While functional analysis provides the standard methodology for the assessment of problem behavior, procedures still pose potential risk when assessing severe problem behavior. Previous studies have examined several strategies to improve the efficiency of and reduce risks related to the functional analysis process. The purpose of the present series of studies was to replicate and extend previous research on the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior for one participant diagnosed with an intellectual disability. By incorporating strategies within a systematic decision-making framework, functional analysis procedures were implemented to conduct the assessment of precursors, determine maintaining contingencies for severe problem behavior, and evaluate the effects of a treatment based on the results of a functional analysis.

No description available.

The presence of challenging and violent behaviors that pose risks to the overall safety and the educational learning experience in the public education setting have been on the rise in recent years. Traditional reactive, coercive, and punitive measures to address these behaviors have been futile. Congress responded to the national increase in violent behaviors by implementing several acts, including zero tolerance policies, in an effort to diminish the rise in violent behaviors. Of significance to this study was the inclusion of Functional Behavior Assessment in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. Unfortunately, FBA has the least legal grounding of all the disciplinary provisions of IDEA and has been questioned by experts in the field if sufficient empirical support exists for the generalization of the technology to all students and whether or not school personnel have the skills required to conduct FBA with integrity (Drasgow, Yell, Bradley, & Shriner 1999; Quinn, 2000; Scott et al., 2005; Skiba, 2002). The purpose of this research study was to obtain and analyze information regarding the perceptions of special education teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia on the use of Functional Behavior Assessment with students with high incidence disabilities in public schools. A nonexperimental survey design using an online self-report survey was conducted with special education teachers in the eight superintendent regions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study examined the behaviors that most frequently prompt a FBA, if a relationship exists between the type and frequency of training and the perceived effectiveness of FBA, the relationship between teacher attributes of beliefs and self-efficacy and the overall perceived effectiveness of FBA, and how teachers perceive the overall FBA/BIP process in public schools. The survey was distributed electronically to special education teachers through the office of the special education director in each of the 132 school divisions in Virginia. A total of 373 special education teachers responded to the survey. Respondents perceive the extent to which FBA contributes to the effectiveness of interventions that reduce challenging behaviors of students and the effectiveness of current FBA methods in increasing positive replacement behaviors and improving learning/academic achievement in public schools moderately effective. Congruent with the literature, special education teachers reported that chronic problem behaviors and physically aggressive behaviors were most likely to prompt an FBA. Respondents indicated their knowledge base, training experiences, and background in FBA. Overall, the majority of special education teachers reported that the training that they have received in FBA was moderately to very effective. Respondents indicated that further training in all areas of FBA was needed using a dynamic team based process with post training support. The most frequently reported area of FBA that requires more training was developing function-based interventions while the least reported area of need was developing hypotheses about the functions of the behavior. Teacher beliefs and self-efficacy were examined to determine if these attributes predict a special educator’s perceived effectiveness of FBA. High levels of teacher self-efficacy were associated with increased views of perceived effectiveness of FBA in public schools. Two belief items were found to correlate with the perceived effectiveness of FBA. The results of this study have important implications for personnel development and training for future and current special educators as well as information that can be applied to the exploration of a standardized process for conducting FBA in public schools in Virginia.

O presente estudo é parte do Projeto Enurese, um estudo multidisciplinar conduzido no ICr - HCFMUSP, no Departamento de Fisioterapia Fonoaudiologia e Terapia ocupacional USP e no Instituto de Psicologia USP, CAPPesq nº.0649/10 e FAPESP nº. 2011/17589-1; que teve como objetivo geral avaliar a resposta terapêutica de pacientes com enurese noturna monossintomática (ENM) de 6 a 16 anos a três diferentes modalidades de tratamento: alarme, desmopressina; tratamento combinado de DDAVP+alarme; O presente trabalho tem como objetivo geral avaliar, pré e pós intervenção, os escores de problemas de comportamento, avaliados pelo questionário CBCL/6-18, e dos índices de qualidade de vida, avaliados pelo PedsQL (TM) 4.0. A coorte é composta por cinquenta e nove (59) crianças e adolescentes de 6 a 16 anos, que foram randomizados aos três grupos terapêuticos: vinte e um (21) participantes receberam o tratamento conjunto de alarme com o medicamento desmopressina (DDAVP), vinte (20) participantes receberam o tratamento apenas com o alarme e dezoito (18) receberam o tratamento apenas com desmopressina. Todos os indivíduos participaram do mesmo procedimento inicial, ou seja, triagem médica, e preenchimento dos instrumentos necessários (CBCL/6-18; PedsQL (TM) 4.0 e Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido); ao fim do tratamento, os participantes preencheram novamente o CBCL/6-18 e PedsQL(TM) 4.0, O cálculo do poder estatístico foi de (1-beta) = 0,967 com probabilidade de erro a (alfa) estabelecido em 0,05. A análise de dados foi realizada através do teste T de Student pareado, o teste de Wilcoxon e ANOVA: fator único em caso de variáveis não paramétricas. Para analisar correlações foi utilizado o coeficiente de correlação de Pearson por se tratarem de dados paramétricos. Os resultados demonstraram melhora da qualidade de vida e diminuição dos problemas de comportamento pós intervenção, nas três modalidades propostas, para os pacientes que responderam com sucesso às intervenções / The present study is part of the Enuresis Project, a multidisciplinary study conducted at ICr - HCFMUSP, at the Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy USP and at the Institute of Psychology USP, CAPPesq nº 0649/10 and FAPESP nº. 2011 / 17589-1;which aimed to evaluate the therapeutic response of patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE ) from 6 to 16 years to three different treatment modalities: Alarm, Desmopressin(DDAVP); combined treatment DDAVP + alarm; The present study aims to evaluate, before and after intervention, the scores of behavioral problems according to the CBCL / 6-18 questionnaire and the quality of life indices assessed by PedsQL (TM) 4.0. The cohort is composed of fifty-nine (59) children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years, who were randomized to the three therapeutic groups: twenty-one (21) participants received the combined alarm treatment with the drug desmopressin (DDAVP), twenty (20) participants received the treatment only with the alarm and eighteen (18) were treated with desmopressin alone. All subjects participated in the same initial procedure, ie, medical screening, and filling in the necessary instruments (CBCL / 6-18, PedsQL (TM) 4.0 after Informed Consent Form signature. At the end of the treatment, participants completed again the CBCL / 6-18 and PedsQL (TM) 4.0 questionnaires. The statistical power calculation was (1-beta) = 0.967 with probability of error ? (alpha) set at 0.05. The data analysis was performed by paired Student\'s t test, the Wilcoxon test and ANOVA: single factor in case of non-parametric variables. Pearson\'s correlation coefficient was used to analyze correlations as they were parametric data. The results showed an improvement in the quality of life and a reduction in post-intervention behavior problems in the three proposed therapeutic modalities , for the patients who responded successfully to the interventions

O presente estudo é parte do Projeto Enurese, um estudo multidisciplinar conduzido no ICr - HCFMUSP, no Departamento de Fisioterapia Fonoaudiologia e Terapia ocupacional USP e no Instituto de Psicologia USP, CAPPesq nº.0649/10 e FAPESP nº. 2011/17589-1; que teve como objetivo geral avaliar a resposta terapêutica de pacientes com enurese noturna monossintomática (ENM) de 6 a 16 anos a três diferentes modalidades de tratamento: alarme, desmopressina; tratamento combinado de DDAVP+alarme; O presente trabalho tem como objetivo geral avaliar, pré e pós intervenção, os escores de problemas de comportamento, avaliados pelo questionário CBCL/6-18, e dos índices de qualidade de vida, avaliados pelo PedsQL (TM) 4.0. A coorte é composta por cinquenta e nove (59) crianças e adolescentes de 6 a 16 anos, que foram randomizados aos três grupos terapêuticos: vinte e um (21) participantes receberam o tratamento conjunto de alarme com o medicamento desmopressina (DDAVP), vinte (20) participantes receberam o tratamento apenas com o alarme e dezoito (18) receberam o tratamento apenas com desmopressina. Todos os indivíduos participaram do mesmo procedimento inicial, ou seja, triagem médica, e preenchimento dos instrumentos necessários (CBCL/6-18; PedsQL (TM) 4.0 e Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido); ao fim do tratamento, os participantes preencheram novamente o CBCL/6-18 e PedsQL(TM) 4.0, O cálculo do poder estatístico foi de (1-beta) = 0,967 com probabilidade de erro a (alfa) estabelecido em 0,05. A análise de dados foi realizada através do teste T de Student pareado, o teste de Wilcoxon e ANOVA: fator único em caso de variáveis não paramétricas. Para analisar correlações foi utilizado o coeficiente de correlação de Pearson por se tratarem de dados paramétricos. Os resultados demonstraram melhora da qualidade de vida e diminuição dos problemas de comportamento pós intervenção, nas três modalidades propostas, para os pacientes que responderam com sucesso às intervenções / The present study is part of the Enuresis Project, a multidisciplinary study conducted at ICr - HCFMUSP, at the Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy USP and at the Institute of Psychology USP, CAPPesq nº 0649/10 and FAPESP nº. 2011 / 17589-1;which aimed to evaluate the therapeutic response of patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE ) from 6 to 16 years to three different treatment modalities: Alarm, Desmopressin(DDAVP); combined treatment DDAVP + alarm; The present study aims to evaluate, before and after intervention, the scores of behavioral problems according to the CBCL / 6-18 questionnaire and the quality of life indices assessed by PedsQL (TM) 4.0. The cohort is composed of fifty-nine (59) children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years, who were randomized to the three therapeutic groups: twenty-one (21) participants received the combined alarm treatment with the drug desmopressin (DDAVP), twenty (20) participants received the treatment only with the alarm and eighteen (18) were treated with desmopressin alone. All subjects participated in the same initial procedure, ie, medical screening, and filling in the necessary instruments (CBCL / 6-18, PedsQL (TM) 4.0 after Informed Consent Form signature. At the end of the treatment, participants completed again the CBCL / 6-18 and PedsQL (TM) 4.0 questionnaires. The statistical power calculation was (1-beta) = 0.967 with probability of error ? (alpha) set at 0.05. The data analysis was performed by paired Student\'s t test, the Wilcoxon test and ANOVA: single factor in case of non-parametric variables. Pearson\'s correlation coefficient was used to analyze correlations as they were parametric data. The results showed an improvement in the quality of life and a reduction in post-intervention behavior problems in the three proposed therapeutic modalities , for the patients who responded successfully to the interventions

Delinquent behavior is often a consequence of complex interactions between social contexts. In this study, we examined if the quality of relationships with mothers or fathers and relationships with delinquent peers predicted change in adolescents’ delinquent behavior. We used a sample of 2024 Swedish adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years (M = 14.8, SD = .71). We analyzed the data using hierarchical regressions, testing interactions intended to determine if the relationships with peers moderated the association of peers’ delinquent behavior with changes in adolescents’ own delinquent behavior. We further tested if this interaction was moderated by the quality of relationships with parents. The results suggested that association with delinquent peers was moderated by the quality of the relationship with peers. We did not find, however, evidence that the relationships with mothers or fathers predicted change in delinquent behavior or moderated the association of peer variables with delinquent behavior. While having delinquent peers matters for predicting delinquent behavior, when the relationships are high-quality relationships there is a greater increase in delinquent behavior than when the relationships are lower quality. The results of this study have implications for practice and further research on delinquent behavior, particularly for creating and improving prevention and intervention programs. / Delinquent beteende är ofta en konsekvens av komplexa interaktioner mellan sociala sammanhang. I denna studie undersökte vi om kvaliteten på relationerna med mödrar eller fäder och relationer med brottsliga kamrater förutspådde förändring av ungdomars brottsliga beteende. Vi använde ett urval av 2024 svenska ungdomar mellan 13 och 18 år (M = 14.8, SD = .71). Vi analyserade datan genom att använda hierarkiska regressioner, testande interaktioner som avsåg att avgöra om relationerna med kamrater modererade associeringen av kamraternas brottsliga beteenden med förändring av ungdomars egna brottsliga beteende. Vi testade fortsättningsvis om denna interaktion var modererad av kvaliteten på relationerna med föräldrarna. Resultaten föreslår att association med delinquenta kamrater modererades av kvaliteten på relationen med kamrater. Vi hittade emellertid inte bevis för att relationerna med mödrar eller fäder förutspådde förändring i delinquent beteende eller modererade associeringen av kompisars variabler med delinquent beteende. Relationen med delinquenta kamrater är betydelsefull för att förutsäga delinquent beteende, där högkvalitativa relationer modererade en kraftigare ökning av delinquent beteende än de relationer som var lågkvalitativa. Resultaten av denna studie har implikationer för praktik och vidare forskning i brottsligt beteende, särskilt för att skapa och förbättra prevention och interventionsprogram.

The theoretical part of the thesis outlines the most important published aspects, which are involved in the development of problem behavior (misbehavior), and present different strategies, how to prevent or manage these situations. The empirical part describes all factors which can cause the problem behavior and depicts how teachers deal with such a behavior. In the research conducted at five secondary vocational schools, in nine classes, was used a method of video analysis of behavior (observation), an interview with teachers and a questionnaire for students. The research confirmed that there are many variables affecting the elimination of misbehavior - teacher's personality, her/his experiences, teaching methods, a subject, a composition and arrangement of a class, a number of students in a class. Respect, authority but also a positive attitude to a student is required in a relation between a student and a teacher. Communication between teachers and students should be clear and should have defined and adhered rules. As the fastest and the most effective strategy of managing misbehavior appears a non- verbal communication. From verbal strategies it is tactical to express teacher's attitudes and feelings to problematic student's behavior, to explain students, why they cannot behave that way, and to...

In recent years, tightening budgets have forced school districts to find new ways to save money. One way that has become increasingly popular is to shorten the traditional five-day school week to only four-days a week. This change is budget friendly and may act through efficiency wage theory as a recruitment tool for better teachers. Despite the increasing prevalence of districts running on four-day weeks, many of the effects of the shorter week on students are still unclear. Utilizing district-level panel data from the Colorado Department of Education, Study One took a difference-in-differences approach to determine the effect of the implementation of the four-day week on various delinquency measures, including suspensions, expulsions, and juvenile arrest rates. No significant results were found with robust standard errors, but trends suggested that juvenile crime may be increasing while school related incidents may be decreasing in areas with four-day school weeks. To offset these trends, this paper also proposes a second study aimed at investigating the effects of different types of fifth-day programs on adolescent well-being, academic achievement, and problem behaviors. Schools using the four-day week that agree to participate will be randomly assigned to receive either a career-prep program, an academic program, a recreational program, a social skills/mentoring program, or no program at all. Students (N=XXX) will fill out a survey at the beginning and at the end of the program or school year, reporting their subjective well-being and recent engagement in problem behaviors. It is expected that students who participate in the social skills/mentoring program will show the highest levels of well-being and little engagement in problem behaviors. This study will help to advance the research on after school programming, particularly in rural environments.

Understanding the development of adolescent sexual risk behavior is complicated by the co-occurrence of sexual risk with substance use and delinquency, conceptualized as “problem behavior syndrome,” with common causes and influences underlying all three problem behaviors (Jessor & Jessor, 1977). Explaining the development of sexual risk becomes even more complex given the changing patterns of adaptation and maladaptation over the course of adolescence (Sroufe & Rutter, 1984). Research also suggests that multiple pathways may forecast adolescent engagement in sexual risk behavior, underscoring the ideas of equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology (Cicchetti & Rogosh, 1996). To understand the diverse nature of sexual risk taking, researchers must identify these pathways and disentangle co-occurring problem behaviors from sexual risk. Revealing the course of sexual risk taking and the early risk and protective processes through which problem behavior develops allows researchers to identify the developmental periods that would be most amenable to intervention efforts (Rolf et al., 1990). Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), this study aimed to disentangle problem behavior syndrome by identifying the unique developmental pathways of adolescent sexual risk, alcohol use and delinquency. This study also investigated how early adolescent processes of risk and protection were associated with the growth of these risk behaviors during adolescence. Using a developmental psychopathology and resilience framework, risk trajectories were measured with adolescents aged 15 to 24, and antecedents were measured with early adolescents ages 10 to 14 (N= 1778). Using Latent Class Growth Analyses (LCGA), joint trajectory analyses revealed five distinct adolescent risk taking groups: high sex and alcohol, moderate problem behavior, problem behavior, alcohol-only, and alcohol and delinquency experimentation. Early adolescent externalizing problems were particularly important in understanding adolescent risk group membership. The co-occurrence between sexual risk and alcohol use, the diversity of problem behavior syndrome, and potential intervention and prevention efforts are discussed.

Schools are facing an increasing pressure to deal effectively with students' problem behaviors in the school environment. Research suggests that Behavior Monitoring Programs (BMPs) are effective and efficient secondary interventions to use in remedying problem behavior in the classroom and are acceptable to teachers, parents, and students. Most of the research on BMPs has been conducted at the elementary school level. The current study investigated the effectiveness of a BMP within a school-wide system of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) with three suburban high school students. Problem behaviors for each student were targeted based upon previous office discipline referral data (ODR) and teacher comments, and three behavioral goals were made for students based upon these findings, along with teacher input. Effectiveness of the intervention was measured by the increase in teacher's behavioral ratings on the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC). Furthermore, teachers, parents and students rated the intervention's effectiveness via a five-item intervention acceptability questionnaire. Results of the study suggest that the BMP intervention is both effective and acceptable for use with secondary students. All students experienced an increase in behavioral ratings on the DBRC during intervention. Across all students and all behaviors, the intervention resulted in an overall mean improvement of 63% in problem behaviors in the classroom. Average effect sizes were large while probability levels were low. Furthermore, all teachers, parents, and students rated the intervention as being acceptable. The average rating that all parents gave for all five items (on a 6 point scale with higher numbers indicating greater acceptability) was 5.2, while the average for students was 4.3. The student's teachers together rated all five items as 4.8.