This article discusses the need to concentrate more educational research into efficacy studies on the effectiveness of specific preventive and treatment interventions targeted at disruptive behavior disorders. Other research needs are highlighted such as underlying mechanisms by which aggressive behavior develops, involvement in gangs, positive…

A review of 10 studies that utilize the behavior chain interruption strategy (BCIS) to teach communication skills to individuals with severe disabilities found that BCIS has been successfully applied to individuals across a wide range of ages and levels of disability, including learners with multiple disabilities. Generalization concerns are…

A study examined sensitivity to reinforcement in two boys (ages 7-10) with attention deficit hyperactivity using the matching law and evaluated effects of methylphenidate. In the medicated condition, the matching function for both subjects resulted in higher asymptotic values, indicating an overall elevation of behavior rate under these…

Evaluates a selection of school- and community-based programs (n=25) advocated in educational, psychological, and psychiatric journals over the past 5 years. While the programs reviewed support the likelihood that such interventions may be helpful, definitive conclusions that can be generalized to average high school students are still lacking.…

Article examines a Drug Court that offers culturally specific programming as a strategy to enhance retention in the treatment of female and African-American male substance abuse offenders. Study found that mandating treatment was insufficient to foster client engagement. Retention was significantly enhanced by treatment that recognized cultural…

Reviewed 24 evaluations of prevention programs including family-based intervention, an outcome measure of offending or disruptive child behavior, high-quality experimental design, and minimum sample size of 100. Found that most interventions were effective in reducing childhood antisocial behavior and later delinquency. In some cases, monetary…

Describes the process of providing people with computer-tailored nutrition education and reviews the studies on the impact of this type of education. Results indicate that computer-tailored nutrition education is more likely to be read, remembered, and experienced as personally relevant compared to standard materials. It also appears to have a…

Evaluates the violence prevention effects of The Peacemakers Program , a school-based intervention. The program includes a primary prevention component delivered by teachers and a remedial component implemented by school psychologists and counselors. Results reveal significant, positive program effects on six of the seven variables assessed,…

Restructuring an existing token economy (TE) in a psychiatric facility for children led to increased point-earning and decreased daily trips to seclusion. Restructuring occurred through operationalization of target behaviors and reduction of time between receipt of reinforcers and opportunity to exchange tokens. Results suggest changes in basic…

Background: The participant role approach represents a view of bullying as a group process in which bystanders often encourage the bullying or silently witness it, while little support is given to the victim (e.g. Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Bjorkqvist, Osterman, & Kaukiainen, 1996). There is a discrepancy between students' attitudes (which are…

The Teaching Family program is one of the most extensively researched models for residential care. A major meta-analysis found that the Teaching Family Model (TFM) was one of the five most consistently effective treatments for delinquents. However, two recent publications imply that behaviorally based and/or group treatments might be harmful.…

In the present study, the authors investigated the effectiveness of a sibling-mediated intervention in supporting the social behaviors of young children with autism. They used a multiple-baseline design across four sibling dyads to examine the effectiveness of the intervention. The researchers taught the typically developing siblings ways to…

An exploratory study was conducted which assessed behaviors that characterize social competence in the second and fifth grades. A contextual approach was used to gather information from second- and fifth-grade children and their parents and teachers regarding the behaviors they perceived to be important for getting along well with peers. Data were…

In this study we examined the effect that reading a list of warning signs for suicide has on beliefs about suicide, including the belief that one can recognize a suicidal crisis. All participants read two sets of warning signs (with only the experimental group reading the suicide warning signs) and then answered questions concerning beliefs…

The goals of this randomized intervention study were to: (a) increase academic performance among American Indian children ages 4-9 years and (b) reduce classroom problem behaviors. To achieve these goals, the multi-family group program called Families and Schools Together (FAST) was adapted with three American Indian Nations in Wisconsin. Over 3…