In this article, we report findings of a psychometric study comparing two screening tools: the Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) and the Devereaux Student Strengths Assessment-mini (DESSA-mini). Participants included 3,110 kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary students from five schools in one district in…

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Social-Emotional Assessment Measure (SEAM) (33-66 months), which is designed to assess social-emotional difficulties and behavior disorders in young children. In this case, the SEAM was translated and back-translated. The sample included 2477 preschoolers (1256 boys;…

Reliable and valid assessment of parenting and child behaviors is critical for clinicians and researchers alike, and observational measures of parenting behaviors are often considered the gold standard for assessing parenting and parent-child interaction quality. The current study sought to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Coder…

Background: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have problems acquiring language, affecting their communicative participation, social--emotional functioning (SEF) and quality of life (QoL). Aims: To investigate whether communicative participation mediates the relation between language and SEF and QoL. Methods & Procedures: In a…

As academic standards for incoming kindergarten students at Morris Early Childhood Center (MECC), in the Milford School District, increase, a significant obstacle to student achievement has emerged. The deficiency of social and emotional skills among MECC students has increasingly impeded school staff from focusing on instruction due to the…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, children have presented with increased psychiatric symptoms. Little research has been done regarding early childhood mental health, particularly those from vulnerable socioeconomic contexts who are exposed to adversity. We aimed to assess mental health and the impacts of the pandemic on this population. A survey…

As many as 1 in 5 youth in the United States experience social, emotional, and behavioral problems. However, many students with mental health concerns are unidentified and do not receive adequate care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, measurement invariance, and the concurrent and predictive validity of the Early…

Upper elementary students in a Title I rural school participated in an expressive arts-based resiliency small-group intervention entitled Resilient Warriors (RWs). This mixed-methods study revealed positive changes in participating students based on teacher ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We also found four qualitative…

Evidence points to the possibility of promoting executive functions (EF) through school interventions. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of this type of intervention in situations of social vulnerability. This study investigated the effectiveness of an EF intervention program applied with a sample of preschool children, in a…

Research Findings: This cross-sectional study examined the class- and child-level associations of social-emotional competence with behavioral and academic adjustment among Chinese kindergarten children and tested teacher collectivistic socialization goals as a moderator. Participants were 523 kindergarten children and their mothers and class…

Research has consistently shown that difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with peer problems and internalizing symptoms during middle childhood. However, no longitudinal research has investigated the direction of effects, that is, how these constructs influence each other across time. In this preregistered three-wave…

Research Findings: Universal screening practices that utilize reliable and valid screening measures are vital for identifying social-emotional and behavioral (SEB) concerns for students at-risk for future behavioral and academic difficulties. Screening procedures implemented at the start of kindergarten can result in early identification and…

School-based universal screening for behavioral/emotional risk is a necessary first step in the identification of students who might need services within a behavioral response to intervention model. When choosing among the available screening measures, psychometric information such as reliability and validity of the scores is critical to inform…

A concerning number of students fail to achieve writing proficiency, yet little attention has been devoted to examining why this occurs. While robust evidence indicates that behavior impacts reading and math achievement, the relationship between behavior and writing skills is unclear, particularly among young students. The authors examined the…

The current study sought to investigate the agreement between teachers and parents about the mental health of first-grade students, the factors that affected this agreement and the associations between measures completed by students, parents and teachers. The investigation used baseline data collected during the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG)…