Although the federal government recently mandated the use of functional behavior assessment (FBA) and positive behavioral interventions for students, this legislation has not defined the key features of FBA and has provided little guidance for how such procedures should be completed in a public school setting. As a result, recent evidence suggests…

Providing child-centred play opportunities and re-creating early attachment experiences facilitates a child's social and emotional development, as well as giving time and space for self-expression and relaxation. Play therapists provide these conditions after lengthy and intensive training. Para-professionals are now being trained and supported in…

The aim of the present article was to investigate the outcomes of the universal social competence promotion program "Second Step" in a typical "real world" implementation in Norway. We addressed the effects of the program on social competence and externalizing and internalizing problem behaviour among 1,153 fifth and sixth…

The amount of services delivered by school psychologists through consultation is increasing as is the number of students with challenging behaviors in the classroom. In this type of delivery model, the school psychologist works as a consultant to the teacher who will actually deliver the intervention to the student. The purpose of this research…

This book is a step-by-step, concise, and easy-to-read reference for school teams, providers, students, and parents to understand, design, and evaluate positive behavior support (PBS) plans for students with developmental disabilities. It provides a clear conceptual framework on PBS to think critically about how to approach a student's problem…

Each year the members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee identify recent research findings that made the most impact on the field. For the 2009 Summary of Advances, the IACC selected and summarized 20 studies that gave significant insight into the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the biology of the disorder, potential…

Parental divorce has become increasingly common for large numbers of families in schools (Lamden, King, & Goldman, 2002). This article addresses the effects of divorce on children and protective factors supporting their adjustment. Evidence-based interventions for children of divorce in elementary school counseling programs are discussed.…

Positive outcomes for children with developmental disabilities (DD) can be affected by children's behavior problems. This study examined the family environment of 125 children with DD at age 3, and the extent to which that environment, as well as children's cognitive and adaptive functioning, predicted the problematic behaviors that children with…

This article reports on a randomized controlled trial of the First Step to Success early intervention that was conducted over a 4-year period in Albuquerque Public Schools. First Step is a selected intervention for students in Grades 1 through 3 with externalizing behavior problems, and it addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. It…

Using data from grandparents (G1), parents (G2), and children (G3), this study examined continuity in parental monitoring, harsh discipline, and child externalizing behavior across generations, and the contribution of parenting practices and parental drug use to intergenerational continuity in child externalizing behavior. Structural equation and…

Children with significant behaviour problems are at risk for poor classroom adjustment and school failure. Given this likelihood for a poor developmental trajectory, there is a need to better understand environmental influences within classrooms that help to effectively socialize children to those settings. The current study evaluated the effects…

Previous research highlighted that pupils actively involved in bullying and victimization are prone to develop diverse psychological problems. The overall aim of our study was to investigate effects of different forms of bullying and victimization on coping with interpersonal stressors and psychological adjustment among children and adolescents.…

Initiation of drug use and other risky behavior in preadolescence is associated with poor developmental outcomes. In this research, we examine models that ascribe the trajectory to (a) weak executive cognitive function (ECF), (b) early manifestation of externalizing problems, or (c) heightened levels of trait impulsivity. We test the explanatory…

We examined the differences in conflict interaction between depressed mothers and their toddler and non-depressed dyads and whether these differences mediated the association of maternal depression with compromised child socioemotional development. Mother/child interaction was videotaped during a teaching task and during a free play task as part…

This study investigated the impact of a school-based mentoring program on at-risk students' office referrals, unexcused absences, and school attitude. Students who participated in the mentoring program had statistically significant reductions in office referrals and statistically significant improvements in school attitude. Based on an analysis of…