Publications

Research predicting academic achievement from early academic, attention and socioemotional skills has largely focused on elementary school outcomes and rarely included peer assessments of social competence. We examined associations between these early child characteristics and academic outcomes into young adulthood using the Fast Track normative sample (n=386). Reading achievement after fifth grade was significantly higher in children with better early reading skills and significantly lower in children with early attention difficulties. Math achievement was predicted by early reading and math skills while school grades were significantly lower in children with lower peer acceptance and higher attention difficulties. Children with early attention difficulties were 40% less likely to graduate from high school. Years of education by young adulthood was significantly reduced in children with lower early reading skills, lower social acceptance, and higher attention difficulties; these early child characteristics affected long-term academic outcomes indirectly through their impact on intermediate academic outcomes.

We conducted a developmental analysis of genetic moderation of the effect of the Fast Track intervention on adult externalizing psychopathology. The Fast Track intervention enrolled 891 children at high risk to develop externalizing behavior problems when they were in kindergarten. Half of the enrolled children were randomly assigned to receive 10 years of treatment, with a range of services and resources provided to the children and their families, and the other half to usual care (controls). We previously showed that the effect of the Fast Track intervention on participants' risk of externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years was moderated by a variant in the glucocorticoid receptor gene. Children who carried copies of the A allele of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 had the highest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the control arm of the trial and the lowest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the treatment arm. In this study, we test a developmental hypothesis about the origins of this for better and for worse Gene Intervention interaction (GI): that the observed GI effect on adult psychopathology is mediated by the proximal impact of intervention on childhood externalizing problems and adolescent substance use and delinquency. We analyzed longitudinal data tracking the 270 European American children in the Fast Track randomized control trial with available genetic information (129 intervention children, 141 control group peers, 69% male) from kindergarten through age 25 years. Results show that the same pattern of for better and for worse susceptibility to intervention observed at the age 25 follow-up was evident already during childhood. At the elementary school follow-ups and at the middle/high school follow-ups, rs10482672 predicted better adjustment among children receiving the Fast Track intervention and worse adjustment among children in the control condition. In turn, these proximal GI effects early in development mediated the ultimate GI effect on externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years. We discuss the contribution of these findings to the growing literature on genetic susceptibility to environmental intervention.

Early interventions are a preferred method for addressing behavioral problems in high-risk children, but often have only modest effects. Identifying sources of variation in intervention effects can suggest means to improve efficiency. One potential source of such variation is the genome. We conducted a genetic analysis of the Fast Track randomized control trial, a 10-year-long intervention to prevent high-risk kindergarteners from developing adult externalizing problems including substance abuse and antisocial behavior. We tested whether variants of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 were associated with differences in response to the Fast Track intervention. We found that in European-American children, a variant of NR3C1 identified by the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 was associated with increased risk for externalizing psychopathology in control group children and decreased risk for externalizing psychopathology in intervention group children. Variation in NR3C1 measured in this study was not associated with differential intervention response in African-American children. We discuss implications for efforts to prevent externalizing problems in high-risk children and for public policy in the genomic era.

Abstract Objective: This randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of early intervention to prevent adult psychopathology and improve well-being in early-starting, conduct-problem children. Method: Kindergarteners (n=9,594) in 3 cohorts (1991-93) at 55 schools in 4 communities were screened for conduct problems, yielding 979 early-starters. 891 (91%) consented (51% African American, 47% European American; 69% boys). Children were randomly assigned by school cluster to a ten-year intervention or control. The intervention goal was to develop social competencies in children that would carry them throughout life, through social skills training, parent behavior management training with home visiting, peer coaching, reading tutoring, and classroom social-emotional curricula. Manualization and supervision ensured program fidelity. 98% participated during grade 1, and 80% continued through grade 10. At age-25, arrest records were reviewed (n=817, 92%), and condition-blinded adults psychiatrically interviewed participants (n=702; 81% of living) and a peer (n=535) knowledgeable about the participant. Results: Intent-to-treat logistic regression analyses indicated that 69% of controls displayed at least one externalizing, internalizing, or substance-abuse psychiatric problem (based on self or peer interview) at age 25, in contrast with 59% of those assigned to intervention (Odds Ratio = .59, Confidence Interval= .43, .81; Number Needed to Treat = 8; p < .001). This pattern also held for self-interviews, peer-interviews, scores using an "and" rule for self and peer reports, and separate tests for externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and substance abuse problems, and for each of three cohorts, four sites, male, female, African American, white, moderate-risk, and high-risk sub-groups. Intervention participants also received lower severity-weighted violent (Standardized Estimate (Est)=-0.37, p=0.05) and drug (Est= -0.43, p=0.03) crime conviction scores, lower risky sexual behavior scores (Est=-.24, p< .001), and higher well-being scores (Est=.19, p< .01). Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the efficacy of early intervention in preventing adult psychopathology among high-risk, early-starting children.

Little is known about intervening processes that explain how prevention programs improve particular youth antisocial outcomes. We examined whether parental harsh discipline and warmth in childhood differentially account for Fast Track intervention effects on conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and callous-unemotional (CU) traits in early adolescence. Participants included 891 high-risk kindergarteners (69 % male; 51 % African American) from urban and rural United States communities who were randomized into either the Fast Track intervention (n=445) or non-intervention control (n=446) groups. The 10-year intervention included parent management training and other services (e.g., social skills training, universal classroom curriculum) targeting various risk factors for the development of conduct problems. Harsh discipline (Grades 1 to 3) and warmth (Grades 1 and 2) were measured using parent responses to vignettes and direct observations of parent-child interaction, respectively. Parents reported on children's CD symptoms in Grade 6 and CU traits in Grade 7. Results demonstrated indirect effects of the Fast Track intervention on reducing risk for youth antisocial outcomes. That is, Fast Track was associated with lower scores on harsh discipline, which in turn predicted decreased levels of CD symptoms. In addition, Fast Track was associated with higher scores on warmth, which in turn predicted reduced levels of CU traits. Our findings inform developmental and intervention models of youth antisocial behavior by providing evidence for the differential role of harsh discipline and warmth in accounting for indirect effects of Fast Track on CD symptoms versus CU traits, respectively.

Numerous studies have shown that childhood interventions can foster improved outcomes in adulthood. Less well understood is precisely how-that is, through which developmental pathways-these interventions work. This study assesses mechanisms by which the Fast Track project (n = 891), a randomized intervention in the early 1990s for high-risk children in four communities (Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; rural PA; and Seattle, WA), reduced delinquency, arrests, and general and mental health service utilization in adolescence through young adulthood (ages 12-20). A decomposition of treatment effects indicates that about a third of Fast Track's impact on later crime outcomes can be accounted for by improvements in social and self-regulation skills during childhood (ages 6-11), such as prosocial behavior, emotion regulation, and problem solving. These skills proved less valuable for the prevention of general and mental health problems.

A multi-gate screening process identified 891 children with aggressive-disruptive behavior problems at school entry. Fast Track provided a multi-component preventive intervention in the context of a randomized-controlled design. In addition to psychosocial support and skill training for parents and children, the intervention included intensive reading tutoring in first grade, behavioral management consultation with teachers, and the provision of homework support (as needed) through tenth grade. This study examined the impact of the intervention, as well as the impact of the child's initial aggressive-disruptive behaviors and associated school readiness skills (cognitive ability, reading readiness, attention problems) on academic progress and educational placements during elementary school (Grades 1-4) and during the secondary school years (Grades 7-10), as well as high school graduation. Child behavior problems and skills at school entry predicted school difficulties (low grades, grade retention, placement in a self- contained classroom, behavior disorder classification, and failure to graduate). Disappointingly, intervention did not significantly improve these long-term school outcomes.

The aim of this paper is to respond to the Commentary, "Reassessing Findings from the Fast Track Study: Problems of Methods and Analysis" provided by E. Michael Foster (Foster, this issue) to our article "Fast Track Intervention Effects on Youth Arrests and Delinquency" Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group 2010, Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6, 131-157). Our response begins with a description of the mission and goals of the Fast Track project, and how they guided the original design of the study and continue to inform outcome analyses. Then, we respond to the Commentary's five points in the order they were raised. Conclusions: We agree with the Commentary that efforts to prevent crime and delinquency are of high public health significance because the costs of crime and delinquency to society are indeed enormous. We believe that rigorous, careful intervention research is needed to accumulate evidence that informs prevention programs and activities. We have appreciated the opportunity to respond to the Commentary and to clarify the procedures and results that we presented in our paper on Fast Track effects on youth arrests and delinquency. Our response has clarified the framework for the number of statistical tests made, has reiterated the randomization process, has supported our tests for site-by-intervention effects, has provided our rationale for assuming missing at random, and has clarified that the incarceration variable was not included as a covariate in the hazard analyses. We stand by our conclusion that random assignment to Fast Track had a positive impact in preventing juvenile arrests, and we echo our additional caveat that it will be essential to determine whether intervention produces any longer-term effects on adult arrests as the sample transitions into young adulthood. We also appreciate the opportunity for open scientific debate on the values and risks associated with multiple analyses in long-term prevention program designs such as Fast Track. We believe that, once collected, completed longitudinal intervention datasets should be fully used to understand the impact, process, strengths, and weaknesses of the intervention approach. We agree with the Commentary that efforts to prevent crime and delinquency are of high public health significance because the costs of crime and delinquency to society are indeed enormous. As a result, we argue that it is important to balance the need to maintain awareness and caution regarding potential risks in the design or approach that may confound interpretation of findings, in the manner raised by the Commentator, with the need for extended analyses of the available data so we can better understand over time how antisocial behavior and violence can be effectively reduced.

In the study reported here, we tested the hypothesis that the Fast Track preventive intervention's positive impact on antisocial behavior in adolescence is mediated by its impact on social-cognitive processes during elementary school. Fast Track is the largest and longest federally funded preventive intervention trial for children showing aggressive behavior at an early age. Participants were 891 high-risk kindergarten children (69% male, 31% female; 49% ethnic minority, 51% ethnic majority) who were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group by school cluster. Multiyear intervention addressed social-cognitive processes through social-skill training groups, parent groups, classroom curricula, peer coaching, and tutoring. Assigning children to the intervention decreased their mean antisocial-behavior score after Grade 9 by 0.16 standardized units (p < .01). Structural equation models indicated that 27% of the intervention's impact on antisocial behavior was mediated by its impact on three social-cognitive processes: reducing hostile-attribution biases, increasing competent response generation to social problems, and devaluing aggression. These findings support a model of antisocial behavioral development mediated by social-cognitive processes, and they guide prevention planners to focus on these processes.

Teen dating violence is a crime of national concern with approximately one-fourth of adolescents reporting victimization of physical, psychological, or sexual dating violence each year. The present study examined how aggressive family dynamics in both childhood and early adolescence predicted the perpetration of dating violence and victimization in late adolescence. Children (n = 401, 43 % female) were followed from kindergarten entry to the age of 18 years. Early adolescent aggressive-oppositional problems at home and aggressive-oppositional problems at school each made unique predictions to the emergence of dating violence in late adolescence. The results suggest that aggressive family dynamics during childhood and early adolescence influence the development of dating violence primarily by fostering a child's oppositional-aggressive responding style initially in the home, which is then generalized to other contexts. Although this study is limited by weaknesses detailed in the discussion, the contribution of longitudinal evidence including parent, teacher, and adolescent reports from both boys and girls, a dual-emphasis on the prediction of perpetration and victimization, as well as an analysis of both relations between variables and person-oriented group comparisons combine to make a unique contribution to the growing literature on adolescent partner violence.

Following a large, diverse sample of 4,096 children in 27 schools, this study evaluated the impact of three aspects of peer relations, measured concurrently, on subsequent child aggressive-disruptive behavior during early elementary school: peer dislike, reciprocated friends' aggressiveness, and classroom levels of aggressive-disruptive behavior. Teachers rated child aggressive-disruptive behavior in 1st and 3rd grades, and peer relations were assessed during 2nd grade. Results indicated that heightened classroom aggressive-disruptive behavior levels were related to proximal peer relations, including an increased likelihood of having aggressive friends and lower levels of peer dislike of aggressive-disruptive children. Controlling for 1st grade aggressive-disruptive behavior, the three 2nd grade peer experiences each made unique contributions to 3rd grade child aggressive-disruptive behavior. These findings replicate and extend a growing body of research documenting the multifaceted nature of peer influence on aggressive-disruptive behavior in early elementary school. They highlight the importance of the classroom ecology and proximal peer relations in the socialization of aggressive-disruptive behavior.

Objective: Kindergarten teacher ratings, such as those from the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R), are a promising cost- and time-effective screening method to identify children at risk for later problems. Previous research with the TOCA-R has been mainly limited to outcomes in a single domain measured during elementary school. The goal of the current study was to examine the ability of TOCA-R sum scores to predict outcomes in multiple domains across distinct developmental periods (i.e., late childhood, middle adolescence, late adolescence). Method: We used data from the Fast Track Project, a large multisite study with children at risk for conduct problems (n 752; M age at start of study 6.55 years; 57.7% male; 49.9% Caucasian, 46.3% African American). Kindergarten TOCA-R sum scores were used as the predictor in regression analyses; outcomes included school difficulties, externalizing diagnoses and symptom counts, and substance use. Results: TOCA-R sum scores predicted school outcomes at all time points, diagnosis of ADHD in 9th grade, several externalizing disorder symptom counts, and cigarette use in 12th grade. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the predictive utility of the TOCA-R when examining outcomes within the school setting. Therefore, these results suggest the 10-item TOCA-R may provide a quick and accurate screening of children at risk for later problems. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Strong associations between conduct disorder (CD), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and substance use disorders (SUD) seem to reflect a general vulnerability to externalizing behaviors. Recent studies have characterized this vulnerability on a continuous scale, rather than as distinct categories, suggesting that the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) take into account the underlying continuum of externalizing behaviors. However, most of this research has not included measures of disorders that appear in childhood [e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)], nor has it considered the full range of possibilities for the latent structure of externalizing behaviors, particularly factor mixture models, which allow for a latent factor to have both continuous and categorical dimensions. Finally, the majority of prior studies have not tested multidimensional models. Using lifetime diagnoses of externalizing disorders from participants in the Fast Track Project (n0715), we analyzed a series of latent variable models ranging from fully continuous factor models to fully categorical mixture models. Continuous models provided the best fit to the observed data and also suggested that a two-factor model of externalizing behavior, defined as (1) ODD+ADHD+CD and (2) SUD with adult antisocial behavior sharing common variance with both factors, was necessary to explain the covariation in externalizing disorders. The two-factor model of externalizing behavior was then replicated using a nationally representative sample drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication data (n05,692). These results have important implications for the conceptualization of externalizing disorders in DSM-5.

This longitudinal study examined processes that mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and peer social preference during the early school years. Three hundred and fifty six kindergarten children (182 boys) and their mothers participated in the study. During kindergarten, mothers reported their level of depressive symptomatology. In first grade, teachers rated childrens emotion regulation at school and observers rated the affective quality of mother-child interactions. During second grade, childrens social preference was assessed by peer nomination. Results indicated that mothers level of depressive symptomatology negatively predicted their childs social preference 2 years later, controlling for the family SES and teacher-rated social preference during kindergarten. Among European American families, the association between maternal depressive symptoms and social preference was partially mediated by maternal warmth and the childs emotion regulation. Although the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children peer preference was stronger among African American families than Europrean American families, its mediation by the maternal warmth and childs emotion regulation was not found in African American families.

Measures Used:

• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Interaction Rating Scale (PCIT)
• Social Health Profile (SHP)-Social Competence Scale
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Family Information Form-Parent (Socioeconomic Status)

Research suggests that early classroom experiences influence the socialization of aggression. Tracking changes in the aggressive behavior of 4,179 children from kindergarten to second-grade (ages 5-8), this study examined the impact of 2 important features of the classroom context-aggregate peer aggression and climates characterized by supportive teacher-student interactions. The aggregate aggression scores of children assigned to first-grade classrooms predicted the level of classroom aggression (assessed by teacher ratings) and quality of classroom climate (assessed by observers) that emerged by the end of Grade 1. Hierarchical linear model analyses revealed that first-grade classroom aggression and quality of classroom climate made independent contributions to changes in student aggression, as students moved from kindergarten to second grade. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Measures Used:

Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)

The impact of the Fast Track intervention on externalizing disorders across childhood was examined. Eight hundred-ninety-one early-starting children (69% male; 51% African American) were randomly assigned by matched sets of schools to intervention or control conditions. The 10-year intervention addressed parent behavior-management, child social cognitive skills, reading, home visiting, mentoring, and classroom curricula. Outcomes included psychiatric diagnoses after grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 for conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and any externalizing disorder. Significant interaction effects between intervention and initial risk level indicated that intervention prevented the lifetime prevalence of all diagnoses, but only among those at highest initial risk, suggesting that targeted intervention can prevent externalizing disorders to promote the raising of healthy children.

Measures Used:

• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Parent and Child (CDISC)

This paper examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youths' functioning in three domains: disruptive behavior problems, involvement with deviant peers, and social skills during the middle school years. Eight hundred ninety-one children had been randomly assigned by sets of schools within four sites to intervention (n = 445) or to control (n = 446) conditions. In contrast to prior findings of the effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention during the elementary school years, the current findings indicate that Fast Track had little overall impact on children's functioning in these domains during this age period. There were positive intervention effects on only 2 of 17 outcomes examined. Although the intervention had positive impact on children's hyperactive and self-reported delinquent behaviors in seventh grade, there were no intervention effects on other externalizing behavior problems or on social skills, and there was a negative intervention effect on children's involvement with deviant peers during this age period.

This study investigated the predictive validity of youth callous- unemotional (CU) traits, as measured in early adolescence (Grade 7) by the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; Frick & Hare, 2001), in a longitudinal sample (N =754). Antisocial outcomes, assessed in adolescence and early adulthood, included self-reported general delinquency from 7th grade through two years post-high school, selfreported serious crimes through two years post-high school, juvenile and adult arrest records through one year post-high school, and antisocial personality disorder symptoms and diagnosis at two years post-high school. CU traits measured in 7th grade were highly predictive of five of the six antisocial outcomes-- general delinquency, juvenile and adult arrests, and early adult antisocial personality disorder criterion count and diagnosis-- over and above prior and concurrent conduct problem behavior (i.e., criterion counts of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (criterion count). Incorporating a CU traits specifier for those with a diagnosis of conduct disorder improved the positive prediction of antisocial outcomes, with a very low false-positive rate. There was minimal evidence of moderation by sex, race, or urban/rural status. Urban/rural status moderated one finding, with being from an urban area associated with stronger relations between CU traits and adult arrests. Findings clearly support the inclusion of CU traits as a specifier for the diagnosis of conduct disorder, at least with respect to predictive validity.

This study examined gender differences in trajectories of delinquent behaviors over a six-year period in adolescence and differential outcomes of these diverse developmental pathways. Participants were 754 children who were part of a longitudinal study of the development of early starting conduct problems. Four trajectory patterns were identified across grades 7-12: increasing, desisting, chronic, and nonproblem groups. Although the proportion of boys and girls varied across the pathways, both genders were represented on these trajectories. Boys were more represented on the chronic and desisting trajectories; girls were more represented in the nonproblem group. However, the proportion of boys and girls was similar in the increasing trajectory. Trajectory membership significantly predicted age 19 outcomes for partner violence, risky sexual behavior and depression, and the risk conferred on these negative adjustment outcomes did not vary by gender. The overall pattern was characterized by poor outcomes at age 19 for youth in both the chronic and the increasing trajectories. The major conclusion is that, other than base rate differences, developmental patterns and outcomes for girls mimic those previously found for boys.

In this chapter, we provide an overview of the Fast Track project as an illustration of one new direction in prevention science. In 1993 Coie et al. described prevention science as a new research discipline being formed at the interface of a number of professional emphases and disciplines, including psychopathology, criminology, psychiatric epidemiology, human development, and education. Prevention science represents an effort to examine risk factors, change processes and intervention effects, using rigorous methodology, thus providing an empirical basis for early prevention efforts. Coie et al. suggested five principles integral to prevention science. Preventive interventions should: (1) address fundamental causal processes; (2) address risk factors before they become stabilized; (3) target those children who are at high risk for the negative outcome to be prevented; (4) optimally involve coordinated activities in multiple domains; and (5) incorporate developmental research. This chapter is adapted and expanded from material in CPPRG (2006) and Slough, McMahon, and CPPRG (2008).

Measures Used: n/a

This paper examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youth arrests and self-reported delinquent behavior through age 19. High-risk youth randomly assigned to receive a long-term, comprehensive preventive intervention from 1st grade through 10th grade at four sites were compared to high-risk control youth. Findings indicated that random assignment to Fast Track reduced court-recorded juvenile arrest activity based on a severity weighted sum of juvenile arrests. Supplementary analyses revealed an intervention effect on the reduction in the number of court-recorded moderate-severity juvenile arrests, relative to control children. In addition, among youth with higher initial behavioral risk, the intervention reduced the number of high-severity adult arrests relative to the control youth. Survival analyses examining the onset of arrests and delinquent behavior revealed a similar pattern of findings. Intervention decreased the probability of any juvenile arrest among intervention youth not previously arrested. In addition, intervention decreased the probability of a self-reported high-severity offense among youth with no previous self-reported high-severity offense. Intervention effects were also evident on the onset of high-severity court-recorded adult arrests among participants, but these effects varied by site. The current findings suggest that comprehensive preventive intervention can prevent juvenile arrest rates, although the presence and nature of intervention effects differs by outcome.

Measures Used:

• Administrative Court Records
• Self-Report of Delinquency

(From the chapter) We tested the impact of the Fast Track conduct disorder prevention program on the use of pediatric, general health, and mental health services in adolescence. Patients and Methods: Participants were 891 public kindergarten boys and girls screened from a population of 9594 children and found to be at risk for conduct disorder. They were assigned randomly (by school) to intervention or control conditions and were followed for 12 years. Intervention lasted 10 years and included parent training, child social-cognitive skills training, reading tutoring, peer-relations enhancement, and classroom curricula and management. Service use was assessed through annual interviews of parents and youth. Results: Youth assigned to preventive intervention had significantly reduced use of professional general health, pediatric, and emergency department services relative to control youth on the basis of parent-report data. For control-group youth, the odds of greater use of general health services for any reason and general health services use for mental health purposes were roughly 30% higher and 56% higher, respectively. On the basis of self-report data, the intervention reduced the likelihood of outpatient mental health services among older adolescents for whom odds of services use were more than 90% higher among control-group youth. No differences were found between intervention and control youth on the use of inpatient mental health services. Statistical models controlled for key study characteristics, and potential moderation of the intervention effect was assessed. Conclusions: Random assignment to the Fast Track prevention program is associated with reduced use of general health and outpatient mental health services in adolescents. Future studies should examine the mechanism of this impact and service use patterns as subjects reach young adulthood.

Measures Used:

• Services Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA)

(From the chapter) This article examines the impact of a universal social-emotional learning program, the Fast Track PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum and teacher consultation, embedded within the Fast Track selective prevention model. Method: The longitudinal analysis involved 2,937 children of multiple ethnicities who remained in the same intervention or control schools for Grades 1, 2, and 3. The study involved a clustered randomized controlled trial involving sets of schools randomized within 3 U.S. locations. Measures assessed teacher and peer reports of aggression, hyperactive-disruptive behaviors, and social competence. Beginning in first grade and through 3 successive years, teachers received training and support and implemented the PATHS curriculum in their classrooms. Results: The study examined the main effects of intervention as well as how outcomes were affected by characteristics of the child (baseline level of problem behavior, gender) and by the school environment (student poverty). Modest positive effects of sustained program exposure included reduced aggression and increased prosocial behavior (according to both teacher and peer report) and improved academic engagement (according to teacher report). Peer report effects were moderated by gender, with significant effects only for boys. Most intervention effects were moderated by school environment, with effects stronger in less disadvantaged schools, and effects on aggression were larger in students who showed higher baseline levels of aggression. Conclusions: A major implication of the findings is that well-implemented multiyear social-emotional learning programs can have significant and meaningful preventive effects on the population-level rates of aggression, social competence, and academic engagement in the elementary school years.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Social Health Profile (SHP)

(From the Chapter) This study examined whether attendance and quality of participation in parent management training predicted treatment response. Data were from 445 parents (55% minority, 62% single; almost all of low socioeconomic status) who had 1st-grade children with severe conduct problems. Quality of participation in weekly parent groups was based on group leader ratings. Parent outcomes were based on interviewer ratings, behavioral observations, parent reports, and teacher ratings. Results of hierarchical linear models suggested that few family characteristics predicted attendance in this efficacy trial and that attendance was not related to changes in parenting over the year. However, several family characteristics predicted quality of participation in parent management training, and this in turn predicted changes in parental perceptions, warmth, physical punishment, and school involvement. From a clinical perspective, these findings suggest that it is not enough to get parents to attend sessions; it is also necessary to facilitate their active engagement in the therapeutic process.

(From the Chapter) This paper examines the effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on youths' functioning in three domains: disruptive behavior problems, involvement with deviant peers, and social skills during the middle school years. Eight hundred ninety-one children had been randomly assigned by sets of schools within four sites to intervention (n 445) or to control (n 446) conditions. In contrast to prior findings of the effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention during the elementary school years, the current findings indicate that Fast Track had little overall impact on children's functioning in these domains during this age period. There were positive intervention effects on only 2 of 17 outcomes examined. Although the intervention had positive impact on children's hyperactive and self-reported delinquent behaviors in seventh grade, there were no intervention effects on other externalizing behavior problems or on social skills, and there was a negative intervention effect on children's involvement with deviant peers during this age period.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Ethnic Identity-Oyserman
• Parent Daily Report (PDR)
• Self-Report of Delinquency (SRD)
• Self-Report of Close Friends (SROCF)
• Teacher Ratings of Student Adjustment (TRSA)

(From the Chapter) High rates of aggressive-disruptive behavior exhibited by children during their initial years of elementary school increase their risk for significant behavioral adjustment problems with teachers and peers. The purpose of the present study was to examine the unique and combined contributions of child vulnerabilities and school context to the development of aggressive-disruptive student behavior during first grade. Parent ratings and child interviews assessed three child characteristics associated with risk for the development of aggressive behavior problems in elementary school (aggressive-disruptive behaviors at home, attention problems, and social cognitions) in a sample of 755 first-grade children in four demographically diverse American communities.

Measures Used:

• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Social Problem-Solving Measure (SPSM)
• Home Inventory With Child (HIWC)
• ASKER Classroom Rating
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)

This study investigated the effects of the peer social context and child characteristics on the growth of authority-acceptance behavior problems across first, second, and third grades, using data from the normative sample of the Fast Track Project. Three hundred sixty-eight European American and African American boys and girls (51% male; 46% African American) and their classmates were assessed in each grade by teacher ratings on the the Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation- Revised. Children's growth in authority-acceptance behavior problems across time was partially attributable to the level of disruptive behavior in the classroom peer context into which they were placed. Peer-context influences, however, were strongest among same-gender peers. Findings held for both boys and girls, both European Americans and African Americans, and nondeviant, marginally deviant, and highly deviant children. Findings suggest that children learn and follow behavioral norms from their same-gender peers within the classroom.

Measures Used:

• Social Health Profile (Spring)
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)

Youth who initiate sexual intercourse in early adolescence (age 11-14) experience multiple risks, including concurrent adjustment problems and unsafe sexual practices. The current study tested two models describing the links between childhood precursors, early adolescent risk factors, and adolescent sexual activity: a cumulative model and a meditational model. A longitudinal sample of 694 boys and girls from four geographical locations was utilized, with data collected from kindergarten through high school. Structural equation models revealed that, irrespective of gender or race, high rates of aggressive disruptive behaviors and attention problems at school entry increased risk for a constellation of problem behaviors in middle school (school maladjustment, antisocial activity, and substance use) which, in turn, promoted the early initiation of sexual activity. Implications are discussed for developmental models of early sexual activity and for prevention programming.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Report Form (TRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Teacher Rating of Student Adjustment
• School Adjustment-Parent Report
• Self-Reported Delinquency

Service use patterns and costs of youth diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid conduct disorder (CD) were assessed across adolescence (ages 12 through 17). Featured service sectors include mental health, school services, and the juvenile justice system. Data are provided by three cohorts from the Fast Track evaluation and are based on parent report. Diagnostic groups are identified through a structured assessment. Results show that public costs for youth with ADHD exceed $40,000 per child on average over a 6-year period, more than doubling service expenditures for a non-ADHD group. Public costs for children with comorbid ADHD and CD double the costs of those with ADHD alone. Varying patterns by service sector, diagnosis, and across time indicate different needs for youth with different conditions and at different ages and can provide important information for prevention and treatment researchers.

Measures Used:

• Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA)
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

Measures Used:

• Supervision-Child Report
• Parent Questionnaire
• Post-Visit Reaction Inventory
• Parenting-Primary Caregiver
• Family Expressiveness Questionnaire
• Post-Visit Inventory
• Parent-Child Communication
• Child Report
• Parent-Child Communication
• Primary Caregiver
• Parenting Scale
• Problem Solving Discussion Rating
• PCIT (IRS-Interaction Ratings Scale)
• Being a Parent
• Neighborhood Questionnaire
• Life Changes
• Financial Stress
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization
• Religiosity

Measures Used:

• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Conflict Tactics
• Parent Questionnaire
• Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational (Letter-Word Identification)
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• Social Problem Solving
• Home Interview with Child
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
• Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)
• Supervision-Child Report
• Supervision-Primary Caregiver
• Parent Report on Child's Close Friends
• Self Report of Close Friends
• Self-Reported Delinquency
• Guns and Gangs
• Parental Report of Child's Delinquency

This paper describes the way a randomized clinical trial of an evidence-based prevention program conducted at four sites in the United States came to be implemented with fidelity and success in Manchester, England. First, we describe the developmental model on which the program was based and describe the program components and initial outcomes. Next, we describe how the initial outcomes of this project led to the adoption and implementation of the program in Manchester. This is followed by a description of some initial results by an independent evaluation team, and finally we provide brief commentary on the key factors that seemed to contribute to this successful dissemination.

Measures Used: n/a

Accurate assessment of racial disparities in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder depends on measurement that is equally valid for all groups. This study examines differences among African American and white children in ADHD measurement with a widely used parental report instrument, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). Data come from 1,070 children in the Fast Track Project, a longitudinal study of predominantly low-income children at risk for emotional and/or behavioral problems. Item Response Theory (IRT) methodology is used to determine if ADHD screening items provide comparable information for African American and white children, or whether differential item function (DIF) exists. IRT scores and race/ethnicity are entered in logistic regression models predicting use of ADHD medication. Seven of 39 DISC items performed differently among African Americans and whites. In most cases white parents were more likely to endorse these items than were African American parents at comparable underlying levels of children's hyperactivity. When items exhibiting differential functioning were deleted, race disparities predicting underlying need as indicated by ADHD medication use decreased and were no longer statistically significant. African American parents' perceptions of ADHD-related symptoms appear to differ in important ways from those of white parents, and screening instruments relying on parent report may yield different results for African American and white children with similar underlying treatment needs. Gathering information from additional sources including teachers and school counselors can provide a more complete picture of the behavioral functioning and therapeutic needs of children in all race/ethnic groups.

Measures Used:

• Child Behavior Checklist
• Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Teacher Report Form-Externalizing
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent

This study examines the cost-effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention, a multi-year, multi-component intervention designed to reduce violence in at-risk children. Costs of the intervention were estimated using program budgets. The probability of treatment effectiveness is mapped against willingness to pay using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEAC). Cost-effectiveness is gauged using three outcomes measured in grade 9: diagnosis of conduct disorder; acts of interpersonal violence avoided; index criminal offense avoided. Evaluation of the total sample shows that the intervention was not cost-effective at anticipated levels of policy maker's willingness to pay. For those most at-risk, however, the intervention was likely cost-effective. The intervention is cost-effective for the highest risk children, but the initial outlay required to finance the program is substantial. Developmentalists should consider program costs in designing interventions in order to better balance feasibility with efficacy.

Measures Used:

• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• Self-Reported Delinquency

This study tests the efficacy of the Fast Track Program in preventing antisocial behavior and psychiatric disorders among groups varying in initial risk. Method: Schools within four sites (Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; Seattle, WA; and rural central Pennsylvania) were selected as high-risk institutions based on neighborhood crime and poverty levels. After screening 9,594 kindergarteners in these schools, 891 highest risk and moderate-risk children (69% male and 51% African American) were randomly assigned by matched sets of schools to intervention or control conditions. The 10-year intervention (begun in 1991 with three yearly cohorts) included parent behavior-management training, child socialcognitive skills training, reading tutoring, home visiting, mentoring, and a universal classroom curriculum. Outcomes included criterion counts and psychiatric diagnoses after grades 3, 6, and 9 for conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, any externalizing disorder, and self-reported antisocial behavior. Grade 9 outcomes were assessed between 2000 and 2003, depending upon cohort. Results: Significant interaction effects between intervention and initial risk level were found at each age but most strongly after grade 9. Assignment to intervention had a significant positive effect in lowering criterion count scores and diagnoses for conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and any externalizing disorder, and lowering antisocial behavior scores, but only among those at highest risk initially. Conclusions: Prevention of serious antisocial behavior can be efficacious across sex, ethnicity, and urban/rural residence, but screening is essential.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adjustment-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D)

This study addresses the questions that arise when collecting, describing, and analyzing information from multiple informants regarding attributes of individual students. Using data from the Fast Track study, we evaluate alternative measurement strategies for using multiple teacher ratings of student adjustment to middle school, among a sample of 326 sixth-graders. One goal of the study is to compare the advantages of three measurement strategies using multiple and single informants, in terms of their correlation with contemporaneous measures of behavior and academic achievement. Comparisons of residual variance using an aggregated rating, the rating from an "optimal informant," and a score selected at random from the response set, indicate that aggregation provides the highest criterion-related validity. As part of these analyses, we explore the significance of inter-rater concordance, measured in terms of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results indicate that for some aggregated scores, reliability can significantly limit their interpretability. The second main goal of the study is to evaluate the effects of heterogeneity in the number of teacher ratings on residual variance estimates for aggregate measures in selected behavioral domains. We conclude that the advantages of using multiple ratings are significant in the presence of a larger number of informants.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Teachers' Rating of Student Adjustment
• School Records
• School Adjustment-Parent Report

(From the Chapter) This investigation was conceptually framed within the theory of marginal deviations (Caprara & Zimbardo, 1996) and sought evidence for the general hypothesis that some children who initially show marginal behavioral problems may, over time, develop more serious problems depending partly on other personal and behavioral characteristics. To this end, the findings of two studies conducted, respectively, with American elementary school children and Italian middle school students are reviewed. These two studies show that hyperactivity, cognitive difficulties, low social preference, and lack of prosocial behavior increase a child's risk for growth in aggressive behavior over several school years. More importantly, they also show that equivalent levels of these risk factors have a greater impact on the development of children who, early on, were marginally aggressive.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)

(From the Chapter) OBJECTIVE: To examine the cost-effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention, a multi-year, multi-component intervention designed to reduce violence among at-risk children. A previous report documented the favorable effect of intervention on the highest-risk group of ninth-graders diagnosed with conduct disorder, as well as self-reported delinquency. The current report addressed the cost-effectiveness of the intervention for these measures of program impact. DESIGN: Costs of the intervention were estimated using program budgets. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed to determine the cost per unit of improvement in the 3 outcomes measured in the 10th year of the study. RESULTS: Examination of the total sample showed that the intervention was not cost-effective at likely levels of policymakers' willingness to pay for the key outcomes. Subsequent analysis of those most at risk, however, showed that the intervention likely was cost-effective given specified willingness-to-pay criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the intervention is cost-effective for the children at highest risk. From a policy standpoint, this finding is encouraging because such children are likely to generate higher costs for society over their lifetimes. However, substantial barriers to cost-effectiveness remain, such as the ability to effectively identify and recruit such higher-risk children in future implementations.

Measures Used:

• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• Self-Reported Delinquency

In this chapter, we provide an overview of the Fast Track project as an illustration of new directions evident in prevention science. In 1993, Coie and colleagues described prevention science as a new research discipline being formed at the interface of a number of professional emphases and disciplines, including psychopathology, criminology, psychiatric epidemiology, human development, and education. Prevention science represents an effort to examine risk factors, change processes and intervention effects, using highly rigorous methodology, and thus to provide an empirical basis for the early prevention efforts initiated originally by community psychologists.

Coie and colleagues suggested five principles integral to prevention science:

1. prevention programs should address fundamental causal processes;
2. prevention programs should address risk factors before they become stabilized;
3. prevention programs should target those children who are at high risk for the negative outcome to be prevented;
4. prevention programs should optimally involve coordinated activities in multiple domains; and
5. developmental research has important implications for prevention science.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report

(From the Chapter) The present study investigated patterns in the development of conduct problems (CP), depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence, and relations to adjustment problems, over the transition from late childhood to early adolescence. Rates of depressive symptoms and CP during this developmental period vary by gender; yet, few studies involving non-clinical samples have examined co-occurring problems and adjustment outcomes across boys and girls. This study investigates the manifestation and change in CP and depressive symptom patterns in a large, multisite, gender-and ethnically-diverse sample of 431 youth from 5th to 7th grade. Indicators of CP, depressive symptoms, their co-occurrence, and adjustment outcomes were created from multiple reporters and measures. Hypotheses regarding gender differences were tested utilizing both categorical (i.e., elevated symptom groups) and continuous analyses (i.e., regressions predicting symptomatology and adjustment outcomes). Results were partially supportive of the dual failure model (Capaldi, 1991, 1992), with youth with co-occurring problems in 5th grade demonstrating significantly lower academic adjustment and social competence two years later. Both depressive symptoms and CP were risk factors for multiple negative adjustments outcomes. Co-occurring symptomatology and CP demonstrated more stability and was associated with more severe adjustment problems then depressive symptoms over time. Categorical analyses suggested that, in terms of adjustment problems, youth with co-occurring symptomatology were generally no worse off than those with CP-alone, and those with depressive symptoms-alone were similar over time to those showing no symptomatology at all. Few gender differences were notes in the relations among CP, depressive symptoms, and adjustment over time.

Measures Used:

• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Self-Report of Close Friends
• Things That You Have Done
• Self-Reported Delinquency
• Teacher's Report Form (Externalizing)
• Reynolds Child Depression Scale (About Me)
• Teacher's Rating of Student Adjustment
• Social Competence-Teacher (Revised)
• School Adjustment-Child Report
• School Adjustment-Parent Report
• Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs

(From the Chapter) Although clinical judgment is often used in assessment and treatment planning, rarely has research examined its reliability, validity, or impact in practice settings. This study tailored the frequency of home visits in a prevention program for aggressive-disruptive children (n = 410; 56% minority) on the basis of 2 kinds of clinical judgment: ratings of parental functioning using a standardized multi-item scale and global assessments of family need for services. Stronger reliability and better concurrent and predictive validity emerged for the 1st kind of clinical judgment than for the 2nd. Exploratory analyses suggested that using ratings of parental functioning to tailor treatment recommendations improved the impact of the intervention by the end of 3rd grade but using more global assessments of family need did not.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Parent-Teacher Involvement
• Teacher Report
• Family Information Form
• Post-Visit Inventory
• Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale

(From the Chapter)Prior research suggests that exposure to elementary classrooms characterized by high levels of student aggression may contribute to the development of child aggressive behavior problems. To explore this process in more detail, this study followed a longitudinal sample of 4,907 children and examined demographic factors associated with exposure to high-aggression classrooms, including school context factors (school size, student poverty levels, and rural vs. urban location) and child ethnicity (African American, European American). The developmental impact of different temporal patterns of exposure (e.g., primacy, recency, chronicity) to high-aggression classrooms was evaluated on child aggression. Analyses revealed that African American children attending large, urban schools that served socioeconomically disadvantaged students were more likely than other students to be exposed to high-aggressive classroom contexts. Hierarchical regressions demonstrated cumulative effects for temporal exposure, whereby children with multiple years of exposure showed higher levels of aggressive behavior after 3 years than children with primacy, less recent, and less chronic exposure, controlling for initial levels of aggression. Implications are discussed for developmental research and preventive interventions.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• School Context measure

(From the chapter) This study examines the relation between family instability and child maladjustment over a 6-year period in 369 children from four communities. Measures were collected annually from kindergarten through fifth grade. In associative growth curve models, family instability trajectories predicted children's externalizing and internalizing behavior trajectories during this time period. High levels of family instability also incrementally predicted the likelihood of meeting criteria for a DSM IV diagnosis during elementary school, above and beyond prediction from earlier measures of maladjustment. However, the timing of family instability had a different effect on externalizing versus internalizing disorders. In general, stronger relations were found between family instability and externalizing behaviors relative to internalizing behaviors, although children with comorbid disorders experienced the highest levels of family instability.

Measures Used:

• Life Changes
• Family Information Form
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRP)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Teacher Report Form
• Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Child (DISC 2.3), Child Report
• Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Child (DISC 2.3), Parent Report

Abstract -- Direct associations between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school were explored in this cross-sectional study of 360 kindergarten children. In addition, mediated pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to maternal harsh punishment to child aggressive-disruptive behavior were examined. Moderation analyses explored how the overall frequency of marital disagreement might buffer or exacerbate the impact of aggressive marital conflict on maternal harsh punishment and child aggressive-disruptive behavior. Hierarchical regressions revealed direct pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school, and a partially mediated pathway linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home. Further analyses revealed that rates of marital disagreement moderated the association between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home, with an attenuated association at high rates of marital disagreement as compared to low rates of marital disagreement.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Conflict Tactics
• Relationship Adjustment Scale
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRP)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)

Abstract -- Objectives. This study explores the economic implications of an enormous public health problem, conduct disorder among adolescents. This article examines a range of expenditures related to this disorder across multiple public sectors, including mental health, general health, school and juvenile justice. Methods. Expenditures are estimated using self- and parental-report data and observed over a seven-year period in late adolescence. Contrasts are made between conduct disordered youth and youth with oppositional defiant disorder, elevated symptoms (no conduct disorder diagnosis) and all others. Diagnosis is determined using a structured assessment. Results. Results show that public costs related to conduct disorder are enormous and exceed $70,000 over a seven-year period. Conclusions. Public expenditures on youth with conduct disorder are substantially larger than for youth with closely related conditions, reflecting the importance of prevention and early treatment for the disorder.

Measures Used:

• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Child (CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• School Records
• Services Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA)

(From the Chapter) This study examined whether the link between risk factors for conduct problems and low rates of participation in mental health treatment could be decoupled through the provision of integrated prevention services in multiple easily-accessible contexts. It included 445 families of first-grade children (55% minority), living in four diverse communities, and selected for early signs of conduct problems. Results indicated that, under the right circumstances, these children and families could be enticed to participate at high rates in school-based services, therapeutic groups, and home visits. Because different sets of risk factors were related to different profiles of participation across the components of the prevention program, findings highlight the need to offer services in multiple contexts to reach all children and families who might benefit from them.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Family Information Form
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Behavior Problem Checklist
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)

(From the Chapter) Many interventions for children’s behavior problems successfully utilize a group format for social skills training, providing opportunities for practice and performance feedback from peers. Recent studies however, suggest that grouping aggressive children together may reduce intervention effectiveness or even increase risk. The present study examined the relative impact of children’s own behavior and their experiences with peers in the first-grade “friendship groups” of Fast Track, a multi-component preventive intervention program. Two-hundred sixty-six children (56% minority, 29% female) participated in 55 friendship groups. Children’s own positive and negative behavior in friendship groups was related to relative improvements in social cognitive skills, prosocial behavior, and aggression, assessed through child interviews, teacher ratings, and peer sociometric nominations. Results from hierarchical linear models also revealed that the amount of peer escalation children received for their disruptive behavior during sessions impeded some intervention gains, whereas mere exposure to other children’s positive or negative behavior was rarely related to outcomes.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire -Home Interview with Child
• Social Problem Solving Scale
• Social Health Profile-Teacher
• Sociometrics
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

Abstract -- Juvenile firesetting is a serious, dangerous, and costly behavior. The ority of research examining youth firesetting has been cross-sectional. We sought to examine early risk attributes that could differentiate firesetters from nonfiresetters, in addition to examining their association with the developmental continuity of firesetting behavior into late childhood. Using a sample of 361 youth drawn from four different U.S. communities, this study examined the association between a broad array of risk variables from the child, parent, and family domains, and firesetting behavior over the course of two developmental periods: prior to 4th grade, and between 4th and 6th grade. Youth were classified into one of four groups (non-firesetters, desisters, later-onset firesetters, and persisters) based on their reported firesetting behavior during these periods. Children who set fires had higher levels of risk on most of the variables assessed. Persistence of firesetting was associated with elevated parental depressive symptoms and more interparental conflict and ineffective discipline. The findings highlight the need for multi-component preventive interventions to address the breadth of risk experienced by firesetting youth and their families.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• School Records
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Parent Daily Report (PDR)
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Child Self-Report
• Things That You Have Done
• Teacher Report Form
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• ADHD Checklist-Parent
• ADHD Checklist-Teacher
• Sociometrics
• Developmental History
• Parent Questionnaire
• Coder Impression Inventory
• Conflict Tactics Scale
• Parenting Practices Inventory
• Behavioral Coding System
• Post-Visit Inventory
• Child's Report of Parental Monitoring
• Life Changes
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Relationship Adjustment

This study examined whether the benefits of reading tutoring in first grade were moderated by children''s level of attention problems. Participants were 581 children from the intervention and control samples of Fast Track, a longitudinal multisite investigation of the development and prevention of conduct problems. Standardized reading achievement measures were administered after kindergarten and 1st grade, and teacher ratings of attention problems were obtained during 1st grade. During 1st grade, intervention participants received three 30-min tutoring sessions per week to promote the development of initial reading skills. Results replicated prior findings that attention problems predict reduced 1st grade reading achievement, even after controlling for IQ and earlier reading ability. Intervention was associated with modest reading achievement benefits for inattentive children without early reading difficulties, and substantial benefits for children with early reading difficulties who were not inattentive. It had no discernible impact, however, for children who were both inattentive and poor early readers. Results underscore the need to develop effective academic interventions for inattentive children, particularly for those with co-occurring reading difficulties.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist -Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational (Letter-Word Identification)
• Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale -ADHD Rating Scale
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

This study examines the effects of the Fast Track program, which is a multicomponent, intensive intervention for children with early-onset conduct problems and continues from 1st grade through high school. Prior research has shown that Fast Track produces small positive effect sizes on children's social and behavioral outcomes at the end of 1st and 3rd grades in comparison to control children. This study addresses the important question of whether this intervention reduces cases of serious problems that can occur during the 4th- and 5th-grade years. Fast Track did have a significant but modest influence on children's rates of social competence and social cognition problems, problems with involvement with deviant peers, and conduct problems in the home and community, compared to children in the control condition. There was no evidence of intervention impact on children's serious problems in the school setting at Grades 4 and 5. This evaluation indicates that Fast Track has continued to influence certain key areas of children's adjustment throughout the elementary school years, reducing children's likelihood of emerging as cases with problems in their social, peer, or home functioning. The stage is set to examine potential prevention effects on these youths' serious antisocial behaviors during adolescence.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Parent Daily Report (PDR)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• What Do You Think
• Social Competence-Teacher
• Things That Your Friends Have Done
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Things That You Have Done -School Records
• Woodcock-Johnson Reading score

Abstract -- Using data from the evaluation of the Fast Track intervention, this article illustrates three methods for handling attrition. Multiple imputation and ignorable maximum likelihood estimation produce estimates that are similar to those based on listwise-deleted data. A panel selection model that allows for selective dropout reveals that highly aggressive boys accumulate in the treatment group over time and produces a larger estimate of treatment effect. In contrast, this model produces a smaller treatment effect for girls. The article's conclusion discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative approaches and outlines ways in which researchers might improve their handling of attrition.

Measures Used:

• Parent Daily Report (PDR)
• Teacher Report Form
• Things You Have Done
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• School Records

Abstract -- Accurate, early screening is a prerequisite for indicated interventions intended to prevent development of externalizing disorders and delinquent behaviors. Using the Fast Track longitudinal sample of 396 children drawn from high-risk environments, the authors varied assumptions about base rates and examined effects of multiple-time-point and multiple-rater screening procedures. The authors also considered the practical import of various levels of screening accuracy in terms of true and false positive rates and their potential costs and benefits. Additional research is needed to determine true costs and benefits of early screening. However, the results indicate that 1st grade single- and multiple-rater screening models effectively predicted externalizing behavior and delinquent outcomes in 4th and 5th grades and that early screening is justified.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Problem Behavior Checklist
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Self-Reported Delinquency
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Child Self-Report

Abstract -- Despite being less prevalent among girls than among boys, disruptive behavior problems are a major mental health problem for girls. Prior research demonstrates that children with disruptive behaviors also experience significant social and academic achievement problems during grade school, and are at high risk for antisocial and maladaptive behavior in adolescence. Hence, these problems require early identification and intervention. Prior research on the developmental progression of disruptive behavior has focused primarily on boys; however, recent studies suggest that there may be important gender differences in the development of disruptive behavior problems. The present study hypothesizes that disruptive behavior of girls may be underidentified with measures that emphasize aggressive behavior, thus underestimating girls' risk for later antisocial activity. The authors use data from the Fast Track study of high-risk youth to evaluate gender differences in the efficacy of a narrow screening strategy, emphasizing overt aggression,compared with a broader screening strategy that includes nonaggressive oppositional and inattentive-hyperactive behaviors (along with overt aggression). They find significant predictability for both girls and boys when the broad spectrum of disruptive behaviors is used to indicate risk.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Sociometrics
• School Records
• Self-Reported Delinquency

The Fast Track program represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious preventive interventions for conduct problems currently in progress. The program aims to improve competencies and reduce problems in children at high risk for long term antisocial behavior by working with their families, teachers, peers, and members of their community. The great scope of the program, however, has not compromised the rigor of implementation and evaluation in 4 diverse sites across the United States. This article first provides an overview of the theoretical basis of the Fast Track program's objectives and clinical strategies. Each intervention strategy is then described in detail. Initial results, organized according to the various levels of intervention, are presented at the end of the text. These results demonstrate that, with the appropriate resources and strategies to achieve reductions in behaviour problems, it is possible to deflect trajectories of problematic development and long term antisocial behaviour that might otherwise ensue.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

(From the chapter) We explore how research on children's social relationships led to recognition of the behavioral causes and consequences of being rejected by peer groups, and to early, partially-successful intervention efforts with children with poor peer relationships. Based on these early studies, and on accumulating information about the broad range of mediating factors influencing antisocial behavior, the developmental model which serves as the foundation for Fast Track was articulated. Because it is essential that the developmental model of a preventive intervention map clearly onto the intervention research study's measurement model and onto the intervention model (Coie, 1996), we examine how the Fast Track developmental model was integrated into the corresponding intervention model. The design and procedures for the Fast Track study are outlined, and initial findings of the efficacy of the program are reviewed.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Parent Daily Report

Abstract -- Recently, adaptive interventions have emerged as a new perspective on prevention and treatment. Adaptive interventions resemble clinical practice in that different dosages of certain prevention or treatment components are assigned to different individuals, and/or within individuals across time, with dosage varying in response to the intervention needs of individuals. To determine intervention need and thus assign dosage, adaptive interventions use prespecified decision rules based on each participant's values on key characteristics, called tailoring variables. In this article, we offer a conceptual framework for adaptive interventions. We point out that an adaptive intervention consists not only of the treatment itself, but the treatment inextricably coupled with the tailoring variables, measures of tailoring variables, decision rules, and implementation of decision rules. We discuss principles underlying the design and evaluation of adaptive interventions. It is noted that despite the differences between adaptive interventions and fixed interventions, the scientific evaluation of adaptive interventions is essentially the same as the evaluation required for fixed interventions. A properly conducted adaptive intervention has the potential to reduce negative effects, reduce waste, increase compliance, and enhance intervention potency. Open areas for research include the extent to which these benefits can be realized in practice, the role of clinical judgment, best designs for development of the decision rules, the cost/benefit ratio of adaptive as opposed to fixed interventions, and maintenance of implementation fidelity.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- Using a normative sample of 224 youth and their biological mothers, this study tested four family variables as potential mediators of the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms in early childhood and child psychological outcomes in pre-adolescence. The mediators examined included mother-child communication, the quality of the mother-child relationship, maternal social support, and stressful life events in the family. The most parsimonious structural equation model suggested that having a more problematic mother-child relationship mediated disruptive behavior-disordered outcomes for youth, whereas less maternal social support mediated the development of internalizing disorders. Our model included direct associations between early child internalizing problems and later internalizing disorders, and between early child externalizing problems and later disruptive behavior disorders. Gender and race were tested as moderators, but significant model differences did not emerge between boys and girls or African-American and Caucasian youth.

Measures Used:

• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Parent-Child Communication Scale
• People In My Life
• Inventory of Parent Experiences
• Life Changes
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Child Self-Report

Abstract -- A dynamic treatment regime is a list of decision rules, one per time interval, for how the level of treatment will be tailored through time to an individual's changing status. The goal of this paper is to use experimental or observational data to estimate decision regimes that result in a maximal mean response. To explicate our objective and to state the assumptions, we use the potential outcomes model. The method proposed makes smooth parametric assumptions only on quantities that are directly relevant to the goal of estimating the optimal rules. We illustrate the methodology proposed via a small simulation.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- Economic analysis plays an increasingly important role in prevention research. In this article, we describe one form of economic analysis, a cost analysis. Such an analysis captures not only the direct costs of an intervention but also its impact on the broader social costs of the illness or problem targeted. The key question is whether the direct costs are offset by reductions in the other, morbidity-related costs, such as the use of expensive services. We begin by describing how economists think about costs. We then outline the steps involved in calculating the costs of delivering an intervention, including both implicit and explicit costs. Next we examine methods for estimating the morbidity-related costs of the illness or problem targeted by the intervention. Finally, we identify the challenges one faces when conducting such an analysis. Throughout the article, we illustrate key points using our experiences with evaluating the Fast Track intervention, a multiyear, multicomponent intervention targeted to children at risk of emotional and behavioral problems.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- This study found that 1st-grade teacher ratings of aggressive, hyperactive-inattentive, and low levels of prosocial behaviors made unique contributions to the prediction of school outcomes (measured two years later) for 755 children. Person-oriented analyses compared the predictive utility of five screening strategies based on child problem profiles to identify children at risk for school problems. A broad screening strategy, in which children with elevations in any one of the three behavior problem dimensions were identified as "at-risk," showed lower specificity but superior sensitivity, odds ratios, and overall accuracy in the prediction of school outcomes than the other screening strategies that were more narrowly focused or were based on a total problem score. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the screening and design of preventive interventions.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Teacher Checklist -Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Checklist
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• Sociometrics

Abstract -- Peer rejection and aggression in the early school years were examined for their relevance to early starting conduct problems. The sample of 657 boys and girls from four geographical locations was followed from 1st through 4th grades. Peer rejection in 1st grade added incrementally to the prediction of early starting conduct problems in 3rd and 4th grades, over and above the effects of aggression. Peer rejection and aggression in 1st grade were also associated with the impulsive and emotionally reactive behaviors found in older samples. Being rejected by peers subsequent to 1st grade marginally added to the prediction of early starting conduct problems in 3rd and 4th grades, controlling for 1st grade ADHD symptoms and aggression. Furthermore, peer rejection partially mediated the predictive relation between early ADHD symptoms and subsequent conduct problems. These results support the hypothesis that the experience of peer rejection in the early school years adds to the risk for early starting conduct problems.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Sociometrics
• ADHD Rating Scale-Parent
• ADHD Rating Scale-Teacher
• ADHD Rating Scale-Child -Social Competence-Parents
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• Social Problem-Solving
• Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report
• Things That You Have Done

Abstract -- The purpose of this study was to identify kindergarten-age predictors of early-onset substance use from demographic, environmental, parenting, child psychological, behavioral, and social functioning domains. Data from a longitudinal study of 295 children were gathered using multiple-assessment methods and multiple informants in kindergarten and 1st grade. Annual assessments at ages 10, 11, and 12 reflected that 21% of children reported having initiated substance use by age 12. Results from longitudinal logistic regression models indicated that risk factors at kindergarten include being male, having a parent who abused substances, lower levels of parental verbal reasoning, higher levels of overactivity, more thought problems, and more social problem solving skills deficits. Children with no risk factors had less than a 10% chance of initiating substance use by age 12, whereas children with 2 or more risk factors had greater than a 50% chance of initiating substance use. Implications for typology, etiology, and prevention are discussed.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised(TOCA-R)
• Post-Visit Reaction Inventory
• Parent Questionnaire
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• Developmental History
• Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Family Information Form
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• Teacher Report Form-Externalizing
• Parent Daily Report
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
• Social Problem-Solving Scale
• Home Inventory with Child
• Sociometrics
• Things That You Have Done

Abstract -- This study examined the ability of a short conduct problems screening procedure to predict future need for mental health assistance, special education services, and the juvenile justice system during elementary school ages. The screen was based on teacher and parent report of child behavioral habits in kindergarten, and was used to identify children as either at risk or not at risk for behavioral problems. Service outcomes were derived from a service-use assessment administered to parents at the end of the 6th grade, while special education information was gathered through a survey of school records. Subjects were 463 kindergarten children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in four diverse communities across the US. Results indicated that, while controlling for demographic background variables, the risk indicator strongly predicted which children would require services related to conduct disorder or behavioral/emotional problems. Additional analyses revealed that the dichotomous high-risk indicator was nearly as strong as the continuous screening variable in predicting the service-use outcomes, and that the screening of both parents and teachers may not be necessary for determining risk status.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• SACA-Parent

Abstract -- This study identified first-grade children who exhibited four different behavior problem profiles from an initial sample of 754: aggressive-withdrawn (n = 63, 8%) aggressive only (n = 165, 22%), withdrawn only (n = 94, 12%), and nonproblem (n = 432, 57%). Group comparisons revealed that children who became aggressive-withdrawn in first grade exhibited deficits in attention and social skills in kindergarten. Furthermore, these kindergarten deficits contributed to the emergence of their aggressive-withdrawn behavior problems in first grade, after accounting for kindergarten levels of aggressive and withdrawn behaviors. In later grades, aggressive-withdrawn first-grade children were more likely than children in any other group to demonstrate poor peer relations and poor academic performance. In addition, kindergarten skill deficits added to first-grade aggressive and withdrawn behavior problems to predict third-grade social and academic adjustment difficulties. The results document the key role of early inattention and social skill deficits in the prediction of aggressive-withdrawn problem profiles, validate the significance of this problem profile at school entry, and identify potential developmental mechanisms that have implications for preventive interventions.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Family Information Form
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Social Problem Solving
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
• Social Competence-Parent Report Form
• Social Competence-Teacher Report Form
• Child Behavior Checklist
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• School Records

Abstract -- Social information processing (SIP) patterns were conceptualized in orthogonal domains of process and context and measured through responses to hypothetical vignettes in a stratified sample of 387 children (50% boys; 49% minority) from 4 geographical sites followed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Multidimensional, latent-construct, confirmatory factor analyses supported the within-construct internal consistency, cross-construct discrimination, and multidimensionality of SIP patterns. Contrasts among nested structural equation models indicated that SIP constructs significantly predicted children's aggressive behavior problems as measured by later teacher reports. The findings support the multidimensional construct validity of children's social cognitive patterns and the relevance of SIP patterns in children's aggressive behavior problems.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Home Interview with Child
• Social Problem Solving Scale
• Things That Happen To Me
• Interview on Emotional Experiences
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Parent Checklist
• Parent Daily Report
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)

Abstract -- Progress has been made in understanding the outcome effects of preventive interventions and treatments designed to reduce children's conduct problems. However, limited research has explored the factors that may affect the degree to which an intervention is likely to benefit particular individuals. This study examines selected child, family, and community baseline characteristics that may predict proximal outcomes from the Fast Track intervention. The primary goal of this study was to examine predictors of outcomes after three years of intervention participation, at the end of third grade. Three types of proximal outcomes were examined: parent-rated aggression, teacher-rated oppositional-aggressive behavior, and special education involvement. The relation between 11 risk factors and these three outcomes was examined, with separate regression analyses for the intervention and control groups. Moderate evidence of prediction of outcome effects was found, although none of the baseline variables were found to predict all three outcomes, and different patterns of prediction emerged for home versus school outcomes.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Family Information Form
• Neighborhood Questionnaire
• Inventory of Parent Experiences
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• Woodcock-Johnson PsychoEducational Battery-Revised
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Parent Daily Report
• School Records

Abstract -- The Fast Track prevention trial was used to test hypotheses from the Early-Starter Model of the development of chronic conduct problems. We randomly assigned 891 high-risk first-grade boys and girls (mean age 6.5 yrs) to receive the long-term Fast Track prevention or not. After 4 years, outcomes were assessed through teacher ratings, parent ratings, peer nominations, and child self-report. Positive effects of assignment to intervention were evident in teacher and parent ratings of conduct problems, peer social preference scores, and association with deviant peers. Assessments of proximal goals of intervention (e.g., hostile attributional bias, problem-solving skill, harsh parental discipline, aggressive and prosocial behavior at home and school) collected after grade 3 were found to partially mediate these effects. The findings are interpreted as consistent with developmental theory.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Parent Daily Report
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Post Intervention Ratings of Parent Change
• Home Interview with Child
• Social Problem Solving Scale
• Social Competence
• Parent Report Form
• School Records
• Sociometrics
• Things Your Friends Have Done
• Social Competence-Teacher Report Form

Abstract -- In 1990, the Fast Track Project was initiated to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders in four demographically diverse American communities (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group [CPPRG], 1992). Representing a prevention science approach toward community-based preventive intervention, the Fast Track intervention design was based upon the available data base elucidating the epidemiology of risk for conduct disorder and suggesting key causal developmental influences (R. P. Weissberg & M. T. Greenberg, 1998). Critical questions about this approach to prevention center around the extent to which such a science-based program can be effective at (1) engaging community members and stakeholders, (2) maintaining intervention fidelity while responding appropriately to the local norms and needs of communities that vary widely in their demographic and cultural/ethnic composition, and (3) maintaining community engagement in the long-term to support effective and sustainable intervention dissemination. This paper discusses these issues, providing examples from the Fast Track project to illustrate the process of program implementation and the evidence available regarding the success of this science-based program at engaging communities in sustainable and effective ways as partners in prevention programming.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- Fast Track is a conduct-problem prevention trial that derives its intervention from longitudinal research on how serious and chronic adolescent problem behaviors develop. Over 9,000 kindergarten children at 4 sites in 3 cohorts were screened, and 891 were identified as high risk and then randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Beginning in Grade 1, high-risk children and their parents were asked to participate in a combination of social skills and anger-control training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting. A multiyear universal classroom program was delivered to the core schools attended by these high-risk children. By the end of third grade, 37% of the intervention group was determined to be free of serious conduct-problem dysfunction, in contrast with 27% of the control group. Teacher ratings of conduct problems and official records of use of special education resources gave modest effect-size evidence that the intervention was preventing conduct problem behavior at school. Parent ratings provided additional support for prevention of conduct problems at home. Parenting behavior and children's social cognitive skills that had previously emerged as proximal outcomes at the end of the 1st year of intervention continued to show positive effects of the intervention at the end of third grade.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• DISC-2 Parents
• Classroom Sociometric
• Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-Parent)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Parent Daily Report
• TRF-Externalizing
• Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire
• Teacher Report
• School Records
• Social Problem-Solving Measure
• Home Interview with Child
• Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale
• Parent Questionnaire

Abstract -- This prospective longitudinal study examined the unique and combined effects of neighborhood characteristics on parental behaviors in the context of more distal and more proximal influences. With a sample of 368 mothers from high-risk communities in 4 parts of the United States, this study examined relations between race (African American or European American), locality (urban or rural), neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child problem behaviors, and parental warmth, appropriate and consistent discipline, and harsh interactions. Analyses testing increasingly proximal influences on parenting revealed that initial race differences in warmth and consistent discipline disappeared when neighborhood influences were considered. Although generally culture and context did not moderate other relations found between neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child behaviors, the few interactions found highlight the complex influences on parenting.

Measures Used:

• Family Information Form (FIF)
• Neighborhood Questionnaire
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• Parenting Practices Inventory
• Conflict Tactics Scale

Abstract -- A dynamic treatment regime is a list of rules for how the level of treatment will be tailored through time to an individual's changing severity. In general, individuals who receive the highest level of treatment are the individuals with the greatest severity and need for treatment. Thus, there is planned selection of the treatment dose. In addition to the planned selection mandated by the treatment rules, staff judgment results in unplanned selection of the treatment level. Given observational longitudinal data or data in which there is unplanned selection of the treatment level, the methodology proposed here allows the estimation of a mean response to a dynamic treatment regime under the assumption of sequential randomization.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- This paper examines the hypothesis that distinct parenting practices may be associated with type and profile of a child's disruptive behavior problems (e.g., oppositional, aggressive, hyperactive). Parents of 631 behaviorally disruptive children described the extent to which they experienced warm and involved interactions with their children and the extent to which their discipline strategies were inconsistent and punitive and involved spanking and physical aggression. As expected from a developmental perspective, parenting practices that included punitive interactions were associated with elevated rates of all child disruptive behavior problems. Low levels of warm involvement were particularly characteristic of parents of children who showed elevated levels of oppositional behaviors. Physically aggressive parenting was linked more specifically with child aggression. In general, parenting practices contributed more to the prediction of oppositional and aggressive behavior problems than to hyperactive behavior problems, and parenting influences were fairly consistent across ethnic groups and sex.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders used as guideline
• Parent Questionnaire
• Parenting Practices Inventory
• Conflict Tactics Scale

Abstract -- Two prospective investigations of the moderating role of dyadic friendship in the developmental pathway to peer victimization are reported. In Study 1, the preschool home environments (i.e., harsh discipline, marital conflict, stress, abuse, and maternal hostility) of 389 children were assessed by trained interviewers. These children were then followed into the middle years of elementary school, with peer victimization, group social acceptance, and friendship assessed annually with a peer nomination inventory. In Study 2, the home environments of 243 children were assessed in the summer before 1st grade, and victimization, group acceptance, and friendship were assessed annually over the next 3 years. In both studies, early harsh, punitive, and hostile family environments predicted later victimization by peers for children who had a low number of friendships. However, the predictive associations did not hold for children who had numerous friendships. These findings provide support for conceptualizations of friendship as a moderating factor in the pathways to peer group victimization.

Measures Used:

• Family Information Form (FIF)
• Peer nomination review (Sociometrics)
• Post-Visit Inventory which included items adapted from the Home Observation for the Measurement of Environment (HOME)

Abstract -- The objectives of this study are to determine whether attention problems predict the development of reading difficulties, and to examine whether screening for attention problems could be of practical value in identifying children at risk for reading underachievement. In this study, three hundred eighty-seven children were monitored from kindergarten through fifth grade. Standardized assessments of attention problems and reading achievement were conducted at multiple time points. Attention problems predicted reading achievement even after controlling for prior reading achievement, IQ, and other behavioral difficulties. Inattentive first graders with normal reading scores after kindergarten were at risk for poor reading outcomes. The study concludes that attention problems play an important role in the development of reading difficulties for some children, and screening for attention problems may help identify children at risk for reading difficulties.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised (Letter-Word Identification and Passage Comprehensive)
• 7 items from the Teacher Report Form used to measure Child Attention Problems
• WISC-R (Vocabulary and Block Design)
• 5 items from the Teacher Report Form used to directly measure activity level
• ADHD Rating Scale
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form
• Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher version

Abstract -- Examined the relationship between parent involvement (PI) in school and family and demographic risk factors. The subjects were 387 kindergarten and 1st-grade students from high-risk neighborhoods in four different sites (each site representing a different cross-section of the US population). Data were collected from the subjects' parents and teachers. A confirmatory factor analysis of a theoretical factor model of PI identified six PI factors (Parent-Teacher Contact, PTC; PI at School, PIS; Quality of Parent-Teacher Relationship, PTR; Teacher's Perception of the Parent, TPP; PI at Home, PIH; and Parent Endorsement of School, PES). The relationship among three specific family and demographic risk factors (parental education level, maternal depression, and single-parent status) and the six PI factors were examined using path analyses in structural equation modeling. Differences in PI in African American and Caucasian families were also examined. The results indicate that the three risk factors are differentially associated with the six PI factors. Specifically, parental education level is associated with PTC, PIS, TPP, and PIH. Maternal depression is associated with PIS, PTR, TPP, PIH, and PES. Single-parent status is associated with PTR, TPP and PIS. No significant ethnic group differences in PI are reported.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Family Information Form
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Parent-Teacher Involvement-Teacher
• Parent-Teacher Involvement-Parent

Abstract -- Fast Track is a multisite, multicomponent preventive intervention for young children at high-risk for long-term antisocial behavior. Based on a comprehensive developmental model, this intervention includes a universal-level classroom program plus social-skill training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting to improve competencies and reduce problems in a high-risk group of children selected in kindergarten. The theoretical principles and clinical strategies utilized in the Fast Track Project are described to illustrate the interplay between basic developmental research, the understanding of risk and protective factors, and a research-based model of preventive intervention that integrates universal and indicated models of prevention.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- Examined the shared and unique contributions of low cognitive ability and inattention to the development of social behavior problems and peer relationships of children at the time of school entry. Kindergarten and first-grade assessments of cognitive ability, inattention and prosocial and aggressive behavior were collected for a multisite, normative sample. Sociometric assessments of peer relationships were collected at the end of first grade. Cognitive ability and inattention both contributed to the prediction of social behavior and peer relationships. Low cognitive ability was particularly predictive of prosocial skill deficits, and social behavior mediated the relation between cognitive ability and social preference. Inattention predicted both prosocial skill deficits and elevated aggressive-disruptive behavior problems. Behavior problems partially mediated the relation between inattention and social preference. Identified subgroups of children with elevated levels of inattention or low cognitive ability showed different patterns of peer problems, with low acceptance characteristic of the low cognitive ability (only) group and high dislike ratings characteristic of the inattentive and inattentive/low-ability group. Implications are discussed for the design of early intervention and prevention programs.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• ADHD Checklist-Parent -ADHD Checklist-Teacher
• Sociometrics
• Social Competence Scale

Abstract -- In two studies the authors examined knowledge and social information-processing mechanisms as two distinct sources of influence on child aggression. Data were collected from 387 boys and girls of diverse ethnicity in three successive years. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the discriminant validity of the knowledge construct of aggression beliefs and the processing constructs of hostile intent attributions, accessing of aggressive responses, and positive evaluation of aggressive outcomes. In Study 2, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the mediation hypothesis that aggression beliefs would influence child aggression through the effects of deviant processing. A stronger belief that aggressive retaliation is acceptable predicted more deviant processing one year later and more aggression two years later. However, the intervening effects of deviant processing on aggression substantially accounted for this latter effect.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Normative Beliefs About Aggression
• Home Interview with Child
• Things That Happen to Me
• What Do You Think?
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Self-Reported Delinquency

Abstract -- This study tested two alternative hypotheses regarding the relations between child behavior and peer preference. The first hypothesis is generated from the person-group similarity model, which predicts that the acceptability of social behaviors will vary as a function of peer group norms. The second hypothesis is generated by the social skill model, which predicts that behavioral skill deficiencies reduce and behavioral competencies enhance peer preference. A total of 2895 children in 134 regular first-grade classrooms participated in the study. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to compare four different behaviors as predictors of peer preference in the context of classrooms with varying levels of these behavior problems. The results of the study supported both predictive models, with the acceptability of aggression and withdrawal varying across classrooms (following a person-group similarity model) and the effects of inattentive/hyperactive behavior (in a negative direction) and prosocial behavior (in a positive direction) following a social skill model and remaining constant in their associations with peer preference across classrooms. Gender differences also emerged, with aggression following the person-group similarity model for boys more strongly than for girls. The effects of both child behaviors and the peer group context on peer preference and on the trajectory of social development are discussed.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Sociometrics

Abstract -- Examined influences on the rate and quality of parent participation in the Fast Track Program, a multi-system community-based, longitudinal preventive intervention for children who are at risk for conduct problems. Data on family coordinator (FC) and parent characteristics, therapeutic engagement between FC and parent, and rate and quality of parent participation were gathered using questionnaires, ratings, and records. FCs are the Fast Track program personnel who conduct group based parent-training sessions and home visits. Ss in this study included 12 FCs (aged 24-40 yrs; 42% African American, 58% European American) and 87 parents (aged 23-67 yrs; 55% African American, 45% European American). The level of therapeutic engagement between the parent and the FC was positively associated with the rate of parent attendance at group training sessions. The extent of family coordinator-parent racial and socioeconomic similarity and the extent of the FC's relevant life experiences were highly associated with the level of therapeutic engagement. The quality, but not the rate, of participation was lower for African American parents. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention with this population are discussed.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)

Abstract -- The contributions of different risk factors in predicting children's psychological and academic outcomes at the end of 1st grade were examined. Using a regression model, levels of ecobehavioral risk were assessed in the following order: specific demographics, broad demographics, family psychosocial status, mother's depressive symptoms, and neighborhood quality. Participants were 337 families from four American communities. Predictor variables were assessed in kindergarten, and teacher, parent, and child outcomes (behavioral and academic) were assessed at the end of 1st grade. Results indicated that (a) each level of analysis contributed to prediction of most outcomes, (b) 18%-29% of the variance was predicted in outcomes, (c) a common set of predictors predicted numerous outcomes, (d) ethnicity showed little unique prediction, and (e) the quality of the neighborhood showed small but unique prediction to externalizing problems.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Family Information Form (Socioeconomic Status)
• Life Changes
• Family Expressiveness Questionnaire
• Inventory of Parent Experiences
• Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Relationship Adjustment Scale)
• Maternal depression assessed using CES-D (Feelings Scale)
• Post-Visit Reaction Inventory-Parent
• Neighborhood Questionnaire
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• Woodcock-Johnson Psycho Educational Battery-Revised (Letter-word recognition and Calculations)

Abstract -- This study examined the effectiveness of the universal component of the Fast Track prevention model: the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum and teacher consultation. This randomized clinical trial involved 198 intervention and 180 comparison classrooms from neighborhoods with greater than average crime in 4 U.S. locations. In the intervention schools, Grade 1 teachers delivered a 57-lesson social competence intervention focused on self-control, emotional awareness, peer relations, and problem solving. Findings indicated significant effects on peer ratings of aggression and hyperactive-disruptive behavior and observer ratings of classroom atmosphere. Quality of implementation predicted variation in assessments of classroom functioning. The results are discussed in terms of both the efficacy of universal, school-based prevention models and the need to examine comprehensive, multiyear programs.

Measures Used:

• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Social Health Profile (SHP) -Sociometrics
• ASKER Classroom Rating

Abstract -- Fast Track is a multisite, multicomponent preventive intervention for young children at high risk for long-term antisocial behavior. Based on a comprehensive developmental model, intervention included a universal-level classroom program plus social skills training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting to improve competencies and reduce problems in a high-risk group of children selected in kindergarten. At the end of Grade 1, there were moderate positive effects on children's social, emotional, and academic skills; peer interactions and social status; and conduct problems and special-education use. Parents reported less physical discipline and greater parenting satisfaction/ease of parenting and engaged in more appropriate/consistent discipline, warmth/positive involvement, and involvement with the school. Evidence of differential intervention effects across child gender, race, site, and cohort was minimal.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task (PCIT)
• Social Health Profile (SHP)
• Teacher Report Form-Externalizing
• MOOSES
• Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
• Interview of Emotional Experience
• Social Problem Solving
• Home Inventory with Child
• School Records
• Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised
• Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale
• Social Competence Scale-Parent
• Parent Practices Scale
• Parent Questionnaire
• Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Parent
• Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher
• Developmental History
• Post Intervention Ratings of Child and Parent Change
• Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Behavioral Coding System (PCIT-BCS)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
• Coder Impressions Inventory
• Parent Daily Report
• Teacher Ratings of Child Behavior Change
• Sociometrics

Abstract -- Based upon developmental models of disruptive behavior problems, this study examined the hypothesis that the nature of a child's externalizing problems at home may be important in predicting the probability of and nature of school adjustment problems at school entry. Parent ratings were collected for a sample of 631 behaviorally disruptive children using the Child Behavior Checklist. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed differentiated ratings of oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home. Teacher and peer nominations assessed school adjustment at the end of first grade. As expected from a developmental perspective, aggressive behaviors indicated more severe dysfunction and were more likely to generalize to the school setting than were oppositional behaviors. Hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home led to more classroom disruption than did aggressive or oppositional behaviors. Co-occurring patterns of oppositional/aggressive and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors were more common than were single-problem patterns, and were associated with broad dysfunction in the social and classroom contexts. The results were interpreted within a developmental framework, in which oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors may reflect distinct (as well as shared) developmental processes that have implications for the home-to-school generalization of behavior problems and subsequent school adjustment.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Revised Problems Behavior Checklist
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Sociometrics

Abstract -- Children who begin to engage in conduct problem behaviors during the preschool and early school-age periods are at significant risk for negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Fast Track is an ongoing, comprehensive, multisite intervention trial that is designed to prevent serious and chronic conduct problems. The program is based on a developmental model of conduct problems that posits the interaction of multiple influences on the development of antisocial behavior. The intervention begins in the first grade and continues through tenth grade. The elementary-school phase of the intervention is unique in combining targeted interventions for the highest risk children with a universal intervention directed to the promotion of social and emotional competence for all children in the intervention schools. There is a high-risk intervention sample of children selected at school entry on the basis of high levels of prior conduct problems, a comparable sample of high-risk children who do not participate in the intervention, and a normative comparison sample. Findings are presented concerning the intervention effects over the first several years with the high-risk sample. Attempts by the CPPRG to examine mediational models that test how changes in various malleable risk factors may account for the intervention effects are summarized, as are changes in the developmental model that are related to the onset of early adolescence and how these changes influence planned intervention strategies.

Measures Used: n/a

Abstract -- This study examined the cross-situational patterns of behavior problems shown by children in rural and urban communities at school entry. Behavior problems exhibited in home settings were not expected to vary significantly across urban and rural settings. In contrast, it was anticipated that child behavior at school would be heavily influenced by the increased exposure to aggressive models and deviant peer support experienced by children in urban as compared to rural schools, leading to higher rates of school conduct problems for children in urban settings. Statistical comparisons of the patterns of behavior problems shown by representative samples of 89 rural and 221 urban children provided support for these hypotheses, as significant rural-urban differences emerged in school and not in home settings. Cross-situational patterns of behavior problems also varied across setting, with home-only patterns of problems characterizing more children at the rural site and school-only patterns of behavior problems characterizing more children at the urban sites. In addition, whereas externalizing behavior was the primary school problem exhibited by urban children, rural children displayed significantly higher rates of internalizing problems at school. The implications of these results are discussed for developmental models of behavior problems and for preventive interventions.

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Socioeconomic Status (Family Information Form)

Abstract -- Childhood conduct problems are predictive of a number of serious long-term difficulties (e.g., school failure, delinquent behavior, and mental health problems), making the design of effective prevention programs a priority. The Fast Track Program is a demonstration project currently underway in four demographically diverse areas of the United States, testing the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders. This paper describes some lessons learned about the implementation of this program in a rural area. Although there are many areas of commonality in terms of program needs, program design, and implementation issues in rural and urban sites, rural areas differ from urban areas along the dimensions of geographical dispersion and regionalism, and community stability and insularity. Rural programs must cover a broad geographical area and must be sensitive to the multiple, small and regional communities that constitute their service area. Small schools, homogeneous populations, traditional values, limited recreational educational and mental health services, and politically conservative climates are all more prevalent in rural areas.

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
• Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Sociometrics
• Social Health Profile (SHP)

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used: n/a

Measures Used:

• Teacher Screen used 14 items from the Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Parent Screen involved 24 items about externalizing behavior problem items from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Revised Problem Behavior Checklist.
• Parenting Practices

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
• Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
• Family Information Form-Parent (Socioeconomic Status)
• Parent-Child Interaction Task (PCIT)

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
• Fast Track School Observation Program
• ASKER/MOOSES (Post Observation Inventory, Social Health Profile, Minnesota Affect Rating Scale, Classroom Atmosphere Ratings)

Measures Used:

• Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• Process/Implementation Measures (parent training, home visiting/case management, social skills training, and teacher-based classroom intervention)