Longitudinal studies from Hawaii, the continental United States, and Great Britain have identified several personality, familial, and environmental variables that promote resiliency in youths at risk. This article discusses these variables and provides counselors with an assessment technique and strategies to promote a salutogenesis perspective.…

Addresses association between recent parental divorce and mental health outcomes in young adults aged 18-23. Half of those studied (n=485) had experienced parental divorce within 15 months of the interview; the other half had not. Comparison indicated that, at the bivariate level, parental divorce was associated with poorer mental health outcomes…

A 2-year longitudinal study investigated influences of social support and self-esteem on adjustment in early adolescence. Findings obtained using latent growth curve modeling were consistent with self-esteem mediating effects of social support on emotional and behavioral adjustment. Lack of balance in social support and self-esteem in direction of…

Treatment programs promote individual solutions to substance abuse through changing dysfunctional behavior and relying on spiritual beliefs and practices. Root problems are understood to be diseases within the person. However, the social conditions implicated in causing the addiction remain unaddressed. Questions whether social workers can bring…

Assesses the relative base rates of common forms of youth psychopathology among 1,400 children, preadolescent, and adolescent Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and rarer minorities across social classes as defined by parent education levels. Findings include data showing most psychopathology being distributed proportionately across race and…

Provides the pros and cons for the use of Ritalin in today's classrooms. Discusses the causes and diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), what Ritalin does to the brain, why ADHD appears to be so frequently diagnosed, Ritalin's affect on school performance, and the notion that current educational policies contribute to…

Open-ended interviews in which 20 family members discussed issues related to their child's problem behavior revealed three major themes: the difficult process of coming to terms with the child's disability, the importance of having support from caring people, and the pervasive impact the problem behavior exerts on family functioning. (Contains…

A consultation framework with strong theoretical and conceptual support is presented, called the Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success (COMPASS). The overall goal of COMPASS is to provide indirect intervention to help students with autism achieve competence. COMPASS was also designed to provide collaboration among educators and…

A research review found reasonable evidence for an association between challenging behavior and staff stress, and some evidence for temporal precedence. However, few researchers had analyzed data enabling elimination of alternative explanations. It is proposed that staff negative emotional reactions mediate impact of challenging behaviors on staff…

Twelve practical strategies that can be used by classroom teachers to prevent behavioral escalation are discussed, including reinforce calm, know the triggers, pay attention to anything unusual, do not escalate, intervene early, know the function of problem behavior, use extinction wisely, teach prosocial behavior, and teach academic survival…

A study compared the effectiveness of a 1-day parent workshop to improve parental self-efficacy in the management of problem behaviors associated with Asperger syndrome and six individual sessions. Parents in both intervention groups reported fewer problem behaviors compared to controls. Mothers reported a significantly greater increase in…

This article discusses the increase in the rate and intensity of child maltreatment, defines the types of maltreatment (physical, sexual, psychological and neglect), their possible effects on learning, and school interventions that can assist the children with learning disabilities. The need for a structured classroom environment is emphasized.…

This paper describes a data-based case study of a linked array of community-based treatment services for troublesome, dual-diagnosed children and adolescents. Factors in the program's successes are described, followed by long-term data supporting treatment effectiveness. Results support applied research at this level and present a simple…

A study examined the role of coping style attributions and emotions in response to challenging behavior in predicting helping behaviors of 33 support staff of people with mental retardation. Coping styles of practical problem solving and wishful thinking and attributions of controllability and internality were significant predictors of effort in…

This article discusses applications of education legislation for drug-addicted children, including the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which recognizes smoking and drug addiction as handicapping conditions. Suggested guidelines for parents seeking school support services under these laws…