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The Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3) Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Teacher Form (BESS) is a universal screening measure designed to identify social, emotional, and behavioral risks in students. A series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to examine the extent to which the developer-proposed factor model fits the BASC-3 BESS data within an elementary K-5 sample of students (N = 1472). Results suggested a higher-order factor structure, which was specified in accordance with developer recommendations, provided acceptable fit to the BASC-3 BESS data. Measurement invariance of the factor structure across student age levels was then examined via a series of multi-group CFA models. Introduction Multi-group CFA findings supported the configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the factor structure across age levels. Practical implications for educators and school psychologists interested in universal screening and directions for future research are discussed.

This study investigated the impact of a self-management intervention, known as "Check-in/Check-out" (CICO) on academic engaged time and internalizing problems of three elementary-level students identified with risk for internalizing behavior problems. A multiple baseline across three students' research design was used to examine effects of CICO on student academic engagement. Classroom teacher ratings of student anxiety, depression, somatic complaints and overall internalizing problems were collected pre- and post-intervention. Participant perceptions of the intervention when applied to students with internalizing concerns were also gathered. Visual analysis of direct observation data and single-case effect size estimates indicated positive effect for one student, questionable effect for a second student, and limited effect on academic engaged time for the third student. Post-intervention teacher ratings of student behavior showed decreases in several problem areas including anxiety, depression, and overall internalizing problems. Finally, student and parent participants generally viewed the intervention favorably and school personnel were able to implement a majority of intervention components with fidelity. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Effective classroom instructional and behavior management is essential to ensure student academic and social success. Foundational strategies such as clear expectations and routines, specific feedback, and high rates of opportunities to respond have strong empirical support, yet are often missing from educator repertoires. In this article, the authors provide a brief rationale for the inclusion of evidence-based practices accompanied with recommended resources to identify current and future practices. In addition, they also provide an overview of effective in-service educator professional development, to ensure evidence-based practices are implemented with fidelity, and recommended systemic strategies that schools and school districts can adopt to support teacher learning. Implications for teacher preparation programs also are discussed.

The use of schoolwide multitiered systems of support to address challenging social and emotional behavior has been established in >20,000 schools across the United States and 19 other countries worldwide. The systems approach of schoolwide positive behavior support is guided by implementation science and embeds evidence-based behavioral interventions across a continuum based on documented student need. The extant research base to date, including randomized controlled trials, is robust with respect to universal or Tier I interventions and supports. Less is known about the impact on students who are at high risk for manifesting a disability, as well as those currently served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The purpose of this article is to provide a rationale for, and overview of, schoolwide positive behavior support as a comprehensive framework to support children and youth with emotional/behavioral disorders and review the research to date across a continuum of supports. Research, professional development and implementation, and policy implications are discussed.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and functional analyses (FA) are grounded in the applied behavior analysis principle that posits problem behavior is functionally related to the environment in which it occurs and is maintained by either providing access to reinforcing outcomes or allowing the individual to avoid or escape that which they find aversive. Previous research has pointed to the limitations across FBA methodologies in comparison to the direct experimental trials used in FA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which hypotheses generated by common FBA strategies (i.e., interview, rating scale, and direct observation) match hypotheses generated through FA trials. Results of a multiphase descriptive study indicated that traditional school personnel with behavioral expertise were able to generate FBA hypotheses that were later confirmed by independent review and largely aligned with FA outcomes. The impact of the findings for the field and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Emotional Disturbance (ED) is one category under which a student can be evaluated and determined eligible to receive special education and related services. Students who experience ED are at greater risk for a host of negative long-term outcomes that include poor social, behavioral, and academic achievement in school, which in turn may impact graduation and postsecondary outcomes. In this article, we provide historical context and current data to highlight contemporary issues surrounding the needs and education of students with ED. Specifically, we present child-count data and descriptions of students that are currently served in the ED category. We provide information about the frequency and types of disciplinary events students with ED experience and discuss associated secondary and postsecondary outcomes. We summarize positive achievements and continued challenges within the field. Finally, derived from the ongoing unmet needs of students with and at risk for ED, we recommend (a) revision of the current Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act terminology and eligibility criteria to a more comprehensive education-based definition; (b) regular universal screening for signs of social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems; (c) use of multitiered systems of support that offer preventive interventions to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students, particularly when they first emerge; and (d) integrated delivery models that allow greater access to related services to enhance the benefits of special education for students with ED.

The use of a tiered approach provides a structured format for increasing consistency across educators to address the diversity of student needs within a school. The same logic of providing a tiered continuum of evidence-based increasingly intensive supports that is characteristic of schoolwide multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) can be adapted to individual classrooms to advance schoolwide approaches. Strategies include foundational classroom behavior management at the universal level, the Good Behavior Game (GBG) as a more intensive strategy for students who need additional instruction, practice, and reinforcement beyond the universal practices, and the use of student behavior contracts as an example classroom-based individual-level intervention.

Thousands of schools across the United States, and worldwide, implement School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). SWPBIS provides a framework whereby teams of educators engage in data-based decision making to select, implement, and monitor a continuum of behavioral supports and build sustainable systems to promote implementation fidelity among school staff. To date, a large body of research supports both the essential practices included in a SWPBIS framework as well as the larger systemic approach. Recently public policy and professional organization guidelines have outlined clear appraisal processes to review the extant literature in an effort to designate interventions as "evidence-based." This review applied both the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) standards to evaluate existing group experimental design studies of SWPBIS. Results identified five unique, group design studies conducted by four separate research teams. Four of the studies met the WWC design standards "without reservations" and findings from three of those studies were characterized as positive. Outcomes from the reviewed studies indicated that when provided with training in components of SWPBIS, school teams met minimal implementation standards. In addition, schools that met implementation criteria also saw positive changes in school climate, staff perceptions, and/or student behaviors. However, application of the CEC standards resulted with a rating of "insufficient evidence" because none of the five studies met all CEC quality indicators. These studies lacked report of implementation fidelity for the SWPBIS training provided, which was the independent variable. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

A rapidly rising number of people are engaging in family genealogical research and have purchased home-based DNA testing kits due to increased access to online resources and consumer products. The purpose of this systematic scoping review is to identify and elucidate the motivations (i.e., pathways, reasons for conducting family history research) and the consequences (i.e., psychosocial impacts) of participating in this activity by amateur (unpaid) family genealogists. Studies published from January 2000 to June 2023 were included in our review, using the PRISMA methodology outlined by the Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) Reviewer Manual. A total of 1986 studies were identified using selected keywords and electronic databases. A full-text review was conducted of 73 studies, 26 of which met our eligibility criteria. The multiple dominant themes that emerged from the data analysis are organized into five categories: (1) the motivations for practicing family history research, (2) emotional responses to family secrets and previously unknown truths, (3) impacts on relationship with the family of origin and other relatives, (4) impacts on personal identity (including ethnic/racialized and family/social), and (5) identity exploration and reconstruction. Finally, these themes are connected to broader theoretical/conceptual linkages, and further, an agenda for future research inquiry is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students requiring Tier 2 behavioral supports frequently display behavioral deficits in multiple domains (e.g., emotional symptoms and peer problems). The Tier 2 framework developed by McDaniel, Bruhn, & Mitchell (2015a) is a responsive structure for identifying and intervening at Tier 2. This process is described with a practical case example of a student with multiple areas of risk. Stacking Tier 2 behavioral interventions for students who score in the "abnormal" range in multiple areas on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is described. A description of this process for delivering Tier 2 supports and the results from the case example are presented.