The high incidence of adolescent problem behaviors in the United States raises major concerns. These problem behaviors include: sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, suicide, depression, substance abuse, crime against persons and property, and delinquency. Consequently, there continues to be a high level of concern and interest in different ethnic populations of adolescents and their level of risk. This study evaluated the following problem behaviors: substance abuse, suicide, delinquency, and sexual intercourse; and the risk factors that increase the probability of these problem behaviors occurring. Specifically, the study identified the profiles of the population in relationship to the problem behaviors comparing Native and nonnative American adolescents. This study also described how both samples of high school students reported the connectedness of school, home, and community with their perceived feelings of belongingness and safety, in addition to their reports of problem behavior. The prevalences of problem behaviors in Native and nonnative American adolescents were compared, the differences in the importance of risk factors related to problem behaviors in the two groups were examined, and the extent to which the risks and protective factors predict problem behaviors in Native and nonnative American adolescents also was assessed. In comparing problem behaviors between Native and nonnative American adolescents, there were significantly higher incidences of problem behaviors in the Native American sample. Statistical analyses demonstrated that problem behaviors were not consistently predicted by the risk and protective factors for the Native American females, but they were predictable for the nonnative American female sample. The risk factors explained less of the variation in problem behavior for the males than for the females from both samples. The risk factors explained less variation in problem behaviors for Native American males than their nonnative American counterparts. This research demonstrates the need to develop models to better understand cultural influences on adolescents in order to improve the intervention and prevention techniques necessary to reduce the number of youth at risk. There is a particular need to better identify the risk factors of importance to Native Americans.

Teachers are faced with the dual task of teaching academic skills and managing students’ problematic behaviors. Randomly selected kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers (N=295 of 1,144; 26% return rate) in rural, urban, and suburban Utah were asked to identify students’ five most problematic behaviors, as well as students’ five most desired social skills which supported social-emotional wellbeing and academic achievement. Teachers’ responses were summarized and information will be used to enhance universal Tier 1 social skills interventions, part of school-wide positive behavior support in Utah’s elementary schools. The top five problematic behaviors identified by participating teachers included (a) defiant and refuses to comply with teacher's requests; (b) aggressive (hits, kicks, shoves); (c) says or does things to hurt others' feelings; (d) inattentive, daydreaming, distracted; and (e) disrespectful to adults. The top five desired social skills included (a) conflict management/resolution; (b) following rules and instructions; (c) self-management: good use of free time, seatwork, assigned tasks; (d) anger management; and (e) coping with challenging situations. These identified behaviors and social skills will guide efforts of Utah’s Tier 1 Positive Behavioral Support in selecting children’s literature and creating classroom lesson plans which specifically address problematic behaviors and focus on desired social skills.

No description available.

Shyness as a behavioral characteristic has been in focus of research in psychology for a number of decades. Adolescent shyness has, however, been relatively overlooked compared with studies conducted on children and adults. This dissertation concentrated on adolescent shyness, aiming to attain a better comprehension about how shyness during this developmental phase might affect, and be affected by social relationships. The first aim of this dissertation was to study in which way shyness influences and is influenced by significant people in adolescents’ lives: peers, friends, and parents. Study III showed that shy youths socialized each other over time into becoming even more shy. Study VI demonstrated that youths’ shyness affected parenting behaviors, more so than parent’s behaviors affected youth shyness. The second aim of this dissertation was to investigate what shyness means for adolescents’ choices of relationships with friends, whereas the third aim focused on whether adolescents’ ways of dealing with peers would have consequences for their internal and external adjustment. As Study I showed, youths might take on off-putting, startling appearances in order to cope with their shyness. This strategy seemed, nonetheless, not particularly successful for the shy youths in terms of emotional adjustment. Study III showed that adolescents who were shy tended to choose others similar to themselves in shyness as friends. Study II showed that shyness might indeed have some positive implications for adolescent development, as it was found to serve a protective role in the link between advanced maturity and various types of problem behaviors. Overall, the findings point to some gender differences regarding all of the abovementioned processes. In sum then, the studies in this dissertation show that even though youths’ shy, socially fearful characteristics affect their emotional adjustment and those around them, shy youths are part of a larger social arena where they are active agents in shaping their own development. Although adolescent shyness might be linked with several negative outcomes, however, it might be other people’s reactions to socially fearful behaviors that help create and/or maintain these outcomes over time.

abstract: I examined the role of children's or teacher's effortful control (EC) in children's academic functioning in early elementary school in two separate studies. In Study 1, I tested longitudinal relations between parents' reactions to children's displays of negative emotions in kindergarten, children's EC in first grade, and children's reading or math achievement in second grade (N = 291). In the fall of each school year, parents reported their positive or negative reactions and parents and teachers reported on children's EC. Standardized achievement tests assessed achievement each spring. Results from autoregressive panel mediation models demonstrated that constructs exhibited consistency across study years. In addition, first-grade EC mediated relations between parents' reactions (i.e., a difference composite of positive minus negative reactions) at kindergarten and second-grade math, but not reading, achievement. Findings suggest that one method of promoting math achievement in early school is through the socialization of children's EC. In Study 2, I examined relations between teachers' EC, teachers' reactions to children's negative emotions, the student-teacher relationship (STR), and children's externalizing behaviors or achievement among 289 second-graders and their 116 teachers. Results from mixed-model regressions showed that negative reactions and teacher-reported STR mediated relations between teachers' EC and math achievement. In addition, teacher-reported STR mediated links between teachers' EC and externalizing problems across reporters and between teachers' EC and reading achievement. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that a high-quality STR was negatively associated with externalizing problems and high levels of teachers' negative reactions were negatively related to math achievement only for students low in EC. In tests of moderation by social competence, teachers' reports of high-quality STRs tended to be negatively associated with externalizing problems, but relations were strongest for students not high in social competence. For students low in social competence only, children's reports of a high-quality STR was related to lower reading achievement. These results highlight the utility of considering whether and how teachers' own intrinsic characteristics influence classroom dynamics and students' academic functioning outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Family and Human Development 2011

xiii, 99 p. : ill. (some col.) / Check-in-check-out (CICO) has been demonstrated to produce decreases in problematic behaviors and increases in academic engagement when used as a secondary intervention within a school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) framework. In general, research has suggested that CICO is most effective for children whose problem behaviors are sensitive to adult attention without modifications. However, research is lacking on secondary interventions intended for students whose problem behaviors are hypothesized to be maintained by escape or avoidance of academic tasks. Drawing from research on the utility of function-based interventions and the teaching of functional replacement behaviors to decrease problem behaviors and increase appropriate skills, a secondary intervention, Breaks are Better (BrB), was designed that builds off core features of CICO but also includes function-based components for addressing problem behavior maintained by task avoidance. Modifications included 1) defining specific expectations that were incompatible with problematic behavior during academic routines and 2) providing students with functional replacement behaviors that allowed them to recruit both brief breaks and help. Effectiveness of BrB was examined using an ABAB design across three participants whose off-task behaviors were hypothesized to be maintained, in part, by task avoidance or escape. The current study examined the following primary research questions: 1) is there a functional relation between the implementation of BrB and reduced rates of off-task behavior, and 2) is there a functional relation between the implementation of BrB and increases in the use of alternative replacement behaviors (help and break)? A functional relation was documented between the implementation of the BrB intervention and reductions in off-task behavior for two out of three participants (Gregg and Alex). However, for Diego, off-task behavior was somewhat variable during the final intervention phase. Results from the collection of contextual fit and social validity data indicated that students, teachers, and parents viewed BrB as effective, worth the required effort, and contextually appropriate for use in this school. / Committee in charge: Cynthia M. Anderson, Chairperson; Rick Albin, Member; Laura Lee McIntyre, Member; Jennifer Pfeifer, Outside Member

This study investigated the effects of the positive behavior support program Family HOPE conducted in homes of families of children with disabilities. Graduate students conducted an 8-10 week collaborative method of training for parents of children with disabilities to reduce problem behaviors of their child with a disability. The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) and Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (SIB-R) were given to both experimental and control group families to investigate the program effects on parents' perceptions of limit setting, parental support, frequency and severity of problem behaviors. Results indicated that there was not a significant pre-post difference for either group on limit setting and parental support. There was a significant decrease in the frequency and severity of problem behaviors on the SIB-R for the treatment and control groups; however, no significant difference was found according to group membership. On subscales of Limit Setting and Parental Support on the PCRI no significant differences were found between control and experimental groups. Implications for further research are suggested and include items such as the control group size and using measures that are sensitive enough to detect changes in behavior over a short period of time.

No description available.

Autism is subset of the special education population that seems to be growing at an alarming rate. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2000), one of the three main deficits found in someone diagnosed with autism is a "qualitative impairment in communication". However, language skills are very difficult for autistic children to learn and are often associated with disruptive behaviors. Research has shown a strong correlation between problem behaviors and difficulties with communication. This study uses techniques (i.e. functional analysis and functional assessment) to determine the function of these problem behaviors and their communicative intent. This study also demonstrates that an experimental approach such as a functional analysis can be done in a public school setting by public school personnel. Once the function is determined, treatments incorporating Functional Communication Training (FCT) can be applied to reduce these problem behaviors while increasing communication. Research has shown that FCT that replaces each function of a problem behavior will reduce problem behaviors in autistic children. Therefore, functional analysis results allow for the reduction of problem behaviors while identifying optimal situations/settings to teach language. Three male autistic students, attending a public school, were involved in the study. All subjects exhibited one or more problem behaviors that interfered with their everyday functioning at school. Initially, functional assessment data were collected via a descriptive analysis using Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (A-B-C) data. The A-B-C data were taken throughout each subject's school day in various environments. The data for each subject were graphed and analyzed by a school psychologist. Based on the results, the school psychologist developed a hypothesis for each subject regarding the function of his problem behavior. Subjects were exposed to various functional analysis conditions using a single subject multielement manipulation design based on the A-B-C data. These functional analysis sessions were conducted in each student's current public school placement. Functional analysis conditions were implemented until stable levels of problem behaviors were obtained or a clear pattern provided evidence as to the function of the problem behavior. Data from all sessions were graphed in a multiple baseline across subjects and visually assessed. Based on the data from the functional analysis, the function of the student's problem behavior was hypothesized. The experimenter, who was also a school psychologist, designed and implemented a function based treatment package to successfully reduce each student's problem behaviors. The treatment for each subject was individually designed based on that subject's functional analysis. Each treatment also incorporated a FCT component. As a result, problem behaviors were successfully reduced for each subject using functional assessment methodology by a school psychologist in a public school setting. / School Psychology

xvi, 225 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This study investigated the effectiveness of function-based academic and behavior intervention on behavior and reading improvement for five English language learners who exhibited escape-maintained problem behaviors and academic reading difficulties. The study sought to document the effect of a function-based approach on students with highly diverse cultural backgrounds in an international school in Thailand. The intervention emphasized (a) the functional behavior assessment (FBA) strategies to identify the function of the target behavior, (b) evidence-based effective reading instructional approaches, and (c) responsiveness to cultural perspectives of teachers and students. A combined single-subject research methodology documented a functional relationship between implementation of the function-based intervention and decreased problem behaviors. The findings revealed the potential to increase academic engagement and reading performance for the students by following a behavior support plan based on effective reading instruction and tasks modified to accommodate students' academic needs. The study emphasized cultural responsiveness of the intervention plan and implementation. Despite several limitations, this experimental research incorporated culture into behavior and academic support as well as into the research designs. In future application, cultural responsiveness among professionals will be a key element to ensure that future intervention support will meaningfully change the lives of students and will be sustained over time. / Adviser: Robert Homer