Although numerous studies address the efficacy of school-based interventions, fewer focus on how to support sustainability of interventions from the perspective of participants. To address this research gap, we use the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model to examine how the characteristics of an evidence-based program interact…

This article reports on the effectiveness of First Step to Success, a secondary-level intervention appropriate for students in early elementary school who experience moderate to severe behavior problems and are at risk for academic failure. The authors demonstrate the intervention's short-term effects on multiple behavioral and academic outcomes…

Prevalence of children with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) is a critical component in the discussion of underidentification of children served in special education. This discussion has previously focused almost exclusively on point prevalence or the number of children with EBD presumably needing services at any single point in time.…

This article reports on a randomized controlled trial of the First Step to Success early intervention that was conducted over a 4-year period in Albuquerque Public Schools. First Step is a selected intervention for students in Grades 1 through 3 with externalizing behavior problems, and it addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. It…

First Step to Success is a collaborative home and school early intervention program designed to address secondary prevention goals and outcomes for behaviorally at-risk children in the K-2 age-grade range (see Walker, Kavanagh, Stiller, Golly, Severson, & Feil, 1998; Walker, Stiller, Golly, Kavanagh, Severson, & Feil, 1997). In 1999 the Oregon…

Argues that the population of children with behavior disorders has changed dramatically for the worse over the past 25 years due to societal transformation. Society's reliance on punishing sanctions rather than preventing risk conditions or rehabilitation is discussed and strategies are suggested for proactive approaches in addressing social…

The role of functional behavioral assessment is contrasted with a longitudinal risk-factors exposure model for understanding and predicting maladaptive behavioral outcomes in applied settings. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed and the need for integration of the two approaches to gain a comprehensive understanding is…

A study examined the relationship over a 6-year period between teacher ratings of social skills of 80 boys, recorded in grade 5 and arrest records of the boys through grade 11. Teacher ratings of social skills were a significant predictor of police contacts and arrest status during middle and high school years. (Author/CR)

Discusses the need for professionals in the field of behavioral disorders to take a leadership role in addressing larger issues and problems of great concern to our society, including ensuring school safety, identifying children vulnerable to gang membership, dropout prevention, and youth violence. (CR)

A study involving 11 elementary and 9 middle schools illustrates how office discipline referrals can be used to indicate the status of school-wide discipline, and how schools can use the information to modify their universal interventions for all students and their targeted interventions for students with severe behavior problems. (Contains…

A descriptive study compared family management practices of parents of antisocial and nonantisocial fourth grade boys (N=80), including discipline, monitoring, positive reinforcement, involvement, and problem solving. On average, antisocial subjects were exposed to far more negative and less competent family management practices than were subjects…

A study examined the predictive power of selected social and academic variables regarding the arrest frequency for 11th-grade boys who seven years earlier had been judged to be at risk of developing antisocial behavior patterns. Antisocial measures on which participants scored higher were associated with more frequent arrests. (Author/CR)

Two studies found that the "First Step to Success" early-intervention program for at-risk kindergartners could be replicated successfully, that educators who participated in the First Step training sessions rated the quality of the training highly, and that about half of those trained actually went on to implement the program. (Author/CR)

Reports results of a four-year study involving 46 at-risk kindergartners that was designed to develop and evaluate a combined home and school intervention approach to preventing school antisocial behavior. Results indicated a measurable intervention effect for participants and persistence of gains into the primary grades. (Author/CR)

This article proposes that schools take on the role of coordinating intervention efforts with school-age children who exhibit antisocial behavior patterns. Collaboration with families and social service agencies is urged. A generic prevention/intervention approach for reducing antisocial behavior risk factors is suggested, with recommendations for…