Prevalence of Poor Mental Health Days and Adverse Childhood Experience Reporting in U.S. Adults Before and After COVID-19.

This is the first study of US adults to examine change in the prevalence of psychological burden (i.e., self-reported poor mental health days in the past 30 days, and ACEs recollections) before compared to after COVID-19 started. We analyzed the prevalence of self-reported poor mental health days, and ACEs recollections from 17 states using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Adjusted models identified an increase in prevalence from before compared to after COVID-19 onset in those married or partnered reporting 48% more poor mental health days in the past 30 days; persons of color reporting living with anyone with mental illness during childhood by 73% and reporting more ACEs by 35%; those employed or self-employed reporting childhood sexual abuse by 45%. This ecological-level analysis revealed population-level changes in psychological well-being reporting of U.S. adults from before compared to after the pandemic onset.

Educational and Diagnostic Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Associated Characteristics.

Research continues to highlight discrepancies between clinical diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and determination of special education eligibility for services within school settings. However, limited research has been conducted on the impact of those discrepancies for the identification of appropriate services within schools. The aim of the current study is to examine students' characteristics (e.g., language, social emotional) associated with educational eligibility and clinical diagnoses. More specifically, the study examines characteristics differentially associated with ASD diagnoses to inform targeted evidence-based interventions. The study accessed data from a four-year cluster-randomized trial of 283 students with and without reported ASD diagnosis. The results of the study demonstrate that the educational eligibility of Autism did not differentiate between students with and without autism on any of the measured characteristics including language, peer and social competence, academics, and aggressive behaviors. However, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition (ADOS-2; Lord et al. in Autism diagnostic observation schedule. Western Psychological Services, Torrance, CA, 2012) classification was a more sensitive diagnostic measure for characteristics associated with autism. Implications for research, practitioners, and schools are discussed.

Teacher-rated school readiness items in a kindergarten sample: Outcomes in first grade.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a brief and feasible universal screener for kindergarten readiness for predicting follow-up outcomes in first grade. Participants included kindergarten and first-grade teachers and students from 6 urban elementary schools. Students included slightly more males than females (54%; 46%), the race/ethnicity of the students was predominantly African American (74%) or White (23%), and 36% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch. Data included in this study were collected for children in the fall (October) of their kindergarten year and the Spring (April) of their first-grade year. Kindergarten teachers completed single-item ratings of student readiness as well as full-scale ratings of student behaviors and academic competence. Students also completed a standardized academic achievement test. Main findings from this study include that the single-item screener continued to predict negative academic and social behavior outcomes at a follow-up 18 months later. The percentage of unique variance explained by the readiness items was significant and, in the majority of cases, remained significant even after the baseline variables were entered into the analyses. Children rated poor in their academic readiness were over 9-10 times as likely to have low reading performance at the end of their first-grade year. Furthermore, children rated as poor in their behavior readiness were at over 6 times greater risk for low prosocial and high disruptive behavior teacher ratings in first grade. The screener could be used to screen for children low in readiness in order to provide supports and monitoring for early intervention. Kindergarten entry is a critical time to screen children and support them in developing skills to ameliorate deficits and build essential early academic and social behavior skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The utility of single-item readiness screeners in middle school.

This study examined the benefit of utilizing one-item academic and one-item behavior readiness teacher-rated screeners at the beginning of the school year to predict end-of-school year outcomes for middle school students. The Middle School Academic and Behavior Readiness (M-ABR) screeners were developed to provide an efficient and effective way to assess readiness in students. Participants included 889 students in 62 middle school classrooms in an urban Missouri school district. Concurrent validity with the M-ABR items and other indicators of readiness in the fall were evaluated using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, with the academic readiness item having medium to strong correlations with other baseline academic indicators (r=±0.56 to 0.91) and the behavior readiness item having low to strong correlations with baseline behavior items (r=±0.20 to 0.79). Next, the predictive validity of the M-ABR items was analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions using end-of-year outcomes as the dependent variable. The academic and behavior readiness items demonstrated adequate validity for all outcomes with moderate effects (ß=±0.31 to 0.73 for academic outcomes and ß=±0.24 to 0.59 for behavioral outcomes) after controlling for baseline demographics. Even after controlling for baseline scores, the M-ABR items predicted unique variance in almost all outcome variables. Four conditional probability indices were calculated to obtain an optimal cut score, to determine ready vs. not ready, for both single-item M-ABR scales. The cut point of "fair" yielded the most acceptable values for the indices. The odd ratios (OR) of experiencing negative outcomes given a "fair" or lower readiness rating (2 or below on the M-ABR screeners) at the beginning of the year were significant and strong for all outcomes (OR=2.29 to OR=14.46), except for internalizing problems. These findings suggest promise for using single readiness items to screen for varying negative end-of-year student outcomes.

Impact of Incredible Years® on teacher perceptions of parental involvement: A latent transition analysis.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) training on teacher perceptions of parental involvement. A cluster randomized design was used to assign 42 classroom teachers to either an IY TCM training (n=19) or a control condition (n=23). Teachers rated parental involvement (i.e., bonding with teacher, parental involvement at school) for the families of 805 low income students (IY TCM=504, control=301). A latent profile transition analysis framework was used to model the effect of IY TCM on teacher perceptions of parental involvement from pre to posttest. Four profiles consisting of various patterns of high, medium, and low teacher perceptions of bonding with and involvement of parents emerged. Analyses of teacher profiles at baseline revealed teachers who felt parental involvement and bonding was low were also likely to rate students as having more externalizing behaviors, fewer social competencies, more attention deficit symptoms, and disruptive behaviors towards adults and peers compared to teachers with more adaptive profiles. Further analysis revealed that parents of teachers randomly assigned to IY TCM were more likely to transition to a more adaptive view of parental involvement at follow-up compared to teachers in the control condition. Because teacher perceptions of parental involvement may adversely impact teacher attitudes towards difficult students, findings from the present study support the promise of teacher training as an avenue for conferring protections for struggling students.

The Kindergarten Academic and Behavior Readiness Screener: The utility of single-item teacher ratings of kindergarten readiness.

The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of a brief, feasible, and cost-effective universal screener for kindergarten readiness. The study examined whether teacher ratings of kindergarteners' academic, behavioral, and overall readiness at the beginning of the year were predictive of academic, emotional, and behavioral outcomes at the end of the year. Participants included 19 kindergarten teachers and their students (n = 350) from 6 urban elementary schools; all teachers were female and the majority of children were African American (74%) or White (23%). Thirty-six percent of children qualified for free or reduced lunch. Teachers completed single-item ratings of student readiness as well as full scale ratings of student prosocial skills, disruptive behaviors, and academic competence. Students also completed a standardized academic achievement test. Independent observers rated disruptive behaviors in the classroom. Readiness items had statistically significant relations with a range of academic, emotional, and behavior indicators. Hierarchical linear regression analyses found that readiness items predicted end-of-year outcomes when controlling for baseline covariates. Items also predicted higher likelihood of negative academic and behavior categorical outcomes and demonstrated classification utility. Schools need universal screening options that are feasible and easy to implement school-wide. The screening tool presented in this study offers a viable, psychometrically strong option for school teams and professionals interested in universal screening.

Latent profile analysis of observed parenting behaviors in a clinic sample.

We examined typologies of parenting practices using latent profile analysis (LPA) in a sample of families with young children who had externalizing behavior disorders. We also examined mother and child characteristics associated with class membership using ratings from multiple informants. The sample included pooled data from five parenting treatment outcome research studies on oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and/or conduct disorder (CD) conducted throughout the past 20 years. These studies included 21 separate cohorts of children resulting in a total of 514 families. All children met diagnostic criteria for ODD or CD and 78 % were male. Parenting practices were observed by independent raters using the Dyadic Parent-child Interactive Coding System-Revised (DPICS-R). Four summary scores (i.e., total critical statements, total commands, total positive, total supportive) from the DPICS-R were used as class indictors in the LPA. Four classes best characterized the parenting practices of this clinic sample, roughly comprising a quarter of the sample each: Positive Only, Negative Only, Positive/Negative, and Neither Positive/Negative. High observed child negative behaviors, low observed child warmth, high socioeconomic status, and low academic performance distinguished the two classes with high negative behaviors (Negative Only, Positive/Negative) from the other classes. These results provide markers of the most common parenting profiles at entry into treatment programs for behavior disorders in young children. Findings have significant implications for the tailoring parenting interventions and supports to specific family needs.

Illustrating the multiple facets and levels of fidelity of implementation to a teacher classroom management intervention.

Many school-based interventions to promote student mental health rely on teachers as implementers. Thus, understanding the interplay between the multiple domains of fidelity to the intervention and intervention support systems such as coaching and teacher implementation of new skills is an important aspect of implementation science. This study describes a systematic process for assessing multiple domains of fidelity. Data from a larger efficacy trial of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) program are utilized. Data on fidelity to the IY TCM workshop training sessions and onsite weekly coaching indicate that workshop leaders and the IY TCM coach implemented the training and coaching model with adequate adherence. Further, workshop leaders' ratings of engagement were associated with teacher implementation of specific praise, following training on this content. Lastly, the IY TCM coach differentiation of teacher exposure to coaching was evaluated and found to be associated with teacher implementation of classroom management practices and student disruptive behavior.

Latent profile analysis of teacher perceptions of parent contact and comfort.

The purpose of the study was to explore patterns of parent involvement as perceived by teachers and identify correlates of these patterns. Parent involvement indicators and correlates were selected from a review of existing research. Participants included 34 teachers and 577 children in kindergarten through third grade. The vast majority of the sample was African American (78%), followed by Caucasian (19%) and other ethnic backgrounds (2%). Two subscales from the Parent Involvement-Teacher scale, contact and comfort, were entered as indicators in a latent profile analysis to determine the number and types of parent involvement classes. Contact included the frequency of interactions between parents and teachers; comfort included the quality of their relationship with the parent and how well their goals were aligned. Subsequent latent class regressions were conducted to identify student, school, and family characteristics associated with class membership. Three classes provided the optimal solution. This included two classes of parents with low contact with teachers but different comfort levels; one with low contact and low comfort (11%), and one with low contact but high comfort (71%). The remaining class, representing 18% of parents, was rated high on both contact and comfort. Low income status, family problems, and social, emotional, academic, and self-regulation problems distinguished the low comfort class from the other two classes. It is imperative to help teachers feel more comfortable working with families who may be experiencing substantial stressors and who also have children who need support across school and home settings.

Children with co-occurring academic and behavior problems in first grade: distal outcomes in twelfth grade.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the eleven year longitudinal association between students identified in first grade as having academic and behavior problems and distal outcomes in twelfth grade. The study extends prior research that identified latent classes of academic and behavior problems in a longitudinal community sample of 678 predominately African American first-grade students. The type and number of classes identified in first grade differed by gender, but results indicated that students within the classes of behavior and academic problems had long-term negative outcomes in the twelfth grade. The class with co-occurring academic and behavior problems in first grade had the greatest risk for negative distal outcomes for both boys and girls including higher likelihood of special education placement, mental health service use, poor academic achievement, and school dropout. Implications for prevention, early intervention, and current practices in schools are discussed.