Background: People with neurodevelopmental disabilities are frequently prescribed or administered psychotropic medication, particularly to manage behaviours of concern. Reducing inappropriate psychotropic use has been the target of international research and policy for several decades. Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for…

A best-evidence synthesis and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate interventions designed to decrease noncompliance in early childhood settings. Studies were examined for quality, intervention components, and outcomes for young children (ages 2-8 years) across settings. Results indicated most designs were high-quality and produced desired…

Studies have reported that physical exercise reduces maladaptive stereotyped motor behaviours (SMB) in children with ASD, but these intervention studies vary in design and outcome. The present systematic review and meta-analysis included 22 studies, involving 274 children with ASD, to quantify the effect of exercise on SMB and its potential…

The Mystery Motivator intervention has been shown to increase prosocial behavior among school-age children by capitalizing on the anticipation afforded by reward concealment or randomization. Although numerous evaluations have supported the effectiveness of the Mystery Motivator, the overall status of this intervention is still unknown. The…

Coping Power (CP) is an evidence-based intervention that reduces externalizing behaviors in students who are identified as aggressive or disruptive. CP is based on a cognitive-behavioral model and involves child-focused group sessions and parent-focused sessions. A large body of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of CP, but to date there…

This meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of the interventions for promoting adolescents' prosocial behavior, and aimed to explain variability in the effectiveness. Thirty-three studies that used interventions for prosociality targeting adolescents and compared with a control group or had a pre-post comparison were included in the…

Reading proficiency is important because it has life-long consequences and influences success in other academic areas. Many students with behavior problems are poor readers and many students with learning disabilities have more behavior problems than their typical peers. We conducted a correlational meta-analysis to examine the association between…

Healthy relationships between parents and teachers are essential to addressing children's emotional and behavioral concerns. The current meta-analysis examined the effects of family-school engagement interventions on parent-teacher relationships. Twenty-three group-design studies yielding 58 effects comprised the current sample. Random effect…

There are a variety of skills that are not directly taught in schools yet serve as protective factors for academic success (i.e., self-efficacy, social, skills; emotional well-being; Graziano et al (Journal of School Psychology 45 3-19 2007); Minnard (Children and Schools 24(4) 233-246 2002). An intervention strategy for promoting such protective…

Externalizing behavior and low academic performance present key developmental challenges for school-age children, with the potential for these domains to predict each other over time, leading to worsened outcomes. Yet, previous studies have yielded inconsistent conclusions about the directional pathways between externalizing behaviors and academic…

Multisystemic Therapy® (MST®) is an intensive, home-based intervention for families of youth with social, emotional, and behavioural problems. MST therapists engage family members in identifying and changing individual, family, and environmental factors thought to contribute to problem behaviour. Intervention may include efforts to improve…

All children benefit from intentional interactions and instruction to become socially and emotionally competent. Over the past 30 years, evidence-based intervention tactics and strategies have been integrated to establish comprehensive, multitiered, or hierarchical systems of support frameworks to guide social-emotional interventions for young…

This meta-analysis summarized the effects of universal and targeted social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions in 48 studies on the development of social and emotional skills and the reduction of problem behaviors in 15,498 preschool students. For universal SEL interventions delivered to all students, a random-effects model with 33 primary…

Raising a young child with challenging behavior can have a significant impact on families' well-being and family functioning. Despite advancements in the field, there is a paucity of research focused on effective ways to address their unique experiences. This qualitative meta-synthesis aims to identify the needs of families with young children who…

Diversification trends of U.S. schools make clear the need for evidence-based practices supporting ethnically-racially diverse students. Yet, there are significant hindrances to readily identifying and summarizing findings generated from diverse classroom contexts. The current meta-analytic review was designed to address this gap in the classroom…