The authors' association goes back more than 40 years, when they were both starting doctoral studies in special education for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) at the University of Kansas. In this article, the authors provide a balanced (albeit biased) account of the good and the bad, including some of the many achievements…

Although there seems to be a high level of awareness of the HIV and AIDS menace among the youth, their behavior does not reflect this level of awareness. There seems to be a mismatch between HIV and AIDS Programme objectives and behavior change among the youth. However, this level of mismatch has not been established for effective intervention…

The refinement of the Williams syndrome phenotype has frequently included the study of behavioral and temperamental features common to individuals with this disorder. Within this line of research, the importance of evaluating incidence of psychopathology has been increasingly recognized, with studies consistently identifying an increased risk for…

This review critically evaluates the existing research literature on the peer relationship problems of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Empirical evidence suggests that children with the disorder are severely impaired in the social area and strongly rejected by peers. The purposes of this article are to provide a review of…

Early childhood educators are concerned with the growing number of children who enter programs lacking social competence and exhibiting challenging behaviors. This article describes how early childhood programs in New Hampshire are addressing this challenge by adapting evidence-based School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports to meet the needs of…

Community clinic therapists were randomized to (a) brief training and supervision in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for youth depression or (b) usual care (UC). The therapists treated 57 youths (56% girls), ages 8-15, of whom 33% were Caucasian, 26% were African American, and 26% were Latino/Latina. Most youths were from low-income families…

Theory-driven, mass media interventions prevent smoking among youth. This study examined effects of a media campaign on adolescent smoking cessation. Four matched pairs of media markets in four states were randomized to receive or not receive a 3-year television/radio campaign aimed at adolescent smoking cessation based on social cognitive theory.…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 emphasized the use of positive behavioral interventions, supports, and services for students with disabilities who display challenging behaviors. Unfortunately, most teachers and schools still lack systems for identification, adoption, and sustained use of these…

This article describes the application of a university-community partnership model to the problem of adapting evidence-based treatment approaches in a community mental health setting. Background on partnership research is presented, with consideration of methodological and practical issues related to this kind of research. Then, a rationale for…

This article reports on part of a commissioned research study into students with severe challenging behaviour in primary schools serviced by the Catholic Education Office (Parramatta Diocese) in western Sydney. The data reported in this study relates to support services accessed by schools and their perceived efficacy as well as impacts of dealing…

A growing number of students presenting with nonlethal self-injury has recently captured the attention of school nurses. The purpose of intentional self-harm is aimed at reducing emotional distress. This is not a new phenomenon, but what is alarming is the increasing incidence of self-injurious behavior among adolescents. This behavior is raising…

Objectives: To examine the stability of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses among a sample of 50 adolescents in cognitive-behaviorally-based treatment for alcohol and other substance use disorders (AOSUD). Methods: A standardized psychiatric interview was administered at baseline and 12 month later to obtain current comorbid psychiatric disorders. Chi…

To assess whether temperament moderates response to treatment for substance use disorders (SUD), n = 88 consecutively referred adolescents with SUD were randomized to cognitive-behavioral (CBT) or psychoeducational (PET) therapies. Principal components analyses reduced the 10-attribute Dimensions of Temperament Revised (DOTS-R) to three factors…

A cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was developed to address its high prevalence in persons with severe mental illness receiving treatment at community mental health centers. CBT was compared with treatment as usual (TAU) in a randomized controlled trial with 108 clients with PTSD and either major…

Eating disorders represent a significant source of psychological impairment among adolescents. However, most controlled treatment studies have focused on adult populations. This review provides a synthesis of existing data concerning the efficacy of various psychosocial interventions for eating disorders in adolescent samples. Modes of therapy…