Military-style residential treatment for adolescents with academic and conduct problems is an increasingly popular alternative to traditional school-based services. However, dropout from "boot camp" programs is a primary reason for their high cost. Social-emotional functioning before referral may differentiate adolescents who…

Quietly, at least beyond the awareness of many psychologists, a relatively new technology based on school-wide behavior management strategies has emerged in special education to answer the call to build healthy communities. The success of these strategies in changing the practices of school systems and creating positive school climates may offer…

In this article, the author addresses the concern of a teacher with students who exhibit discipline problems. She presents several suggestions to help make children obey and respect the teacher. Some of her suggestions include: (1) greeting each child by name at the door as they arrive; (2) standing tall and using a firm voice to convey authority;…

This article describes an evaluation conducted with a juvenile who was facing transfer into the adult system after an encounter with law enforcement officers. Adopted at age one from an Eastern European orphanage, Andrei experienced conflict, bringing him into contact with special education, mental health, and juvenile authorities. While there…

Building on the respective strengths of parent-led and professional-led groups, a parent-professional team leadership model for group interventions was developed and evaluated for families of youths with emotional and behavioral problems. The model was developed based on feedback from 26 parents in focus group sessions and recommendations from…

Classroom management, and, more specifically, the management of student behavior, is an essential skill for and central concern of physical education teachers. Surprisingly little information is known, however, about the specific nature of student behaviors that might negatively affect the class environment. The purpose of this study was to…

With deep understanding of the cultural overlay of school discipline, both in theory and practical application, teachers can work more effectively in urban environments. A brief overview and analysis of research on disparities in school discipline is presented, followed by practical suggestions for approaching student conduct in the classroom.…

Hypotheses that positive affect and fear in infancy moderate later relationships between neighborhood quality and behavior problems were examined in a sample of children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results suggested that poor neighborhood quality was associated with antisocial behavior at age 6 for children who in infancy were…

Although many clinical studies document a relationship between gambling and suicidality, evidence of this association in general population surveys has been mixed. Probing this association in a nationally representative sample of young adults with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, we made same gender comparisons of…

Two children with developmental delays and a history of problem behavior participated in this study to examine the efficacy of combining two treatments demonstrated to reduce problem behavior: noncontingent reinforcement and functional communication training. At issue was whether the noncontingent delivery of an alternative preferred stimulus and…

In the past two decades, a great deal of energy has been dedicated to improving children's education by increasing parents' involvement in school. However, the evidence on the effectiveness of parental involvement is uneven. Whereas policy makers and theorists have assumed that parental involvement has wide-ranging positive consequences, many…

Foster Parent College was recently developed through Northwest Media, Inc. as an interactive multimedia training venue for foster parents. Users can take brief parenting courses, either online (http://www.FosterParentCollege.com) or on DVD, on a variety of topics dealing with serious child behavior problems. Currently, these problems include…

Psychologists within a positive psychology framework have proposed the existence of a set of psychological strengths that buffer against the development of psychopathology. To date, most research efforts in positive psychology have focused on adults. This longitudinal study tested the prediction that adolescents' judgments of life satisfaction…

The present investigation employed an alternating treatments design to (1) examine the efficacy of group contingencies in the reduction of disruptive behavior, and (2) compare the effects of independent, interdependent, and dependent group contingencies in the reduction of disruptive behavior in adolescent males identified with serious emotional…

In this article a short overview is given of the relationship between autism and learning disability. Autism exists with any level of intelligence, but many individuals with autism suffer also from learning disability. Although both disorders show overlap in some behaviours they are different in many aspects. Are they distinct syndromes which…