Adolescents with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience impairment in academic functioning in the school and home environment. Because of this, many school- and clinic-based interventions have been developed to target these problems. Initially, clinic-based interventions were mainly used; however, these interventions were associated with many barriers to care, such as lack of transportation, financial resources, and time. Therefore, school-based interventions were developed to address these barriers. However, there has been minimal research evaluating the role of social determinants of health on the efficacy of school-based interventions. In a sample of 222 adolescents with ADHD randomly assigned to receive either a skills-based treatment or contingency management-based treatment, the present study explored the overall and differential impact of social determinants of health, namely income, maternal education, single parent status, and race, on intervention efficacy. Findings revealed a main effect of single parent status, race, and income on school grades and parent and teacher ratings of academic functioning, but no differential effects of these social determinants of health. Further, this study found that social determinants of health matter for school-based interventions and should be acknowledged as integral parts of improving and maintaining the quality of treatment for adolescents with ADHD.

School counsellors are individuals with specialized training in social-emotional support for children and adolescents. In fact, school counsellors are the front-line school personnel who recognize and respond to various student mental health concerns. Despite the important role of school counsellors, there is little research that explores the experiences and perceptions of school counsellors who support students with mental health concerns. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, this study is based on a set of interviews conducted with four school counsellors who work with students ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. School counsellors were interviewed individually and asked about their views, experiences, approaches, outcomes, and challenges in relation to supporting students with mental health concerns. Data analysis explored the lived experience and essential themes of school counsellors working as mental health professionals.

No description available.

No description available.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disorders in childhood<br />with reported rates as high as 41.2% (Cartwright-Hatton, McNicol, & Doubleday, 2006; Cooley,<br />Boyd, & Grados, 2004). A majority of the anxiety intervention programs target children who are<br />7 years of age and older. Yet, many anxiety disorders develop in the preschool years (APA,<br />2000). Therefore, it seems desirable to work with young children who display early signs of<br />anxiety to provide them with skills that would protect them from later full-blown<br />psychopathology. Early intervention and prevention programs may be effective ways to modify<br />the developmental trajectory of anxiety disorders.<br /><br />The present research reports findings from an anxiety prevention program for 4-7 year<br />olds. One hundred and ten children from two schools in a rural part of Southwest Virginia<br />participated. Fifty-seven children from one school received a classroom-based prevention<br />program on a weekly basis over 20 weeks. Fifty-three children from a second school served as a control group. The mean age of the sample was 5.11 years. Results suggested that anxiety was  positively correlated with emotional symptoms (r = .67, p<.001), peer difficulties (r = .21,p<.05), and total difficulties (r =.29, p<.03) on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for all children. Overall, there were significant decreases in anxiety symptoms from pre to follow-up for both groups of children [F (1, 105) = 7.79, p =.006]. Unexpectedly, anxiety symptoms increased from pre to post for children in the intervention school whereas they decreased for children in the control school. Although these findings are reversed of what was expected, these results may have important implications concerning the importance of providing anxiety education and awareness for teachers. Implications of the current findings, limitations of the study, and directions for future research and dissemination are discussed. / Ph. D.

Youth living in the United States are experiencing increasing rates of mental health issues (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; U.S. Department of Education, 2006) and are less likely to receive mental health services (U.S.DHHS, 2009). Children and adolescent mental health services are fragmented, often times ineffective, and difficult to obtain (Brown, 2006; Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2008; Jacob, 2008). Children of color and children living in poverty (ASCA, 2009; Panigua, 2005; Shavers, 2013; and Vera, Buhin, & Shin, 2006), are more likely than their peers to experience mental health disorders and less likely to receive outside mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,1999; U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, 2001). Professional school counselors, play a significant role in identifying, meeting and connecting students in need of additional mental health services (ASCA, 2012; Jacob, 2008) and are advised to collaborate with community agencies to better meet the mental health needs of all their students (ASCA, 2009; ASCA, 2012). If left untreated, mental health issues can have a direct impact on students’ learning and academic performance (Adelman & Taylor, 2006). In response, there have been many recent initiatives to promote mental health in schools, including H.R. 628: Mental Health in Schools Act currently being considered by a United States congressional committee. School-based mental health counseling programs (SBMHCPs) have been implemented to address the fragmented mental health delivery system for children and adolescents needing mental health services (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2003; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; & Surgeon General Report on Mental Health, 1999). There is limited research about SBMHCPs from the perspective of those who have been addressing the mental health needs of students for decades—professional school counselors and professional school counselor educators. This qualitative study examined professional school counselors’ and counselor educators’ experiences working collaboratively with school-based mental health counselors. Seventeen school counselors (n=17) and five (n=5) counselor educators participated in a structured online questionnaire. Phenomenological data analysis methods were used to analyze the results (Hays & Woods, 2011; Moustakas, 1994). Results describe professional school counselor and counselor educator’s perceptions about school-based mental health programs, the roles of professional school counselors and school-based mental health counselors, training recommendations, and funding issues related to school-based mental health programs.

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No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between school-based mental health services and academic achievement. The study focused on (N=38) students in elementary and middle school, who participated in services from the 2012-2013 school year. The test scores before and after they received services were gathered from an existing database to determine how effective school-based mental health services were. The results indicated there was not a significant difference in measures of academic achievement before and after school-based mental health services. However, results demonstrated a positive relationship between test scores before and after school-based mental health services. Limitations to study, such as the sample size, are also discussed.

As part of a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of support for students’ emotional, academic, and behavioral success, effective universal screenings are essential to identify students who may benefit from early intervention and targeted prevention services (Strein, Kuhn-McKearin, & Finney, 2014). Although many screening procedures and methods have been developed and evaluated for general education populations, more research is needed on screening procedures designed for one traditionally underserved population in school-based mental health services—students in accelerated curricula (namely, students in Advanced Placement classes or in the International Baccalaureate program; AP/IB). When teachers are involved in universal screening procedures, regardless of student population served, training strategies to improve teacher accuracy in identifying students at-risk have resulted in gains in teacher knowledge of mental health disorders, but not improvements in accuracy (Deacon, 2015; Moor et al., 2007; Veira et al., 2014). This study examined prevalence of academic and emotional risk among 352 9th grade AP/IB students (enrolled in AP Human Geography or IB Inquiry Skills) in seven schools. Within a subgroup of 245 students (from five schools) who also participated in a teacher nomination procedure, this study also examined the accuracy of teachers (N = 6) in identifying the students who demonstrate signs of risk academically (defined by low grade in class or overall GPA) or emotionally (defined by high levels of perceived stress and low school satisfaction). Almost one in four students (24.17%) were designated as at-risk academically for either low course grades or GPA, and almost one in three students in the sample (28.88%) met at-risk criteria for emotional risk for either low school satisfaction or high perceived stress. In terms of teacher accuracy, teachers were found to have a high sensitivity and specificity identifying students with academic risk (90% sensitivity and 90.32% specificity across all 6 teachers). Mirroring previous research, teacher accuracy identifying students at-risk emotionally was lower (42.42% sensitivity and 76.14% specificity across all 6 teachers). The study also explored patterns in at-risk students missed by teachers, based on student characteristics such as gender, race, socio-economic status, risk severity, and risk type. Due to a low sample size of teachers, analyses were unable to detect differences in the rate of students missed across different student variables. Finally, the study advanced and evaluated the effects of a brief teacher training and feedback intervention intended to increase accuracy in identifying students at-risk. Low sample sizes again precluded identification of meaningful statistical differences. Although statistical findings were limited, quantitative and qualitative acceptability measures indicated high participant acceptability and feasibility for the new intervention. Conclusions from the study may be used within a population-based framework of student mental health services, to best inform early identification methods of students in accelerated curricula at-risk for diminished academic and emotional success, and working with teachers in screening efforts. Further, future research points to continued need to evaluate the brief teacher intervention with larger sample sizes to evaluate any possible intervention effects.