School counselors responded to an Internet survey containing vignettes describing physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Respondents rated relational bullying the least serious of the three types, they had the least empathy for victims of relational bullying, and they were least likely to intervene in relational bullying incidents. Counselors…

This report describes the 3 year outcomes of three different variants of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program, a behavioural family intervention. Families were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions or to a waitlist condition. At 1 year follow-up there were similar improvements on observational and self-report measures of…

Using a daily diary design, we examined fluctuations in caregiver well-being; how day-to-day variations in stressors related to the caregiving experience are linked to fluctuations in well-being; and whether caregivers who are women, or high on certain personality traits (e.g., neuroticism) are more susceptible to emotional/physical health…

This study examined the relationships among maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, perceptions of children, and ratings of children's behavioral problems. Forty-six mothers (mean age = 31.07 years) provided ratings of these variables. Mothers were diverse in their cultural backgrounds and marital status but had a high level of educational…

Children with developmental disabilities often report having few friends. Researchers have tended to focus on social skill deficits, neglecting other potent predictors of children's feelings of loneliness. In a sample of 82 children with developmental disabilities, we examined characteristics of the child at age 3 (i.e., the conclusion of early…

This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular segments: (1) Complex Problems, Limited Solutions; (2) Research into Practice: Supporting Successful Transition to Ninth Grade; (3) Schools & MH Research; and (4) Response Form.

Raising self-disciplined children is one challenge among many facing parents in American society today. Parents have little or no training in effective parenting, and they are often removed from extended families that have in the past been available to provide support and relief from the stress of child rearing. Discipline is often viewed as…

A study, involving four developmentally disabled children who exhibited a variety of disruptive behaviors such as self-injury and tantrums, was conducted to assess the influence of task demands and adult attention on children's behaviors. The three experimental conditions were the "EASY 100" which consisted of an easy task on which children could…

Presented are four papers on the Positive Alternatives to Student Suspensions (PASS) Program, a project designed to provide a sequence of intervention strategies intended to prevent and/or minimize the frequency of nonproductive social behavioral acts of secondary school students in participating schools. In the first paper by R. Bailey and J.…

To date, efforts to educate the disadvantaged child have failed because most teachers and administrators have been unable to transcend the gulf between his culture and their own. Two concepts, however, are basic to any suggestions about educating the disadvantaged. First, it is possible to educate children "by providing a model for emulation and…

The prevailing paradigm for understanding the causes and correction of learning and related behavior problems is seen as over-emphasizing person variables. It is suggested that an interactional model would be more in keeping with contemporary psychological theorizing and available data. Implications of understanding causal determinants in…

The PACE I.D. Center, a Title III, Elementary and Secondary Act, project of the South San Francisco Unified School District, has demonstrated the effectiveness of early intervention techniques focused on the young child and his total environment; school, home, and community. The Dissemination process and a suggested model for implementing the…

Reality therapy methods in the classroom were examined via a four-group experimental design. The groups were as follows: (a) pretested reality therapy, (b) unpretested reality therapy, (c) pretested placebo, and (d) unpretested placebo. Findings were not supportive of reality therapy methods as applied in the classroom. (Author)

The trend of increased adolescent death by suicide is an international problem. Discusses why it happens and what motivates a young person who is on the threshold of life that he would rather die than live. Gives statistical data and behavior theories related to suicide. (Author/RK)

Describes an approach to behavior modification employing gradual stages and beginning with the enhancement of positive behavior. Major emphasis is placed on accelerating prosocial behavior rather than decelerating antisocial behavior. (CM)