Universal mental health screening is a proactive approach to identify students who may benefit from prevention or early intervention services. Despite known benefits, few schools are engaging in screening efforts, and it is critical to examine factors that may impede or enhance implementation. Following implementation of a universal screening…

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) is a popular screening instrument used by parents and clinicians to assess children's behavioral functioning. However, more schools are examining the potential of the PSC-17 as part of a Multi-Tier System of Support framework. To investigate the potential of the PSC-17 in the schools, a sample of 1,779…

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) self-report form is a brief 25-item measure that assesses the psychological adjustment of youth. Although widely utilized as a screening tool, a lack of consistent psychometric evidence undermines the SDQ's utility as a sound diagnostic tool for all youth. This study focused on examining the…

Using latent profile analysis (LPA), this study empirically identified dual-factor mental health subtypes, with a goal of examining structural stability of emerging latent classes over three high school years. Profiles' relations with distal indicators of well-being, psychosocial distress, and self-reported grades were examined to explore the…

The Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale has been used for more than 20 years to measure students' sense of school belonging, yet its psychometric properties have had limited examination with pre-adolescent children. This study investigated the utility and psychometrics of the PSSM in three primary school samples from the United…

Current research places an emphasis on outcomes, rather than the processes, that lead to disproportionality in special education. In most instances, referrals for special education are based on teacher perception, rather than data. Using a norm-referenced self-report instrument to assess behavioral and emotional risk, this study compared those…

Identifying patterns of victimization continuity and discontinuity over time can inform school-based efforts to prevent and intervene with peer victimization. We conducted a four-wave longitudinal study of students through their transition from middle to high school. Participants were 135 diverse students from Grade 8 to Grade 11 who completed…

Increasingly, schools are implementing school-based screening for risk of behavioral and emotional problems; hence, foundational evidence supporting the predictive validity of screening instruments is important to assess. This study examined the predictive validity of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening…

Student surveys are often used for school-based mental health screening; hence, it is critical to evaluate the authenticity of information obtained via the self-report format. The objective of this study was to examine the possible effects of mischievous response patterns on school-based screening results. The present study included 1,857 high…

Mental health screening in schools is a progressive practice to identify students for prevention and intervention services. Multiple gating procedures, in which students are provided more intensive assessments following initial identification of risk, are aligned with prevention science and poised to enhance multi-tiered systems of support. Yet,…

In an attempt to identify and intervene with students in need of services, the South Korean government has implemented national mental health screening. However, concerns raised about the unintended stigmatization of the screening assessment that focuses on student deficits prompts the need for additional research. This study evaluated the…

Given the steady increase of students from diverse backgrounds in the U.S. educational system, in particular immigrant and Latino students, it is important to consider how to best support all students within our schools. The present study focuses on the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2) Behavioral and Emotional…

Despite innovations in the screening and early identification of students who may benefit from school mental health services, many schools struggle to link screening to intervention decisions, particularly at the Tier 2 level. Universal complete mental health screening, which measures strengths along with risk factors, is a strength-based approach…

This study examined the criterion-related validity of score inferences from the "Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Parent Form" (BESS Parent) for the detection of symptoms of prevalent mental health disorders of childhood. The BESS Parent was administered to 99 parents of first- through fifth-grade students, along with the…