Primary care management of Long-Term opioid therapy.

The United States underwent massive expansion in opioid prescribing from 1990-2010, followed by opioid stewardship initiatives and reduced prescribing. Opioids are no longer considered first-line therapy for most chronic pain conditions and clinicians should first seek alternatives in most circumstances. Patients who have been treated with opioids long-term should be managed differently, sometimes even continued on opioids due to physiologic changes wrought by long-term opioid therapy and documented risks of discontinuation. When providing long-term opioid therapy, clinicians should document opioid stewardship measures, including assessments, consents, medication reconciliation, and offering naloxone, along with the rationale to continue opioid therapy. Clinicians should screen regularly for opioid use disorder and arrange for or directly provide treatment. In particular, buprenorphine can be highly useful for co-morbid pain and opioid use disorder. Addressing other substance use disorders, as well as preventive health related to substance use, should be a priority in patients with opioid use disorder. Patient-centered practices, such as shared decision-making and attending to related facets of a patient's life that influence health outcomes, should be implemented at all points of care.Key messagesAlthough opioids are no longer considered first-line therapy for most chronic pain, management of patients already taking long-term opioid therapy must be individualised.Documentation of opioid stewardship measures can help to organise opioid prescribing and protect clinicians from regulatory scrutiny.Management of resultant opioid use disorder should include provision of medications, most often buprenorphine, and several additional screening and preventive measures.

Scientific research in school psychology: Leading researchers weigh in on its past, present, and future.

A survey of established researchers in school psychology was conducted to reflect on the state of the science of school psychology research. A total of 54 members of the Society for the Study of School Psychology shared their perceptions of (a) the most significant findings of the past 25years that have influenced research and practice in school psychology, (b) current, exciting research topics, and (c) topics that are likely to guide the future of research in school psychology. Qualitative analyses revealed 6 major categories and 17 minor categories within the major categories. Four major categories were present across each of the three time periods: (a) Data-Informed Practices and their Implementation, (b) Theory Development, (c) Changing Role and Function, and (d) Biological Bases of Behavior. Additional major categories included Advances in Research Methodology and Psychometrics (found across past and present time periods) and There is Not One Single Most Important Idea (found during only the past time period). Quotations are provided to illustrate these categories and share the respondents' ideas in their own words.

Criterion-related validity of curriculum-based measurement in writing with narrative and expository prompts relative to passage copying speed in 10th grade students.

We investigated the criterion-related validity of four indicators of curriculum-based measurement in writing (WCBM) when using expository versus narrative writing prompts as compared to the validity of passage copying speed. Specifically, we compared criterion-related validity of production-dependent (total words written, correct word sequences), accurate-production (correct minus incorrect word sequences [CIWS]), and production-independent (percent of correct word sequences [%CWS]) scoring methods on narrative and expository writing probes in relation to a state-mandated writing assessment. Participants included all tenth grade students (N=163) from a rural high school in the Midwest. Results indicated that the more complex indicators of writing, %CWS (when taking into account passage copying speed), and CIWS (when passage copying speed was not considered) on narrative probes explained the greatest amount of variance in the criterion measure. None of the WCBM indicators, alone or in combination with passage copying speed, explained more than 25% of the variance in the state writing assessment, suggesting that WCBM may have limitations as a universal screening measure for high school students.

Supporting the students most in need: academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in relation to within-year academic growth.

Academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in relation to academic skill growth across one academic year were examined in the study. Participants included 193 5th-grade students. Teachers collected curriculum-based measures (CBM) of reading and math on three occasions as part of routine academic benchmarks, and researchers collected student-reported measures of academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in the spring of the same academic year. Results indicated that academic self-efficacy was positively related to fall reading and math CBM scores and that perceived teacher support was unrelated to fall scores or growth across the academic year. Academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support interacted in relation to math CBM growth such that low levels of perceived teacher support were related to greater growth, particularly for students with high academic self-efficacy. Follow-up analyses indicated that students with the lowest fall CBM scores and smallest growth rates reported higher levels of perceived teacher support, suggesting that teachers support the students most in need.

Publication criteria and recommended areas of improvement within school psychology journals as reported by editors, journal board members, and manuscript authors.

Two online surveys were completed by editors, associate editors, editorial board members, and members or fellows of the Division 16 of the American Psychological Association. These surveys targeted (a) the criteria for a manuscript to be published in school psychology journals, and (b) the components of the peer-review process that should be improved. Although prior surveys have targeted these issues in general, none have been conducted in school psychology or examined differences in perspectives between those who serve in a reviewing capacity or those who have served only in an author capacity. Results identified the most important characteristics for a manuscript submitted for publication to be positively reviewed as well as identified differences in the expectations for such characteristics between novice authors (who do not contribute to the journal editorial process) and those authors who serve the journal editorial process more extensively (e.g., editors and associate editors). In addition, key areas to target for improvement (e.g., reducing potential reviewer bias) within the reviewing process were identified.

Strategies and attributes of highly productive scholars and contributors to the school psychology literature: recommendations for increasing scholarly productivity.

In all academic fields, there are scholars who contribute to the research literature at exceptionally high levels. The goal of the current study was to discover what school psychology researchers with remarkably high levels of journal publication do to be so productive. In Study 1, 94 highly productive school psychology scholars were identified from past research, and 51 (39 men, 12 women) submitted individual, short-answer responses to a 5-item questionnaire regarding their research strategies. A constant comparative approach was employed to sort and code individual sentiments (N=479) into categories. Seven broad categories of counsel for increasing productivity emerged: (a) research and publication practices and strategies, (b) collaboration, mentoring and building relationships, (c) navigating the peer-review process, (d) strategies to bolster writing productivity and excellence, (e) personal character traits that foster productivity, (f) preparation before entering the professoriate, and (g) other noteworthy sentiments. Results are discussed in terms of nine recommendations for scholars and graduate students who wish to increase their productivity. In Study 2, five of the most productive scholars (1 woman, 4 men) participated in a semi-structured interview about their high levels of productivity. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed, and a case analysis approach employed to profile each scholar. Study limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Changes in perceived social support and socioemotional adjustment across the elementary to junior high school transition.

One of the most fundamental factors related to psychological well being across the lifespan is whether a person perceives social support from important others in his or her life. The current study explored changes in and relationships among perceived social support (SS) and socioemotional adjustment (SEA) across the 1-year transition from elementary to junior high school. Two cohorts of students (N = 140) participated in the current study that took place across a 3-year time span. Analyses of the transition data for boys and girls together reveal declines in perceived total support and teacher support as well as an increase in self-reported school problems. When considering the sexes separately, girls' perceived total support, close friend support and school support declined while boy's self-reported school problems increased across the transition. Although social support did not emerge as a mediator or predictor for any of the socioemotional variables in the current study, results reveal that, in general, perceived social support and socioemotional functioning at the end of the last year of elementary school predicts perceived social support and socioemotional functioning at the end of the first year of junior high school. Study limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

A preliminary investigation of within-year growth patterns in reading and mathematics curriculum-based measures.

This study examined patterns of growth across benchmark assessments for curriculum-based measures (CBM) over 2 academic years, with the twofold purpose of replicating earlier findings of growth patterns on R-CBM and conducting a preliminary investigation of growth patterns on M-CBM and CBM-Maze. The sample included 898 cases from 3rd through 5th grade over 2 academic years from one elementary school in the rural Midwest. All students participated in tri-annual benchmark assessments in which they were administered R-CBM, CBM-Maze, and M-CBM. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine patterns of growth for all three measures. Students demonstrated greater R-CBM weekly growth during winter-to-spring than fall-to-winter across grade levels. Patterns for CBM-Maze and M-CBM were somewhat inconsistent across school years and grade levels. Results are discussed in terms of contextual variables that may impact within-year growth patterns and technical characteristics of CBM slopes.

Emotional adjustment and school functioning of young adolescents with multiple versus single learning disabilities.

Early adolescents (Grades 6-8) with multiple learning disabilities (LD; reading and math) in inclusive settings were compared to adolescents with single LD (reading or math) and typically achieving (TA) peers regarding their psychosocial functioning in two areas of adolescent well-being: emotional adjustment and school functioning. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998) Self-Report of Personality for adolescents was used to determine well-being. One hundred twenty middle school students-15 boys and 15 girls in each group-were included in the current study. The results confirmed that adolescents with multiple LD (reading and math) reported poorer functioning (i.e., higher T scores) on school maladjustment, clinical maladjustment, emotional symptoms index, attitude to school, atypicality, and depression when compared to TA peers but not when compared to peers with a single LD (reading or math). All three groups differed from the TA group (but not from each other) on sense of inadequacy, with the multiple LD group reporting the highest T scores. Additional analyses indicated significant differences between girls and boys, regardless of disability status. Girls reported higher T scores on the emotional symptoms index, social stress, and depression, but boys reported greater school maladjustment and sensation seeking. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.