People with learning disabilities are sometimes prescribed psychotropic medication to help manage their challenging behaviour. This case study describes how a multicomponent behavioural intervention in conjunction with the systematic withdrawal of sodium valproate was strongly correlated with reduced aggression. No symptoms of bipolar disorder or…

Anhedonia refers to the inability of experiencing pleasure in positive life events. It has been conceptualized as a stable yet malleable characteristic and is associated with hypoactivity in the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic systems. Very recently, it has been posited as an etiologic factor associated with drug addiction onset,…

Children who are visually impaired (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) commonly engage in stereotypic behaviors such as rocking and repetitive hand movements to gain sensory stimulation produced by the behavior (Gourgey, 1998; Rapp, 2004; Warren, 1984). A means of quickly and easily reducing problem behaviors is important to maximize…

Getting in trouble at school is often a student's first point of entry into the school-to-prison pipeline. What trouble entails is shaped by underlying and complex notions of justice that operate in a given school setting. These notions of justice shape the range of responses social actors use to address students who break school rules. These…

Dementia is a growing public health issue. Activity, a positive therapeutic modality, has potential to enhance quality of life and reduce behavioral symptoms in persons with dementia--outcomes eluding pharmacological treatments. However, it is unclear how to effectively engage persons with dementia in activities for them to derive desired…

The goal of this paper was to critically review and evaluate five common social-emotional and behavioral screeners: Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (Kamphaus and Reynolds 2007), Behavior Intervention Monitoring Assessment System (McDougal et al. 2011), Social Skills Improvement System Performance Screening Guide (Elliott and Gresham…

Background: Communication problems stemming from Alzheimer's disease (AD) often result in misunderstandings that can be linked with problem behaviours and increased caregiver stress. Moreover, these communication breakdowns also can result either from caregivers' use of ineffective communication strategies, which paradoxically are…

Research Findings: Despite the abundance of research suggesting that preschool classroom quality influences children's social-emotional development, the equally important and related question of how characteristics of children enrolled in a classroom influence classroom quality has rarely been addressed. The current article focuses on this…

This volume explores serious challenging behavior in schools, with an emphasis on promising and research-based approaches to dealing with such behavior. Topics include what we know about: (1) the nature and extent of the problem (e.g., rates of aggression, violence, and noncompliance in schools); (2) addressing extreme forms of noncompliance; (3)…

Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems remain serious public health and safety concerns on United States college campuses. Considerable research has amassed to support the efficacy of the "Alcohol Skills Training Program" (ASTP), most notably the "Brief Assessment and Screening Intervention for College Students," in reducing…

Nine percent of young U.S. children live in deep poverty, with state rates ranging from 17 percent in Mississippi to 4 percent in Utah. The families of these children have incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, or less than $10,289 for a family of one parent and two children. Understanding more about the early health and development…

Michigan policymakers have a long history of leadership in addressing the social-emotional needs of the state's infants and young children so that they can learn and thrive in their homes and in early care and education programs. Michigan leaders and stakeholders are now working to further strengthen a system of supports for young children's…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often comorbid. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between ASD and ADHD symptoms by applying causal modeling. We used a large phenotypic data set of 417 children with ASD and/or ADHD, 562 affected and unaffected siblings, and 414 controls,…

The aim of this study is to develop a multidimensional measure for assessing children's personal agency to handle parental conflict through their coping self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997). Coping self-efficacy beliefs are individuals' perceived ability to motivate themselves, access cognitive resources, and perform the actions required to take…

Children who exhibit early behavioral and academic difficulties are at increased risk of later negative outcomes (U.S. Department of Human and Health Services 2009). Within the school setting, conceptualization of family risk, culture, and demographic factors is needed to effectively identify at-risk families to improve child educational outcomes.…