Michelle W. Woodbridge

Assessing the Effectiveness of First Step to Success Are Short-Term Results the First Step to Long-Term Behavioral Improvements?

This article reports on the effectiveness of First Step to Success, a secondary-level intervention appropriate for students in early elementary school who experience moderate to severe behavior problems and are at risk for academic failure. The authors demonstrate the intervention’s short-term effects on multiple behavioral and academic outcomes as delivered off-the-shelf in a variety of classrooms and schools across the country—effects that were mitigated by fidelity of implementation. Furthermore, the authors assess the body of evidence on First Step to Success against the standards for effectiveness and widespread dissemination promulgated by the Society for Prevention Research, thereby suggesting directions for further research.

Implementation and Sustainability of an Evidence-Based Program: Lessons Learned from the Prism Applied to "First Step to Success".

Although numerous studies address the efficacy of school-based interventions, fewer focus on how to support sustainability of interventions from the perspective of participants. To address this research gap, we use the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model to examine how the characteristics of an evidence-based program interact with those of participants (i.e., students, parents, educators) to influence program implementation and continuation. Specifically, we consider lessons learned in one site of the national effectiveness study of First Step to Success which sustained implementation in a majority of participating schools after the study ceased. First, we analyze implementation fidelity and its effects on students’ behavioral and academic outcome data. Then, we analyze focus group and interview data collected from participants 2 years after initial implementation to consider contextual factors associated with continued program success, including (a) the nature of the intervention, (b) the external environment, (c) implementation and sustainability infrastructure, and (d) participant characteristics.

The National Behavior Research Coordination Center: Coordinating Research and Implementation of Evidence-Based School Interventions for Children With Serious Behavior Problems

In implementing its Behavior Research Initiative, the U.S. Department of Education funded four Behavior Research Centers, each to test the efficacy of a separate intervention to improve the behavior of elementary school students with or at risk for serious behavior problems. The initiative also established the National Behavior Research Coordination Center to conduct a cross-site evaluation of the four behavior interventions. The authors describe how the Department of Education’s structuring of the initiative helped avoid many of the shortcomings of earlier federal cross-site demonstration programs and highlight the contributions a research coordination center can make to the quality of research conducted and to the knowledge produced across individual demonstrations.

Payoffs for California College Students and Taxpayers from Investing in Student Mental Health

Reports results of a survey to assess the impact of CalMHSAs investments in mental health programs at California public colleges and estimates the return on investment in terms of student use of treatment, graduation rates, and lifetime earnings.

Traumatic experiences and associated symptomatology in Asian American middle school students.

This study examines the prevalence of trauma experiences and traumatic stress in a diverse group of Asian American middle school students from a large urban school district. Descriptive statistics document the mean number of self-reported trauma experiences and posttraumatic stress subscale scores and how these rates differ by students’ gender and Asian ethnic subgroups (including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Samoan, Southeast Asian, and Other). Furthermore, we assess the degree to which 1 or more traumatic events is associated with students’ self-reported symptoms of severe traumatic stress and the types of traumatic events that are the most powerful predictors of elevated stress. These in-depth findings underscore the need for routine, school-based screening to identify and bring culturally competent, trauma-informed support and interventions to Asian American middle school students experiencing traumatic stress.

A Preliminary Evaluation of Interactive Video Simulation Training for Campus Law Enforcement in California

This article evaluates the Interactive Video Simulation Training to help campus law enforcement professionals refer and intervene with college students experiencing psychological distress.

Evaluation of CalMHSA Student Mental Health Online Resources

Analysis of visitors to CalMHSA-funded student mental health websites shows that visitors at educational institutions comprised the largest audience segment and promotional campaigns likely increased traffic.