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Research suggests that a modular approach to treatment and training may be a promising method for promoting evidence-based practices (EBPs). Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the effects of training on specific technique implementation are affected by therapist and youth factors as well as the type of problem area addressed during training. The current study expanded these findings by examining the extent to which youths' clinical progress improved as a result of therapists' attendance at modular workshop trainings. Longitudinal, archival data from community mental health providers (n = 48) who participated in a series of anxiety and/or disruptive behavior workshops in modular approaches to EBPs for youth were examined using cross-classified multilevel modeling. Results indicated that youths' month in treatment and therapists' practice behaviors following their training significantly and positively influenced clinical progress. However, only therapists who attended a disruptive behavior training reported greater rates of improved youth treatment progress. Therapists' knowledge of the trained techniques was not a significant moderator of outcomes. Results suggest that therapists may require differential training and implementation supports that vary as function of problem area to positively enhance youth outcomes. Limitations and implications for EBP dissemination and implementation are discussed.

The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-Parent Version (RCADS-P) is a parent-report questionnaire of youth anxiety and depression with scales corresponding to the DSM diagnoses of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and major depressive disorder. The RCADS-P was recently developed and has previously demonstrated strong psychometric properties in a clinic-referred sample (Ebesutani et al., Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 38, 249-260, 2010b). The present study examined the psychometric properties of the RCADS-P in a school-based population. As completed by parents of 967 children and adolescents, the RCADS-P demonstrated high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good convergent/divergent validity, supporting the RCADS-P as a measure of internalizing problems specific to depression and five anxiety disorders in school samples. Normative data are also reported to allow for the derivation of T-scores to enhance clinicians' ability to make classification decisions using RCADS-P subscale scores.

This study used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methodology and discriminative analyses to examine the correspondence of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) rationally-derived DSM-oriented scales and empirically-derived syndrome scales with clinical diagnoses in a clinic-referred sample of children and adolescents (N = 476). Although results demonstrated that the CBCL Anxiety, Affective, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional and Conduct Problems DSM-oriented scales corresponded significantly with related clinical diagnoses derived from parent-based structured interviews, these DSM-oriented scales did not evidence significantly greater correspondence with clinical diagnoses than the syndrome scales in all cases but one. The DSM-oriented Anxiety Problems scale was the only scale that evidenced significantly greater correspondence with diagnoses above its syndrome scale counterpart —the Anxious/Depressed scale. The recently developed and rationally-derived DSM-oriented scales thus generally do not add incremental clinical utility above that already afforded by the syndrome scales with respect to corresponding with diagnoses. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale—Parent Version (RCADS-P) is a 47-item parent-report questionnaire of youth anxiety and depression, with scales corresponding to the DSM-IV categories of Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The RCADS-P is currently the only parent-report questionnaire that concurrently assesses youth symptomatology of individual anxiety disorders as well as depression in accordance with DSM-IV nosology. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the RCADS-P in a large (N = 490), clinic-referred sample of youths. The RCADS-P demonstrated favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency, convergent/divergent validity, as well as strong discriminant validity—evidencing an ability to discriminate between anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as between the targeted anxiety disorders. Support for the DSM-related six-factor RCADS-P structure was also evidenced. This structure demonstrated superior fit to a recently suggested alternative to the DSM-IV classification of anxiety and affective disorders—namely, the MDD/GAD “distress” factor.

Distillation methodology as applied to youth mental health evidence-based approaches has allowed for identifying technique commonalities across hundreds of protocols and programs. In distillation methodology, "practice elements" refer to discrete clinical strategies (e.g. time out, relaxation) that are used as part of a larger intervention plan, such as a manualized treatment program. Assessments that measure children's use of practice elements derived from the evidence-base exist, but typically target single areas and do not provide comprehensive simultaneous screening across numerous practice elements. The Social-Emotional Evidence-Based Developmental Strengths (SEEDS) is a new assessment tool, which provides broad screening across numerous important practice element domains. The SEEDS has demonstrated various forms of reliability and validity, but only with a Korean language version with Korean samples of children and adolescents. The current study examined the extent to which the SEEDS was able to perform as a reliable and valid measure with an ethnically diverse U.S. sample of fourth through sixth graders (N = 402, mean age = 10.63, SD =.86). Confirmatory factor analyses pointed to a three higher-order factor with both 13- and 12-lower-order factor structure fitting the data. Collectively across all subscales, scales, and the Total score, internal consistency reliabilities mostly fell in the acceptable to excellent ranges. Additionally, all of the convergence patterns between the SEEDS first- and higher-order subscales, scales, and the Total score with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscales and Total score were significantly correlated in the expected directions. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether clinical progress ratings on the Monthly Treatment and Progress Summary form (MTPS), an idiographic treatment progress measure, were meaningfully related to changes measured by two separate standardized instruments; the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) and the Child and Adolescent Level of Care Utilization System (CALOCUS). Validity coefficients were examined at intake and three-, six-, and nine-month follow-up periods. Samples were selected for each measure and follow-up period from the population of youth receiving services through the Hawaii Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division's (CAMHD) system of care. Significant youth improvement was evident on all three measures across all follow-up intervals. The type of changes measured by the MTPS and CAFAS were more alike over longer follow-up intervals than changes measured by the CALOCUS. The MTPS captures distinct aspects of client change that overlaps somewhat with CAFAS and CALOCUS measures. The MTPS is a brief client-tailored measure that seems to provide valid, sensitive, and nonredundant client specific treatment outcome information that can be collected on a frequent basis within a complex system of care.

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a modularized treatment of a specific fear of water for a 14-year-old youth with childhood onset schizophrenia using a multiple-baseline across behaviors design. Treatment included gradual exposure to a hierarchy of feared water-related situations with rewards for successful approximations ranging from looking at water to swimming in a pool. Both parent and youth fear ratings, as well as behavioral observation, were used to monitor treatment progress over the course of 22 weeks. Consistent and repeated exposure successfully reduced fear and avoidance of the swimming pool over time.

Validity and parent-child agreement of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children-Parent Report (SPAI-C-P) were examined in a racially diverse sample of 158 students in Grades 5 through 8 (87 girls; ages 10 to 14; M = 11.53) and their caregivers. Children completed the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), and caregivers completed the SPAI-C-P and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The SPAI-C-P demonstrated good internal consistency and was significantly correlated with child self-reported social anxiety. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a 3-factor model over a 5-factor model, and concurrent validity was evidenced. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

A complementary approach for increasing the uptake of evidence-based services (EBS) is to focus on consumers, particularly parents within the context of youth mental health service delivery. In addition to recent direct-to-consumer parent research about EBS, advancing our measurement of parental perceptions might also benefit the field. The present study psychometrically examines the Parent Engagement in Evidence-Based Services (PEEBS). The PEEBS is a parent-report questionnaire, rooted in the theory of planned behavior, previously developed through a mixed-method content validation process for assessing parental beliefs and behavioral intentions for utilizing EBS. With a sample of 351 ethnically diverse parents drawn from several settings, with varying treatment experiences, exploratory factor analysis identified five factors: Evidence-Informed Action, Perceived Behavioral Control, Subjective Norms, Perceived Treatment Barriers, and Knowledge. The PEEBS factors showed acceptable to good internal consistencies and demonstrated expected correlations with conceptually relevant scales of family empowerment, help-seeking attitudes and intentions, and stigmatization about general youth mental health services. It is hoped that these findings may be used in concert with larger quality improvement efforts centered around supporting consumer awareness and demand for youth EBS. Public Significance Statement: Results from this article suggest that the Parent Engagement in Evidence-Based Services (PEEBS) may be a reliable and valid parent-report measure, rooted in the theory of planned behavior, for assessing parent consumers' intentions for engaging in youth evidence-based services (EBS). Given the large and perennial public mental health need for improving youth services, the PEEBS and measures like it may be crucial for forthcoming EBS dissemination and implementation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modal public sector in-service provider trainings tend to inadequately prepare therapists for effective evidence-based practice (EBP) delivery. To address this issue, some dissemination and implementation efforts have slowly turned to investigating and potentially improving preservice training, as doing so may provide a venue for ongoing training and competency evaluation. This investigation aimed to further study the psychometric properties of the Practice Element Response Form (PERForm), a vignette-prompted, open-ended response measure of procedural knowledge in specific EBP components, and a potential resource for clinical training programs considering modular approaches to treatment. A total of 67 clinical psychology doctoral students from three different institutions were administered the PERForm before and after participating in an in-class training on the practice elements of exposure and/or problem-solving. Results indicated good to excellent interrater reliabilities for the PERForm as well as some evidence supporting the measure's sensitivity to instruction. Additionally, this was the first study to attempt to explore the relationships between students' background characteristics and their procedural knowledge in the graduate school setting. Students' year in the program, number of semesters in practicum, and group supervision hours per week were found to be associated with PERForm score changes, although these variables did not significantly predict procedural knowledge after controlling for the effect of cohort. While this investigation's main purpose was to analyze the psychometric properties of the PERForm in a graduate school setting, the results of this study may have the potential to inform implementation and dissemination efforts in other aspects of therapist training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]