Perspectives on Factors Impacting Youth’s Reentry into Residential Care: An Exploratory Study

Multiple placements in therapeutic residential care is expensive, and is associated with poor outcomes; thus, identifying barriers to successful reintegration into the home and community school settings is essential for developing appropriate post-discharge supports, and reducing societal costs. Participants were seven youth (four female; three White/Caucasian, one Black/African American, one Hispanic/Latino, two multi-racial) recently readmitted to a therapeutic residential care program and five of their primary caregivers (four female; four White/Caucasian, one Black/African American). Through semi-structured interviews with caregivers and youth, this exploratory study investigated (1) the perceptions of preparedness for the youth’s successful transition from therapeutic residential care to the home setting, (2) the post-discharge factors that contributed to the youth’s return to care, and (3) the lessons learned about the youth’s transition from therapeutic residential care to home. The results of this exploratory, qualitative study revealed rich information about youth and their caregivers’ perspectives about their experiences prior to returning to care, such as the importance of healthy relationships (family and peers), transition planning, and post-discharge supports at the individual, family, and school levels.     

A Comparison of Two Flashcard Interventions for Teaching Sight Words to Early Readers

Strategic Incremental Rehearsal (SIR) is a recently developed flashcard intervention that blends Traditional Drill with Incremental Rehearsal (IR) for teaching sight words. The initial study evaluating SIR found it was more effective than IR for teaching sight words to first-grade students. However, that study failed to assess efficiency, which is important to consider when evaluating and selecting interventions. Therefore, the current study evaluated both the efficiency and effectiveness of SIR compared with IR for teaching sight words to 4 general education students (3 in second grade and 1 in first grade) who were enrolled in 1 of 2 schools. An alternating treatments single-case design was used to compare the effects of SIR and IR interventions implemented 4 days per week across 4 or 5 weeks. Students’ accuracy with words that were introduced during the week was assessed on Fridays, and maintenance of these words was assessed the following Friday. Results indicated that both interventions were effective for teaching students sight words, but that SIR was slightly more effective and efficient than IR for 3 of the 4 students. Findings have implications for the selection of flashcard interventions for teaching sight word vocabulary to early elementary students.     

More than meets the eye: the effect of planned fixations on scene representation

Scene memory frequently includes a swath of unseen layout beyond a photograph's boundaries (boundary extension [BE]; Intraub and Richardson, 1989). Might it be affected by the viewer's plan to shift fixation near a view boundary? When photographs were centrally fixated (500 msec), BE occurred following a 2-sec masked interval (Experiment 1). In Experiments 2-4, a cue during the first fixation signaled viewers to fixate an object near the left or right boundary. The picture was masked before the eyes landed. BE occurred on the cued side and on the top and bottom, but not on the uncued side. This relatively accurate performance on the uncued side suggests that inhibition of a movement to one side (in a competitive task) may also inhibit extrapolation of layout. BE on the to-be-fixated side, however, supports the idea that anticipatory representation of layout is an adaptive error that may aid the spatial integration of successive views.     

Evaluation of a Community-Based Peer-to-Peer Support Program for Parents of At-Risk Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

Parents of children with emotional and behavioral needs frequently experience difficulty navigating community-based services for their child, as well as experience increased stress and parental strain. Peer-to-peer support programs are an emerging approach to assist these parents, and evidence suggests that they are effective in increasing parents’ perceptions of social support, self-efficacy, and well-being. However, these programs often focus on parents of youth with diagnosed mental health disorders, despite the potential benefit for parents of youth who are at-risk for significant emotional and behavioral problems. In the current study, we used a pre-post design to evaluate a community-based, peer-to-peer support prevention program delivered via telephone to parents (N = 139) of youth with emerging behavioral and emotional difficulties. We evaluated (1) whether the intervention was delivered as designed, (2) the pre- and post-intervention gains in social support and concrete support, and (3) whether parents’ level of participation in the intervention and program adherence predicted outcomes. Results indicated that the intervention was delivered as intended and resulted in increased parental perceived social support and concrete support over time. Furthermore, higher levels of parental participation and intervention adherence were associated with increases in perceived social support. Thus, findings suggest that it may be beneficial for parents of at-risk youth with significant emotional and behavioral difficulties to engage in a peer-to-peer phone support prevention program.