Mediation analysis is a statistical approach used to examine how the effect of an independent variable on an outcome is transmitted through an intervening variable (mediator). In this article, we provide a gentle introduction to single-level and multilevel mediation analyses. Using single-level data, we demonstrate an application of structural…

This paper examines the Incredible Years Parent and Teacher Programmes that have originated from the work of Webster-Stratton. It provides a brief background on the programmes and a critical analysis of the issues as identified in current literature. The issues can be grouped into four main categories, the first being government decision-making…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA 2004) continues to mandate that behavior interventions and behavior supports be monitored for proper implementation, and data gathered to prove implementation fidelity and student outcomes. The current implementation of behavior support plans (BSPs) is another type of…

Substantial empirical data indicates that elementary school teachers are disturbed by student behavior problems in a classroom. The current study was conducted in order to determine which behaviors teachers report to be most disturbing, whether there are any teacher gender differences, and what teachers report as being most effective in handling…

Maintaining a positive classroom environment that will encourage learning is a challenge, particularly in classes that require frequent interventions due to students' disruptive behaviors. Punitive disciplinary reactions are generally ineffective when responding to students who are frequently disruptive. More importantly, negative teacher…

Students with intellectual disabilities can exhibit a wide array of challenging behaviors in the classroom that pose disruptions to the learning milieu and management problems for those involved in their education. Self-modeling, a behavioral intervention that involves viewing edited videotapes of oneself depicting exemplary behavior, has had…

Foster parents are often faced with serious externalizing behaviors of their foster child. These behavioral problems may induce family stress and are related to less effective parenting and often increase. Foster children with behavioral problems are also more at risk of placement breakdown. An intervention to support foster parents of young…

Every day school administrators and classroom teachers deal with behavior issues that sometimes result in office discipline referrals (ODRs) and other times in-school suspension. Interestingly, the top 5 percent of elementary students with the most disciplinary referrals account for 59 percent of all ODRs; similarly, the top 5 percent of middle…

This study reports the results from a Swedish randomized controlled trial of a standardized behavior management intervention. The intervention targeted students with externalizing behavior in a regular education setting. First- and second-grade students (N = 100) from 38 schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention or an active…

Several researchers have argued that the functional behavior assessment (FBA) and behavior intervention plan (BIP) mandates in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004 have gone beyond the current research base. For instance, although BIPs have been shown to improve student outcomes when implemented with strict control and oversight…

The main purpose of the present study was to explore how social competence reduces behavioral problems. Based on previous findings, we assume that increased social competence can be regarded as a mediating factor in reducing behavior problems. All participants (children and adolescents, n = 112) received an intervention intended to increase social…

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the research underlying group contingency interventions to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support their use for managing the classroom behavior of students with behavioral difficulties. An application of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) procedures for evaluating single-subject…

In this paper, we examine the link between evidence-based practice and social validity by describing five examples from our own research where social validity measures resulted in data that were essential to both a clinical and research agenda on evidence-based practice. Social validity data are reviewed in the context of behavioral skill training…

Describing co-occurring symptom patterns among children in nonwestern contexts may have important implications for how emotional and behavior problems are defined, conceptualized, studied, and ultimately prevented. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted on the co-occurring psychiatric symptoms of 196 Chinese children living in poverty.…

Background: Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) reduces challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability. There is interest, however, in whether such interventions reduce carer burden and increase community participation in this group. Methods: A 6-month randomised controlled trial was followed by a longer-term naturalistic follow-up of…