teacher. These students challenge the way teachers teach, question the content of the teachers' instruction, and stretch the teachers' abilities to maintain self-control in front of classes. In the face of these challenges, teachers continue…

This article describes the ways in which I have tried, primarily as a policy researcher, to bring an advocacy perspective to my own work and, in collaboration with others, engage in efforts to improve the lives of children experiencing emotional and behavioral challenges as well as the lives of their families. It is organized in 3 sections. The…

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) was a pioneer in studying the behavior of children in their natural life space of family, school, peer group, and community. His concept of the ecology of human development is transforming practice for effective work with children and youth. Bronfenbrenner's research highlights the power of human relationships to…

Discusses psychopathology as portrayed in literature, followed by an examination of some theories of psychopathy and the association of sociopathy and crime. Also discusses using parental licensing as a preventive measure against the development of sociopathology in children. (GR)

Failure to solve school discipline problems is attributed to four factors: school district priorities, unclear problem dimensions, inadequate teacher training, and flaws in teacher/ administrator applied psychology. Psychological approaches that provide systems to control student behavior are described, including biophysical, interactionist, and…

The thesis of this article is that a case formulation-driven approach to clinical work that relies on a case formulation and a hypothesis-testing approach to each case facilitates the use, in clinical settings, of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) that were developed in research settings. The two touchstones of a case formulation-driven…

The impact of significant family life events on child educational outcomes was examined for a sample of 204 families in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, whose children began kindergarten in 1992, 1993, or 1994. These children and families were part of the Head Start Transition Demonstration Project, a longitudinal study to assess benefits of services…

This document, intended as a resource for school psychologists, contains articles addressing a variety of psychological and behavioral problems of children and adolescents. Each chapter includes the following content: background information concerning the specific topic, approaches for assessing the behavior of concern, intervention possibilities,…

This text integrates state-of-the-art theory and empirical research on a wide range of child and adolescent disorders. Featuring contributions from leading scholars and clinicians, the volume provides comprehensive coverage of the biological, psychological, and social-contextual determinants of childhood problems. Each chapter focuses on a…