The Social Communication Questionnaire is one of the most commonly used screening tools for autism spectrum disorder. The Social Communication Questionnaire is a caregiver-reported questionnaire with 40 items based on questions from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. This study collected Social Communication Questionnaire data from a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in behavioral and emotional problems in high-functioning girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. The results obtained by adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were compared with those of typically developing girls and boys. Correlations between parents' and adolescents' ratings…

The Good Behaviour Game (GBG) is one of the most popular behaviour management systems for primary-aged children. It has an extensive evidence base supporting its use. The GBG itself can be described as an "interdependent group-oriented contingency management procedure." A major efficacy trial of the GBG in England was conducted that…

We examined the extent to which children's skilled understanding and production of appropriate language (verbal ability) may relate to their peer functioning. Participants included two independent samples of children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; Study 1, N = 124; Study 2, N = 137) who were administered a…

There is a need to identify children with potential mental health issues early in order to provide "an ounce of prevention." Unfortunately, there are few instruments available to identify emotional and behavioral issues in infants and many never receive intervention. We developed the Brief Child and Family Intake and Outcomes System for…

Suspensions and expulsions have long been employed in schools to discipline students for disruptive behavior and maintain a safe school environment. However, a growing body of research suggests that these types of disciplinary interventions negatively impact student achievement and increase both students' risk of dropping out and their likelihood…

Due to the uneven gender ratio of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), girls are rarely studied independently from boys. Research focusing on restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) indicates that above the age of six girls have fewer and/or different RRBs than boys with ASD. In this study we investigated whether girls and boys with ASD…

We used pupil-level data from the National Pupil Database in England to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the identification of moderate learning difficulties (MLD) and social, emotional, and mental health difficulties (SEMH) among 550,000 pupils ages 5 to 11 years. Survival analysis was used to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) for time to first…

Racial disparities in rates of exclusionary school discipline are well documented and seemingly intractable. However, emerging theories on implicit bias show promise in identifying effective interventions. In this study, we used school discipline data from 1,666 elementary schools and 483,686 office discipline referrals to identify specific…

The goal of the study was to examine and provide exploratory findings regarding the effects of child gender, gender socialization perspective, and child behavioral problems (i.e., internalizing and externalizing) on the quality of teacher-child relationship. Gender socialization perspective posits that girls tend to be more develop relationships…

Given that maternal support promotes healthy social and emotional development in early childhood, it is important to understand the predictors of such support, especially during emotional challenges. In this study, mothers' dispositional distress reactivity (i.e., the tendency toward experiencing distress in response to children's negative…

Background: Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to exhibit behaviour difficulties than their typically developing peers. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors that influence variability in behaviour difficulties among individuals with SEND. Sample: The study sample comprised…

School administrators develop, recommend, and carry out policy for school districts. The policy can have long lasting effect on students. Ideology and gender of the administrator can influence adoption and implementation of individual school's policy. A study consisting of quantitative and qualitative measures was utilized to determine the…

This study examined the impact of a commonly adopted elementary universal social-emotional learning program, Second Step, on student social-emotional and academic outcomes following 2 years of implementation. The cluster-randomized wait-list control trial included 61 schools, 321 teachers, and 8,941 early elementary students across 2 states, with…

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…