A Comparison of Written,Vocal, and Video Feedback When Training Teachers

We compared the effectiveness of and preference for different feedback strategies when training six special education teachers during a 5-day summer training program. In Experiment 1, teachers received written or vocal feedback while learning to implement two different types of preference assessments. In Experiment 2, we compared either written or vocal feedback to vocal feedback combined with video replays of performance while training the teachers to implement two variations of discrete-trial training. The different forms of feedback were similarly effective for all of the participants. However, all of the teachers showed a preference for vocal feedback when they could choose which form of feedback they would receive from the experimenter. Results have important implications for the use of feedback when training teachers.     

Atypical brain responses to sounds in children with specific language and reading impairments

This study tested if children with specific language impairment (SLI) or children with specific reading disability (SRD) have abnormal brain responses to sounds. We tested 6‐ to 12‐year‐old children with SLI (N =19), children with SRD (N =55), and age‐matched controls (N =36) for their passive auditory event‐related potentials (ERPs) to tones, rapid tones, vowels and consonant‐vowels. Thirty‐eight percent of the children with SLI or SRD had less typical passive auditory ERPs in the N1–P2 window to sounds in general, rather than to tones, rapid tones, vowels or consonant‐vowels specifically. The ERPs of these children were significantly ‘flatter’ in the N1–P2 region than normal. All the children with flatter ERPs in the N1–P2 region had poor non‐word reading. A subgroup of these poor non‐word readers also had poor non‐word repetition. These findings support the hypothesis that impaired auditory processing is a causal risk factor for both SLI and SRD.     

A Mixed-Methodological Evaluation of a Subjective Well-Being Intervention Program With Elementary-Age Students

An embedded mixed-methods design was implemented with 34 elementary-age students (mean age = 10.15 years, SD = 0.65) to evaluate salient experiences and improvements in protective factors and life satisfaction associated with a subjective well-being intervention program (SWIP). Analyses resulted in a model of participant experiences in which thematic experiences with SWIP participation (improved emotional expression, enhanced self-discovery, and increased empathy) promoted the emergence of protective factors (self-concept and self-confidence) that contributed to life satisfaction.     

Effects of signaled and unsignaled alternative reinforcement on persistence and relapse in children and pigeons

Three experiments explored the impact of different reinforcer rates for alternative behavior (DRA) on the suppression and post‐DRA relapse of target behavior, and the persistence of alternative behavior. All experiments arranged baseline, intervention with extinction of target behavior concurrently with DRA, and post‐treatment tests of resurgence or reinstatement, in two‐ or three‐component multiple schedules. Experiment 1, with pigeons, arranged high or low baseline reinforcer rates; both rich and lean DRA schedules reduced target behavior to low levels. When DRA was discontinued, the magnitude of relapse depended on both baseline reinforcer rate and the rate of DRA. Experiment 2, with children exhibiting problem behaviors, arranged an intermediate baseline reinforcer rate and rich or lean signaled DRA. During treatment, both rich and lean DRA rapidly reduced problem behavior to low levels, but post‐treatment relapse was generally greater in the DRA‐rich than the DRA‐lean component. Experiment 3, with pigeons, repeated the low‐baseline condition of Experiment 1 with signaled DRA as in Experiment 2. Target behavior decreased to intermediate levels in both DRA‐rich and DRA‐lean components. Relapse, when it occurred, was directly related to DRA reinforcer rate as in Experiment 2. The post‐treatment persistence of alternative behavior was greater in the DRA‐rich component in Experiment 1, whereas it was the same or greater in the signaled‐DRA‐lean component in Experiments 2 and 3. Thus, infrequent signaled DRA may be optimal for effective clinical treatment.     

Race,Adolescent Binge Drinking,and the Context of Neighborhood Exposure

Drawing on theories of social structure and normative exposure, we examine how the neighborhood context of socioeconomic advantage and racial composition affects race/ethnic differences in youth binge drinking. Using data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, logistic regressions reveal significant racial differences, with whites having higher odds of binge drinking than other groups. We also find that neighborhood advantage and racial composition have moderating effects on binge drinking; black youths’ odds of binge drinking are significantly lower than whites’ odds in highly advantaged neighborhoods, and Hispanics living in racially integrated neighborhoods have significantly lower odds of binge drinking than Hispanics living in white neighborhoods.     

The Effects of Stress and Social Support on Externalizing Behaviors Among Children in Military Families

Drawing on social support theory, this study examines the main and interactive effects of parental perceived stress and social support on externalizing behaviors in military youth. Findings reveal that not only do social support and stress affect the conduct of military children, but social support also moderately buffers the effects of parental stress. Given the increasing distance between military and American culture, more generally, this research is one opportunity to make sense of contradictory expectations about the well-being of military youth. In doing so, it provides implications for how a more supportive organization can benefit military families.