Male and Female Observers’ Evaluations of a Bullying Case as a Function of Degree of Harm,Type of Bullying,and Academic Level

Acting as disciplinary committee members, participants listened to a school bullying case that varied in terms of type (relational or verbal), degree of harm (low or high), and academic level of the victim and defendant (high school or university). Participants’ judgments (e.g., verdict, recommended sentence, seriousness, perceptions of both students) generally favored the victim when he experienced more rather than less harm, regardless of bullying type, and when the incident took place in a high school rather than a university. Additionally, women’s judgments supported the victim more than men’s. We propose that previous results suggesting that observers downgrade relational bullying occurred because no harm was specified. Moreover, we contend that observers relied on a “bullying schema” that includes the component that bullying occurs in primary and secondary schools, which led them to make less punitive judgments in the university case.     

A Randomized Trial of Internet-Delivered Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder in High School Students

Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown effective for university students with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and public speaking fears. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the promising results can be transferred to high school students suffering from this condition. A total of 19 speech-anxious high school students with SAD were randomized either into 9 weeks of Internet-delivered CBT or to a wait-list control group. Significant improvements were found on measures of social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression. Effects were maintained at 1-year follow-up. The average within- and between-group effect sizes (Cohen's d) for the primary social anxiety scales at posttest were 0.98 and 1.38, respectively. However, the average number of completed modules in the CBT program was low. Although compliance can be improved, the results suggest that Internet-based guided self-help is effective in the treatment of high school students with SAD.     

中学生家庭作业努力及其影响因素

家庭作业努力是评估学生家庭作业行为的重要指标之一,包括家庭作业完成的主动性、投入性、注意力专注性和试图完成家庭作业的比例或任务数量4个维度。个体的性别、责任心、家庭作业动机、家庭作业情绪等个体因素以及教师的反馈和支持、家庭作业质量、家庭因素等环境因素都会影响家庭作业努力。未来的研究方向主要在于影响因素间的相互作用机制和影响效果的干预、对特殊群体学生家庭作业努力的关注以及基于计算机的家庭作业条件下,影响家庭作业努力的因素等方面。     

Development and Implementation of a Sport Psychology Program in an Urban High School

SUMMARY

This article is based on a dissertation of the author that was centered on the process of developing a sport psychology program at the high school level. The program was developed to address academic, mental, social, and emotional needs of student-athletes and coaches. This sport psychology program, which was developed in the Linden Public School District, a large urban district in New Jersey, may be the first such program documented on a national level. In this dissertation, the author, who was a school psychologist in the district, utilized a particular program planning and evaluation framework, with attention to the first two phases-clarification and designto develop and implement a sport psychology program.     

Consultation to Improve a Special Educaton Teacher's Participation in Annual Review Multidisciplinary Team Meetings

Annual review multidisciplinary team meetings, in which special education student cases are reviewed and placement decisions made for the coming year, depend for their effectiveness on appropriate teacher assessment of student progress. This article reports on a consultation effort, internal to a multidisciplinary team, from which were developed two decision-making models which allowed a special education teacher to assess problem areas in her typical preparation for meetings and to devise more systematic preparation procdures. Changes resulting from the consultation are discussed. General issues posing difficulties for multidisciplinary team staffing of students in classes for the emotionally disturbed are also described.     

Responses of School Psychologists and Special Education Teachers to Administrative Pressures to Practice Unethically

Abstract

Responses of school psychologists (N = 141) and special educators (N = 130) to ethical dilemmas involving conflicts between administrative directives and ethical obligations were examined. Respondents completed a survey asking them to predict their own and others' responses to four ethical dilemmas. The majority of respondents predicted that they, immediate colleagues, and professional peers would make the choices judged as ethical in all situations. Predictions of ethical response were highest for self prediction and varied across the four dilemmas. Respondents who viewed their immediate colleagues as supportive of autonomous decision making were more likely to predict ethical choices than those who viewed their colleagues as supporting deference to administrative authority. No differences in predictions related to gender, degree level, job security, preservice training in or knowledge of professional ethics or special education law were found.     

An Evolutionary Process with an Uncertain Future

Summary

Inclusion is discussed as a long-term evolutionary development since the era of compulsory schooling. Special education is seen as a late comer in a generally broader societal movement. Themes in this volume on inclusion and conclusions relevant to the future are provided.     

Implications of the National Agenda to Improve Results for Children and Youth with or at Risk of Serious Emotional Disturbance

Abstract

Fragmented, agency-centered services contribute to poor educational and social outcomes. The National Agenda to Improve Results for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance targets approaches that are knowledge-based and have a high likelihood of improving outcomes. This article explores the implications of the Agenda's seven targets andthe importance of early identification and prevention.     

Dose response effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy in a school mental health program

ABSTRACT

School mental health (SMH) programs have been shown to be effective in providing evidence-based interventions to underserved youth. However, limitations of SMH programs are that they can entail holiday breaks, typically do not operate through summer, and often require pulling students from class to receive therapy. These limitations suggest that treatment must be expeditious and potent. Although researchers have investigated dose response to treatment, no studies were located that addressed dose response to treatment in SMH programs. The present study addressed this gap by evaluating the dose response to SMH treatment in a sample of 133 adolescents. Adolescents were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and at multiple time points throughout treatment. An average treatment response of a 26.81-point decrease in Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ-30) score was found across 14 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Further, adolescents exhibited reliable change in YOQ-30 score within an average of 2.91 sessions. Finally, it was found that baseline scores on the Depression and Hyperactivity subscales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition, along with YOQ-30 score, predicted treatment response. These findings advance our understanding of dose response to CBT in SMH settings, and create opportunities to better inform effective treatment strategies in similar contexts.     

Refusing to be excluded: finding ways of integrating psychotherapeutic modalities to the emerging needs of a Pupil Referral Unit

This paper describes the application of child psychotherapy, its theory and practice, in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). It examines the importance of a flexible approach to outreach work and the implementation of interventions that take into consideration both the internal and the external world of the adolescent. Furthermore, the process of development of a psychodynamic group with PRU students is described and illustrated. Additionally, it explores the importance of developing psychodynamic models of working with allied professionals in supervision and collaborative efforts in general. The paper explores the usefulness of the concept of mentalisation when working in the context of schools as well as the need to develop an accessible psychodynamic language that enables multidisciplinary collaboration. Overall, this paper reflects on the importance of holding in mind the challenge of balancing the needs of the external and the internal world, which becomes very evident in the process of outreach work.