ABSTRACT
The Early Risers prevention program aims to alter the developmental trajectory of children with early onset aggressive behavior. The program features 4 CORE components: (a) an annual 6-week summer school program, (b) a teacher consultation and student mentoring program, (c) child social skills groups, and (d) parent education and skills-training groups, all delivered in tandem with a FLEX family support program individually tailored to address the unique needs of families. At baseline, the mean age of the sample was 6.6 years. Following 2 years of intervention, program children showed significant improvement relative to controls in academic achievement and school behaviors. Change on behavioral self-regulation was moderated by level of child aggression, with intervention effects found for only the most severely aggressive children. Parents with high program attendance rates showed improvement in discipline methods.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Education, Special , Family Therapy , Mentors , Parents/education , Achievement , Behavior Therapy , Child , Child, Preschool , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Peer Group , Personality Assessment , Social BehaviorABSTRACT
Examined how and what children think under conditions of automatic and controlled processing within the context of social problem solving. In a condition that elicited automatic processing, hyperactive-aggressive children did not differ in being able to identify the components of a problem or in the number of solutions generated to solve a problem, but were more aggressive in the types of solutions generated, as compared to nonhyperactive-nonaggressive children. Furthermore, in a condition eliciting controlled processing, hyperactive-aggressive children did not differ in identifying problem components, generating solutions, or in anticipating outcomes for solutions, but were less able to anticipate consequences, and were more aggressive in choosing a best solution to solve a problem, as compared to nonhyperactive-nonaggressive children. The study demonstrated a relation between problem-solving codes that discriminated between groups, and overall child adjustment. Implications for social problem-solving interventions are discussed.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Child Behavior/psychology , Problem Solving , Social Behavior , Adult , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Models, Psychological , Social AdjustmentABSTRACT
First through fourth graders from 22 suburban elementary schools were screened for cross-setting disruptive behavior as eligibility criteria for participation in a longitudinal secondary prevention study aimed at reducing the risk for serious externalizing behavioral disorders. Three hundred nine subjects participated in either a multicomponent competence enhancement intervention (MCEI) or an information/attention control (IAC) condition over a 2-year period. Following baseline requirements, initial intervention effects were assessed at the end of intervention Year 1, at the beginning of intervention Year 2 (fall of the next school year), and at the end of intervention Year 2. Multisource assessments were not supportive of the efficacy of the MCEI over the IAC condition. Children in both groups rated themselves as improved over time in terms of increased adaptive skills and decreased school problems and internalizing symptoms. Teacher and parent ratings of externalizing behavior did not yield evidence of positive change, but teachers noted improved problem solving and observers noted a decrease in behavioral interference in both groups over time, possibly as a result of maturation.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior Disorders/prevention & control , School Health Services/standards , Social Behavior Disorders/prevention & control , Socialization , Adaptation, Psychological , Analysis of Variance , Caregivers/education , Caregivers/psychology , Chi-Square Distribution , Child , Child Development , Family Health , Female , Humans , Likelihood Functions , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Parents/education , Parents/psychology , Personality Development , Problem Solving , Regression Analysis , Social Adjustment , Teaching/methods , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Two variations of school-based cognitive-behavioral training (CBT) program were compared to each other and to a waiting-list control condition in the treatment of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The experimental interventions included a multicomponent condition that provided coordinated training programs for parents, teachers, and children and a teacher-only condition that offered training for classroom teachers only. Evaluation of outcome occurred at pre-intervention, post-intervention and at 6-week followup periods. Depedent measures included classroom behavior observations, teacher ratings of child behavior, child self-report, and teacher ratings of adjustment. The multicomponent CBT condition was significantly better than the other conditions at improving observed off-task/disruptive behavior at post-test. This improvement was maintained at followup, although treatment condition differences were no longer significant. There were no treatment condition differences on any other measures at post-intervention or followup. It was concluded that the intervention had minimal short-term effects on the ADHD children. The results are discussed within the context of several methodological limitations of the study which serve as proposals for continued research in this area.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/therapy , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Learning Disabilities/therapy , Social Environment , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child Behavior Disorders/therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Male , Personality Assessment , Pilot Projects , Problem Solving , Reinforcement ScheduleABSTRACT
Examined the utility of three MMPI family scales. Three MMPI family scales and three criterion family scales were administered to 110 undergraduates. Internal consistency coefficients were calculated for each MMPI family scale. Relationships between the MMPI family scales and the criterion scales are examined by a correlational analysis. Findings suggest that the MMPI family scales are reliable and concurrently valid measures of an individual's perception of interpersonal family relationships. Procedures for scoring and interpreting the MMPI family scales are examined. The findings also indicate which MMPI family scale is the overall best scale.
