Shelley R. Hart

Early Identification of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Youth: Universal Screening versus Teacher-Referral Identification

Universal screening is one strategy to enhance the early identification of behavioral and emotional problems among youth. Although it appears to be effective, it is unclear if universal screening is more or less effective than current teacher referral practices. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a teacher-rated, universal screener and typical teacher-referral methods in identifying youth at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Results indicated that of the 24 students identified as at-risk by the universal screening measure, only 11 were previously identified through current teacher referral practices — highlighting the potential benefit of universal screening to enhance early identification. Furthermore, results indicated that academic achievement and student engagement outcomes were significantly correlated with at-risk status by identification method. The strengths and limitations of this study, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.

Examining the Relationship Between Scores on the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System and Student Academic, Behavioral, and Engagement Outcomes: An Investigation of Concurrent Validity in Elementary School

Universal screening of emotional and behavioral problems among students warrants further consideration by school professionals. School-based universal screening may provide opportunities for early identification and intervention, ultimately preventing the development of more severe problems and promoting more positive outcomes in the future. The Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) is a contemporary screening instrument that may be used to identify risk for emotional and behavioral problems in students from preschool to high school. The purpose of the present study was to examine the concurrent validity of the BESS in elementary school settings. Specifically, this study examined the relation between BESS ratings and report-card outcomes (i.e., academic, behavioral, and engagement marks). The results supported the hypotheses that students’ risk-level classifications were significantly related to school-based outcome criterions and that school-based outcome criterions were deemed to be effective discriminators of students’ risk-level classification. Limitations, future directions for research, and implications for practice are discussed herein.

The Student Engagement in Schools Questionnaire (SESQ) and the Teacher Engagement Report Form-New (TERF-N): Examining the Preliminary Evidence

Student engagement in school is an important construct that has been associated with student success. For the current study, researchers examined the psychometrics of the Student Engagement in Schools Questionnaire (SESQ) and the Teacher Engagement Report Form (TERF-N) of student engagement. The results revealed that both the SESQ and the TERF-N have good internal consistency. The exploratory factor analysis results for the SESQ demonstrated alignment with the theoretically driven development (five factors: Affective Engagement-Liking for Learning, Affective Engagement-Liking for School, Behavioral Engagement-Effort & Persistence, Behavioral Engagement-Extracurricular, and Cognitive Engagement) whereas the results for the TERF-N were more complicated. The items did not load as conceptualized in a 3-factor model, but instead loaded on one, General Engagement factor. Finally, while it may be that teachers viewed a student’s level of engagement as a global construct, the correlations between the measures indicated that they might be used to provide helpful, convergent information obtained from a variety of sources regarding a student’s levels of engagement. Future directions and implications for school psychologists are discussed.

ADHD and suicidal ideation: the roles of emotion regulation and depressive symptoms among college students

Objective: ADHD appears to increase risk for both depression and suicidal ideation, while ADHD and depression are also associated with emotion regulation deficits. Thus, we evaluated the degree to which depression mediated the association between ADHD and suicidal ideation, as well as the degree to which emotion regulation deficits moderated the association ADHD shared with depression and suicidal ideation in a nonclinical sample. Method: Participants were undergraduate psychology students (N = 627; age: M = 20.23, SD = 1.40; 60% female; 47% European American) who completed an online assessment. Results: Results indicated that ADHD indirectly increased suicidal ideation through depression. Emotion regulation deficits of accepting negative emotions, emotional awareness, and goal-oriented behavior moderated the indirect effect of ADHD on suicidal ideation. Conclusion: Depression appears to play an important mediating role in suicidal ideation for college students with ADHD, and specific emotion regulation deficits appear to amplify the effects of ADHD on depression and suicidal ideation.

Response to Intervention (RtI) in the Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Domains: Current Challenges and Emerging Possibilities.

As many schools move toward a three-tier model that incorporates a Response to Intervention (RtI) service delivery model in the social, emotional, and behavioral domains, school psychologists may provide leadership. The decision-making process for filtering students through multiple tiers of support and intervention and examining change is an area where school psychologists are encouraged to apply their expertise regarding assessment and evidence-based interventions. This paper describes an implementation of behavioral and social-emotional RtI in an elementary school setting. Issues and challenges related to measurement of change (i.e., responsiveness to intervention) and identification of students for additional supports as well as emerging possibilities of incorporating qualitative information in the process are discussed.

DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSISTENT AND INCONSISTENT LONGITUDINAL REPORTERS OF LIFETIME SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN ADOLESCENCE THROUGH YOUNG ADULTHOOD

Within the context of the recent release of the 2012 National Suicide Prevention Strategy, and as the third leading cause of death for individuals 10‐ to 24‐years‐old, suicide prevention is a national priority. A consistently reported and robust risk factor for suicide is a prior suicide attempt; however few studies have investigated the consistency of self‐reported lifetime suicide attempts. The goal of this study is to describe the prevalence and characteristics of inconsistent reporting of suicide attempt in a longitudinal cohort of participants annually assessed in 12 waves of data collected from middle school (age 12) to early adulthood (age 22).

A Summary and Synthesis of Contemporary Empirical Evidence regarding the Effects of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (D.A.R.E.).

The prevention of drug abuse is an especially salient topic for school psychologists and other educational professionals. Schools are the primary setting for providing education and information aimed at the prevention of drug abuse. Previous meta-analyses (Ennett, et al., 1994; West & O’Neal, 2004) indicate that one of the nation’s most popular drug prevention programs, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.), was not effective in reducing illicit drug use among youths. In 2003, D.A.R.E. was modified in an attempt to make it more effective. The purpose of this review is to summarize and synthesize the contemporary empirical evidence, which includes six studies focusing on the old D.A.R.E. and one study focusing on the new D.A.R.E., regarding outcomes associated with the modified D.A.R.E. program. Recent studies offer mixed evidence regarding the effectiveness of the new D.A.R.E curriculum, thus, further systematic investigation is warranted to better understand student outcomes associated with the new D.A.R.E curriculum. This information is particularly valuable for school psychologists, administrators, and other education professionals responsible for identifying empirically supported programs for use in schools.

A Controlled Study Assessing the Effects of the Impulse Control and Problem Solving Unit of the Second Step Curriculum

The development of social and emotional competence is crucial for students. Second Step is a curriculum designed to promote prosocial development and prevent violence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing one unit of the Second Step curriculum (Impulse Control and Problem Solving). A controlled, repeated measures design was utilized to assess the level of change in knowledge of social-emotional skills. Results indicated that change was evident from pre- to post-test for third and fourth grade students (N=149). Third grade students receiving the intervention demonstrated significantly more knowledge growth than third grade control students. Notably, fourth grade students receiving the intervention demonstrated a similar level of knowledge growth as the fourth-grade control students. Discussion, limitations, and implications related to these findings are addressed.

Higher childhood peer reports of social preference mediates the impact of the good behavior game on suicide attempt

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a universal classroom-based preventive intervention directed at reducing early aggressive, disruptive behavior and improving children’s social adaptation into the classroom. The GBG is one of the few universal preventive interventions delivered in early elementary school that has been shown to reduce the risk for future suicide attempts. This paper addresses one potential mechanism by which the GBG lowers the risk of later suicide attempt. In this study, we tested whether the GBG, by facilitating social adaptation into the classroom early on, including the level of social preference by classmates, thereby lowers future risk of suicide attempts. The measure of social adaptation is based on first and second grade peer reports of social preference (“which children do you like best?”; “which children don’t you like?”). As part of the hypothesized meditational model, we examined the longitudinal association between childhood peer social preference and the risk of future suicide attempt, which has not previously been examined. Data were from an epidemiologically based randomized prevention trial, which tested the GBG among two consecutive cohorts of first grade children in 19 public schools and 41 classrooms. Results indicated that peer social preference partially mediated the relationship between the GBG and the associated reduction of risk for later suicide attempts by adulthood, specifically among children characterized by their first grade teacher as highly aggressive, disruptive. These results suggest that positive childhood peer relations may partially explain the GBG-associated reduction of risk for suicide attempts and may be an important and malleable protective factor for future suicide attempt.

Internalizing Antecedents and Consequences of Binge-Eating Behaviors in a Community-Based, Urban Sample of African American Females

The etiology of problem-eating behaviors is often overlooked in research as it typically shares many symptoms with other more common psychiatric illnesses. Binge-eating problems are at the forefront of the popular media because of the connection to obesity; therefore, increased knowledge of binge eating problems, particularly the internalizing antecedents and consequences will have implications in a multitude of domains, including prevention programs aimed at physical and mental health. The current study examines the antecedents of binge-eating behaviors by exploring how the growth of internalizing symptoms influences the proximal outcome of a binge-eating inventory in a longitudinal sample of African American girls. Additional consequences of binge-eating problems are also explored. This study focuses on binge-eating problems in order to present valuable information for prevention scientists who wish to develop target individuals at high risk for internalizing problems such as suicide.