Objective: This report provides descriptive longitudinal findings over three waves of a study designed to assess the development of antisocial behaviors in young and early adolescent Puerto Rican children at two sites. Method: Through the use of standard assessment measures, representative samples of Puerto Rican children of both genders 5 to 13…

Background: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) affect a significant number of children in this country. This article addresses diagnostic issues related to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other alcohol-related disabilities, discusses associated features and behaviors of FASD, and introduces interventions to support children with FASD in…

Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence…

This research is a follow up to a similar study published by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania in 2003 in which researchers examined alternative education policies and practices among Pennsylvania school districts. The current study extended the previous research to include information on the perceptions of administrators and teachers on the…

The School-Based Mental Health Program's goals are to identify at-risk children, reduce ineffective functioning of at-risk children, provide social service interventions, increase effective parenting skills, help families access community resources, and support mental health education. The program was designed to develop a comprehensive,…

The literature on school absences has focused predominantly on the reasons for student truancy, or it has assessed only aggregate student absences in their effect on achievement. However, this study brings forth a new issue: the relationship between types of absences--excused versus unexcused--and school performance. With a quantitative model of…

A group of 20 practicing teachers were asked to define "unteachable" students. Their answers range from "students who lack interest, those facing problems in learning, those who refuse to accept changes, students who find it difficult to learn in formal environments, those who are unpredictable, defiant, show no interest in self…

This book is just what many educators have been looking for: (1) A product that provides teachers with practical and sensible solutions for students' problems with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; (2) A resource for teachers, behavior specialists, psychologists, counselors, and administrators who must document interventions; (3) A tool…

This study examines the rate of internalizing and externalizing behavior and whether or not family factors influence internalizing and externalizing behavior differently depending on child gender. Sixty-three Head Start parent-child dyads participated in this study. Rates of externalizing behavior at home for males and females were consistent with…

This article describes how the author finds a tool for behavior management in the special education teacher's classroom. The author had just began teaching a self-contained special education class of five-year-olds with developmental delays when a student hit her. In the moment, she chose to ignore it. However, ignoring him was a mistake--he…

There are major differences in perspective between the traditional medical model of treatment for troubled children and more recent strength-based approaches. This is particularly evident when widespread use of psychoactive drugs becomes a substitute for interpersonal therapeutic interventions. Drugs and relationships both impact the brain, but in…

Emotional difficulties, and especially depressive symptomatology, constitute a serious and relatively frequent childhood problem which are often overlooked. Teachers' responses to pupils' depression seem to be related to their understanding concerning the causes of this problem. Thus, the aims of the present research are: (a) to estimate the…

Background: Little is known about the characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who misuse substances and how such problems impinge upon their well-being. The aim of this paper is to describe how alcohol and drugs affect the health of people with IDs. Methods: A questionnaire was forwarded to all the community ID teams and…

This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioral mentoring program aimed at serving youth with psychiatric disorders. Participants included 30 youth (8-12 years old) receiving services in a mentoring program for a mental health population and 30 wait-listed youth and their maternal caregivers. Participating in mentoring services was related…

Predictors of adolescent functioning were studied in an ethnically diverse sample of girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 140) and age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls (n = 88) who participated in naturalistic summer programs during childhood. Over a 5-year follow-up (sample retention = 92%; age range = 11.3-18.2…