Educational risk factors for psychological truancy in Lesotho: a qualitative exploration

A qualitative case study design was used to explore educational risk factors that may contribute to psychological truancy in a Lesotho secondary school. Purposively sampled teachers (n = 4, females = 50%) and pupils (n = 4, females = 75%), who have experience of psychological truancy, took part in a focus group and individual interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse data emanating from the interviews. The findings indicate that pupil–teacher relationships, the use of English as medium of instruction and a lack of resources may be educational risk factors contributing to psychological truancy. Positive pupil–teacher relationships and active classroom engagement are prerequisites for successful and active learning.     

Interview‐informed functional analyses: A comparison of synthesized and isolated components

Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) described a functional analysis (FA) format that relied on a synthesis of multiple contingencies described by caregivers during open‐ended interviews. These interview‐informed synthesized contingency analyses (IISCA) provided effective baselines from which to develop socially validated treatments, but the synthesis precluded a precise understanding of individual contingencies influencing problem behavior. We conducted IISCAs and standard FAs (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994) for nine children with autism to evaluate the likelihood of differentiation given a number of synthesized versus isolated variables. The IISCA was differentiated for all. The standard FA was differentiated for four; this number increased to six when we included precursors in the standard FA. We then compared treatments based on sets of differentiated analyses for four children. Treatment based on the IISCA was effective for all four; treatments based on the standard FA were effective for two. The role of synthesis in analysis is discussed.     

The Impact of Conflict Issues on Fixed-Pie Perceptions, Problem Solving, and Integrative Outcomes in Negotiation

It is argued that a negotiator's fixed-pie perception, cooperative motivation, problem-solving behavior, and integrative outcomes are influenced by the content of the negotiation—the conflict issue. Negotiation involves conflicting interests, conflicting ideas about intellective problems, or conflicting ideas about evaluative problems. Study 1 showed that individuals in a negotiation about interests have a stronger fixed-pie perception and have a lower cooperative motivation than individuals in an evaluative negotiation, with intellective negotiations taking an intermediate position. Study 2 showed that individuals in a negotiation about interests made more trade-offs and reached higher joint outcomes than individuals in an intellective or evaluative negotiation. Study 3 replicated this finding in a field study. The studies bridge insights from negotiation research and decision-making research and show that the conflict issue has important effects on the negotiation process.     

Peer Tutoring: Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities to Deliver Time Delay Instruction

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a peer-mediated constant time delay procedure for teaching written spelling to fourth- and fifth-grade students identified as learning disabled. The six peer tutors (each with learning disabilities) taught each other to produce the written spelling for 15 five- to eight-letter words using a 3-s delay and a visual model prompt. A multiple probe design across behaviors (word sets) was used to evaluate the procedure. Data were collected on the number of sessions to criterion, trials to criterion, number and percent of errors, and direct instructional time. The classroom teacher prepared students to serve as tutors using a describe-model-guided practice-feedback sequence. Pre- and post-measures were conducted of generalization of the tutoring procedure as well as observational learning by the tutors. Results indicated that (a) peer tutors reliably implemented the time delay procedure, and (b) the tutor-implemented time delay procedure was effective in teaching written spelling to students identified as learning disabled.     

Family Support in Children’s Mental Health: A Review and Synthesis

A comprehensive review of structured family support programs in children’s mental health was conducted in collaboration with leadership from key national family organizations. The goals were to identify typologies of family support services for which evaluation data existed and identify research gaps. Over 200 programs were examined; 50 met criteria for inclusion. Programs were categorized by whether they were delivered by peer family members, clinicians, or teams. Five salient components of family support were identified: (a) informational, (b) instructional, (c) emotional, (d) instrumental, and (e) advocacy. Clinician-led programs were heavily represented (n = 33, 66%), followed by family-led (n = 11, 22%), and team-delivered (n = 6, 12%) programs. Key differences between programs delivered by clinicians or by peer family members were found in the degree of emphasis, research methodology, and outcomes. However, the content of the components was similar across all three program types. There are both important differences in emphasis across typologies of family support provided by clinicians, family members, or teams as well as important similarities in content. Family-delivered support may be an important adjunct to existing services for parents, although the research base remains thin. A research agenda to promote more rigorous evaluations of these services especially those delivered by peer family members is critical.     

Toward accurate inferences of response class membership

In their review of synthesis within the functional analysis (FA) literature, Slaton and Hanley (2018) reported that most synthesized contingency analyses have included multiple topographies of problem behavior in the reinforcement contingency class. This leaves the question of whether one, some, or all forms of problem behavior are sensitive to the synthesized reinforcement contingencies in published analyses. To address this ambiguity, all topographies of problem behavior that were reported by caregivers to co-occur with the most concerning problem behavior were analyzed for 10 participants. We implemented extinction across one or more forms of problem behavior to determine whether all forms reported to co-occur were sensitive to the same synthesized reinforcement contingency. For nine of 10 participants, the most concerning topographies were sensitive to the same synthesized reinforcement contingencies as the less concerning topographies (results were inconclusive for one). Implications for inferring response class membership from single analyses are discussed.     

TEACHING MEMORIZED SPELLING WITH A MICROCOMPUTER: TIME DELAY AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION

A computer-assisted instruction program was evaluated that used a constant time-delay procedure to teach 5 students 18 spelling words. In addition to delivering the instructional procedure, the program managed the presentation of training content based on individual student responding and collected instructional data on individual student performance. The procedure was effective at teaching 4 of the 5 students the words, and generalization occurred from the computer-delivered keyboard response format to a teacher-delivered hand-written response format. Maintenance data varied among the students. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using microcomputers to deliver time-delay instruction in special education classrooms and suggested several research questions related to specific features of microcomputer-delivered time-delay instruction.     

What a Difference Family-Driven Makes: Stories of Success and Lessons Learned

Community Psychology’s emphasis on citizen participation aligns with the nationwide children’s mental health family movement and is clearly evident in communities that have made sustainable system changes. The national family movement has long advocated for the meaningful engagement of families and youth who are the focus population of the federal Children’s Mental Health Initiative. Little rigorous research about the experience of families in leadership positions or of their impact on systems of care has been done. In the absence of scientifically acquired evidence, this article offers the reader a glimpse into the authority, influence and credibility earned by four family leaders as well as their impact on local system of care communities. Their stories occur in four distinct macro level arenas: governance, evaluation, legislative advocacy, and workforce development. In the end, common attributes emerge from their stories, providing anecdotal information useful to identifying the qualities of successful family leadership and their impact on sustainable macro level changes.     

Effects of multiple versus chained schedules on stereotypy and item engagement

We evaluated rates of automatically reinforced stereotypy and item engagement for 2 children with autism under multiple and chained schedules in a multielement design. Each schedule included components during which stereotypy was blocked (S–) or allowed (S+), and we used colored cards as schedule‐correlated stimuli. We report rates of stereotypy and item engagement during S– and S+ components, as well as the percentage of component time that elapsed before the first instances of stereotypy and item engagement. We observed less stereotypy and more consistent item engagement during chained‐schedule sessions, and stimulus control of stereotypy and item engagement was established with the chained schedule. A subsequent concurrent‐chains analysis revealed participant preference for the chained schedule. These results highlight the importance of contingent access to stereotypy when therapists attempt to gain stimulus control of stereotypy and increase functional item engagement.