Characteristics of school psychology faculty in 2021.

Although racial, ethnic, and linguistically minoritized school-aged students within the United States are increasing in population, school psychologists have historically been predominantly white, monolingual females. Diversity within the field of school psychology is important for improving students' achievement and postsecondary success, particularly as it relates to underrepresented students. Research shows that the diversity of school psychology faculty is important for the recruitment and retention of minoritized graduate students. However, demographic information within school psychology has only been calculated within the context of memberships to psychological organizations (e.g., the National Association of School Psychologists), which could underestimate the actual diversity of school psychology faculty currently in the profession. The purpose of this study was to collect information on the demographic characteristics of school psychology faculty as of 2021. A total of 429 school psychology trainers completed a brief web-based survey in which they self-identified their employment characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, racial-ethnic identity, (dis)ability status, and languages spoken. At the time of the survey, most of the sample were employed as full professors (30.5%) or assistant professors (29.4%). Results demonstrated that majority of the sample identified as white (78.6%), cisgender female (66.2%), heterosexual (87.2%), non(dis)abled (95.1%), and monolingual English speaking (83.9%). Faculty of color were more likely to report a higher percentage of time spent teaching as compared to white faculty. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding preferences of general educators for supporting classwide behavior.

Innovations, such as novel evidence-based practices, are not likely to diffuse to practice without explicit effort and design (Rogers, 2003). In an effort to understand how interventions should be designed to meet teacher preferences, the present study utilized a full-profile two-alternative forced-choice experiment to examine teacher preferences when selecting a classwide intervention to address student disruptive behavior. Attributes and levels for the experiment were derived in response to four characteristics from Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory. Results from 266 general education teachers of Grades K-5 indicated that nearly all theorized characteristics influenced teacher preference, with the exception of the observability of the intervention (i.e., receiving feedback from others). Specific findings of levels within attributes suggest that, for instance, short online video trainings are preferable to full-day workshops and specific details on adaptations for inclusivity are highly preferred. Given school psychologists' roles in consultation and behavior support, knowledge of teacher preferences may be utilized to support intervention uptake and more general dissemination efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

"We Already Knew What Time It Was:" HIV, COVID19, and Black Transgender Women in the South.

Black transgender women in the Southeast are at the center of the modern-day HIV crisis in the U.S. This focus group study was aimed at understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of Black transgender women in the U.S. Southeast who are affected by HIV. From April-June 2022, we completed seven focus group interviews with 56 participants. Themes identified across the focus groups show: 1) the challenges that pre-dated COVID-19; 2) the challenges of managing COVID-19 risk; 3) negative consequences for mental health, physical health, and overall well-being; 4) negative trends in coping with pandemic stress; 5) the importance of self-care and social support for managing pandemic stress; and 6) the need for more community-based resources. Findings demonstrate that understanding these social determinants of health is vital to developing support resources in this ongoing health crisis and crises yet to come.

Correction to: The weight of harm: A Response to "Editor's Note: Societal changes and expression of concern about Rekers and Lovaas' (1974) Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s40617-022-00683-y.].

The weight of harm: A Response to "Editor's Note: Societal changes and expression of concern about Rekers and Lovaas' (1974) Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child".

In 1974, Rekers and Lovaas published an article in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) wherein the authors coached a 4-year-old child's parents to ignore and physically abuse him when he engaged in behaviors that were identified by the authors as inappropriate for a child whose sex assigned at birth was male. In October 2020, a Statement of Concern regarding Rekers and Lovaas (1974) was published in JABA (SEAB & LeBlanc, 2020), which described concerns regarding the paper and then provided justification for the journal's decision to not retract this paper. In this current response, I provide a counterpoint to the Statement of Concern, arguing that (a) the available evidence strongly suggests that the original study was unethical and misaligned with the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and (b) the evidence presented to support its contemporaneous ethicality is insufficient. I end with an argument that Rekers and Lovaas (1974) should be retracted and discuss the critical role of ethics and social significance for the field of ABA.

A call to action for school psychology to address COVID-19 health disparities and advance social justice.

The health, economic, and social challenges associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a range of threats to students' well-being, psychoeducational experiences, and outcomes, spurring fears for a "lost generation." In this article, we present COVID-19 as a large-scale multisystemic disaster causing massive disruptions and losses, with adversities moderated by the intersectional nature of systemic inequity. We first synthesize the broad effects of COVID-19 as they relate to equity and social justice, followed by the major implications for students and schools, with a focus on intersectional systemic issues. We then propose foundational considerations and resources intended to usher a paradigm shift in how school psychologists' roles and activities are conceptualized in the years to come, ending with key imperatives for practice and graduate education in school psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Using ranked survey data in education research: Methods and applications.

Researchers and practitioners in education and school psychology regularly use ranked data to drive student- and systems-level decision-making. These types of data can be derived from assessments of individual preferences among researchers and practitioners, assessments of preferences among stakeholders including parents and children, and rankings of students on academic and social-emotional competency. However, the analysis of ranked data in education and psychology has typically been limited to simple approaches such as the examination of mean ranks assigned to items. This paper unifies a collection of classical methodologies, as well as proposes new techniques, for analyzing ranked data used across disciplines and applies the methods to data generated in school psychological research. The scope of the paper is to serve as a roadmap for researchers in education and school psychology who seek to more fully leverage information contained in ranked data. These methodologies include descriptive analyses, visualizations, tests of uniformity, cluster analyses, and predictive models. We demonstrate these techniques on the survey data of Fefer, DeMagistris, and Shuttleton (2016) and illustrate how using a broader set of tools can yield improved insights by researchers and practitioners.

Common barriers to healthcare for transgender people in the U.S. Southeast.

Background: Transgender and non-binary people are more likely to face barriers to healthcare than their cisgender counterparts. The majority of work in this area centers on the experiences of transgender people in northern cities and urban enclaves, yet over 500,000 transgender people live in the U.S. Southeast. Aims: The purpose of this study is to explore barriers to healthcare among transgender people in the U.S. Southeast. Methods: The research team conducted four 120-minute focus groups (eligibility criteria: 18 years or older, self-identify as transgender, live in the U.S. Southeast). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire prior to the start of the focus group. Each focus group explored access to and experiences of receiving basic healthcare as a transgender person in the U.S. Southeast. Established qualitative methods were used to conduct the focus groups and data analysis. Results: Participants (n = 48) ranged in age from 19 to 65, with the majority identifying as trans women (43.8%) and non-binary (33.3%). The sample was racially diverse: White (50%), Black (37.5%), and Latinx or Multiracial (12.5%). Multiple barriers to care were identified: (1) fear and mistrust of providers; (2) inconsistency in access to healthcare; (3) disrespect from providers; and, (4) mistreatment due to intersecting experiences of gender, race, class, and location. Discussion: Transgender Southerners face barriers to care at the structural, cultural, and interpersonal levels. The study results have implications for researchers, as well as providers, practices, and health care systems throughout the region.

Rejecting, reframing, and reintroducing: trans people's strategic engagement with the medicalisation of gender dysphoria.

This article uses ethnographic methods to explore how transgender people engage the medicalisation of transgender experience in a U.S. context under the purview of the American Psychiatric Association. Building on sociological literature related to medicalisation, this paper argues that the lived experience of medicalisation is a non-linear, complex process whereby individual engagement with medical authority is both empowering and constraining in the lives of trans people. Inductive qualitative analysis of 158 hours of participant observation and 33 in-depth interviews with members of a transgender community organisation revealed that transgender individuals (i) reject a medical frame for gender dysphoria, (ii) embrace and stress the importance of gender-affirming medical technologies for individual identity development and social interaction and (iii) strategically reintroduce medical logics and embrace medical authority in order to facilitate medical and social recognition, validation and acceptance.

Methods matter: A multi-trait multi-method analysis of student behavior.

Reliable and valid data form the foundation for evidence-based practices, yet surprisingly few studies on school-based behavioral assessments have been conducted which implemented one of the most fundamental approaches to construct validation, the multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM). To this end, the current study examined the reliability and validity of data derived from three commonly utilized school-based behavioral assessment methods: Direct Behavior Rating - Single Item Scales, systematic direct observations, and behavior rating scales on three common constructs of interest: academically engaged, disruptive, and respectful behavior. Further, this study included data from different sources including student self-report, teacher report, and external observers. A total of 831 students in grades 3-8 and 129 teachers served as participants. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations of the MTMM, as well as single and multi-level structural equation modeling. Results suggested the presence of strong methods effects for all the assessment methods utilized, as well as significant relations between constructs of interest. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

"I Can Never Be Too Comfortable": Race, Gender, and Emotion at the Hospital Bedside.

In this article, we examine how race and gender shape nurses' emotion practice. Based on audio diaries collected from 48 nurses within two Midwestern hospital systems in the United States, we illustrate the disproportionate emotional labor that emerges among women nurses of color in the white institutional space of American health care. In this environment, women of color experience an emotional double shift as a result of negotiating patient, coworker, and supervisor interactions. In confronting racist encounters, nurses of color in our sample experience additional job-related stress, must perform disproportionate amounts of emotional labor, and experience depleted emotional resources that negatively influence patient care. Methodologically, the study extends prior research by using audio diaries collected from a racially diverse sample to capture emotion as a situationally emergent and complex feature of nursing practice. We also extend research on nursing by tracing both the sources and consequences of unequal emotion practices for nurse well-being and patient care.

Dependability of data derived from time sampling methods with multiple observation targets.

In this study, generalizability theory was used to examine the extent to which (a) time-sampling methodology, (b) number of simultaneous behavior targets, and (c) individual raters influenced variance in ratings of academic engagement for an elementary-aged student. Ten graduate-student raters, with an average of 7.20 hr of previous training in systematic direct observation and 58.20 hr of previous direct observation experience, scored 6 videos of student behavior using 12 different time-sampling protocols. Five videos were submitted for analysis, and results for observations using momentary time-sampling and whole-interval recording suggested that the majority of variance was attributable to the rating occasion, although results for partial-interval recording generally demonstrated large residual components comparable with those seen in prior research. Dependability coefficients were above .80 when averaging across 1 to 2 raters using momentary time-sampling, and 2 to 3 raters using whole-interval recording. Ratings derived from partial-interval recording needed to be averaged over 3 to 7 raters to demonstrate dependability coefficients above .80. (PsycINFO Database Record

Evaluating the technical adequacy of DBR-SIS in tri-annual behavioral screening: A multisite investigation.

The implementation of multi-tiered systems in schools necessitates the use of screening assessments which produce valid and reliable data to identify students in need of tiered supports. Data derived from these screening assessments may be evaluated according to their classification accuracy, or the degree to which cut scores correctly identify individuals as "at-risk" or "not-at-risk." The current study examined the performance of mean scores derived from over 1700 students in Grades 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 using Direct Behavior Rating-Single Item Scales. Students were rated across three time points (Fall, Winter, Spring) by their teachers in three areas: (a) academically engaged behavior, (b) disruptive behavior, and (c) respectful behavior. Classification accuracy indices and comparisons among behaviors were derived using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses, partial area under the curve (pAUC) tests, and bootstrapping methods to evaluate the degree to which mean behavior ratings accurately identified students who demonstrated elevated behavioral symptomology on the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System. Results indicated that optimal cut-scores for mean behavior ratings and a composite rating demonstrated high levels of specificity, sensitivity, and negative predictive value, with sensitivity point estimates for optimal cut-scores exceeding .70 for individual behaviors and .75 for composite scores across grade groups and time points.

A systematic evidence review of school-based group contingency interventions for students with challenging behavior.

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the research underlying group contingency interventions to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support their use for managing the classroom behavior of students with behavioral difficulties. An application of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) procedures for evaluating single-subject research revealed that the research investigating group contingencies demonstrated sufficient rigor, evidence, and replication to label the intervention as evidence-based. These findings were further supported across five quantitative indices of treatment effect. The results associated with the application of the WWC procedures and quantitative evaluations were supplemented with additional systematic coding of methodological features and study characteristics to evaluate the populations and conditions under which the effects of the group contingency best generalize. Findings associated with this coding revealed that the lack of detailed reporting across studies limited our ability to determine for whom and under what conditions group contingencies are best suited.

A systematic evaluation of token economies as a classroom management tool for students with challenging behavior.

A two-part systematic review was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of token economies in increasing rates of appropriate classroom behavior for students demonstrating behavioral difficulties. The first part of the review utilized the recently published What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for evaluating single-subject research to determine the extent to which eligible studies demonstrated sufficient evidence to classify the token economy as an evidence-based practice. The second part of the review employed meta-analytic techniques across four different types of effect sizes to evaluate the quantitative strength of the findings. Methodological strengths and weaknesses across the studies were systematically investigated. Results indicated that the extant research on token economies does not provide sufficient evidence to be deemed best-practice based on the WWC criteria.