Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders current issue

Social Skills Training for Secondary Students With Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders: A Review and Analysis of the Meta-Analytic Literature

2008-08-05

Secondary students with or at risk for emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) can be characterized as having severe deficits in social competence. Moreover, as students transition into the secondary grades, social competence takes on increased complexity and importance. Social skills training (SST) represents a class of interventions routinely implemented with secondary-age students identified as EBD as a means of improving their social competence. What is unknown, however, is whether the evidence base supports the use of SST for this particular subset of students. The purpose of this research was to synthesize the meta-analytic literature evaluating the efficacy of SST for secondary students with EBD. Results from this analysis indicate that SST produces improvements in two thirds of secondary students with EBD, compared to only one third of controls. The results from this analysis are interpreted in light of opposing opinions regarding the efficacy of SST for secondary students with EBD.

Behavioral Disorders in the School: Participant Roles and Sub-Roles in Three Types of School Violence

Gumpel, T. P. — 2008-08-05

This study presents an attempt to widen the study of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) to include children not formally identified by the school as having EBD through examining the case of extreme school aggressors and their victims. The research describes the validation of the School Violence Inventory (SVI) and its use to map participant roles in six types of school aggression and victimization. Middle and high school students in Israel (N = 10,383) completed the SVI and were designated as uninvolved, pure aggressors, pure victims, and mixed aggressor—victims for direct physical, relational, and sexual aggression and victimization. Results showed a main effect for grade level for all types of aggression. Multiple hierarchical regressions showed different trajectories for each of the four participant roles. Implications for future research delineating the psychological markers of each of the different roles and implications for the future study of EBD are discussed.

School-Based Service Use by Youth With ADHD in Public-Sector Settings

Leslie, L. K., Lambros, K. M., Aarons, G. A., Haine, R. A., Hough, R. L. — 2008-08-05

This study investigates rates and predictors of school-based services (SBSs) for 390 youth meeting criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and served in the San Diego public sectors. Only 60% of youth had received an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosis; these youth were younger, male, Caucasian (versus Latino), and active to public mental health and special education (Emotional Disturbance category) at enumeration of study participants. Higher rates of SBSs (64%) were revealed than in community samples. Only 26% accessed multimodal treatment including SBSs, medication, and mental health. In multivariate modeling, SBSs displayed a curvilinear relationship with age, which may explain previously conflicting results regarding that relationship. Youth with private insurance or receiving mental health or medication were more likely to receive SBSs. Gender, race/ethnicity, and caregiver education, health, and mental health were not related to SBSs use. These findings may reflect sample characteristics. Further exploration of factors influencing SBSs use in different populations is warranted.

Student Risk Screening Scale: Initial Evidence for Score Reliability and Validity at the High School Level

Lane, K. L., Robertson Kalberg, J., Parks, R. J., Carter, E. W. — 2008-08-05

This article presents findings from a study of the reliability and validity of the Student Risk Screening Scale for use with high school students (N = 674). Results revealed high internal consistency, test—retest stability, interrater reliability, and convergent validity with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire . Predictive validity was established across two academic years, with students at low risk for antisocial behavior differentiated on behavioral (office discipline referrals [ODR]) and academic variables (grade point average [GPA]) from students with moderate and high levels of risk. However, neither ODR nor GPA variables could differentiate between students with moderate-risk or high-risk status. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.