Elementary school teachers’ preferences for school‐based interventions for students with emotional and behavioral problems

Cost-Effectiveness of a Training Intervention for Adolescents with ADHD

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of a school-based training intervention delivered at varying levels of intensity with adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Costs were examined in relation to post-treatment and 6-month follow-up effects of the Challenging Horizons Program (CHP), a training intervention for adolescents with ADHD.

METHOD

A total of 326 middle-school students (71% male; 77% White) with ADHD were randomized to an after-school version of the CHP (CHP-AS), a less-intensive mentoring version (CHP-M), or routine community care. Detailed time logs were maintained throughout the study and were used to estimate costs associated with each condition. Student grade point average (GPA) and parent-rated ADHD symptoms and organization skills were collected at post-treatment and 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS

The cost analysis revealed that CHP-AS was more costly per student than CHP-M, both in terms of overall costs and direct expenses to the school. However, CHP-AS was less costly per hour of intervention provided to the youth than CHP-M. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios revealed that CHP-M may be the more cost-effective option for post-treatment effects, yet CHP-AS may be the more cost-effective option in the long term for sustained gains in organization skills and GPA.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides stakeholders important information to make decisions regarding allocation of finite monetary resources to meet their prioritized goals.

Mental Health Education for Primary School Teachers in Areas Lacking Environmental Resource Dilemma and Countermeasures

With the development of society and the progress of education, primary school teachers in areas lacking in environmental resources were facing many problems, and teachers' mental health problems were facing many challenges. The primary education conditions in the areas lacking in environmental resources were limited, and the education level needs to be improved. Therefore, the primary school teachers in the areas lacking in environmental resources should keep a good psychological state and make greater contributions to the primary education in the areas lacking in environmental resources. As the leader of primary education activities, teachers had a direct and profound influence on the growth and development of pupils in the enlightenment stage. Therefore, it was necessary to change the education and teaching concept, move towards the mental health education concept in the areas with poor environmental resources, strengthen the training of teachers' mental health education literacy, and actively explore the new mode of teacher education.

Effectiveness of Specific Techniques in Behavioral Teacher Training for Childhood ADHD Behaviors: Secondary Analyses of a Randomized Controlled Microtrial

Behavioral teacher training is an effective intervention for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Intervention effectiveness may be enhanced by including intervention components that carry the strongest evidence for their effectiveness. A previous article of this group showed that both antecedent- (i.e., stimulus-control) and consequent-based (i.e., contingency management) techniques were highly effective in reducing daily teacher-rated, individually selected problem behaviors in a specific situation of the child. Effects were observed up to three months post intervention. Here, we tested whether effects were also present in teacher-rated and masked DSM-based assessments that comprise the full range of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, as well as on teacher-rated impairment. Teachers of 90 children with (subthreshold) ADHD (6–12 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a short (two sessions), individualized intervention consisting of either a) antecedent-based techniques or b) consequent-based techniques; or c) waitlist. Multilevel analyses showed that both sets of techniques were effective in reducing teacher-rated ADHD symptoms and impairment immediately after the intervention and up to three months later, as compared to waitlist. Masked observations of ADHD behavior were in line with teacher ratings, with effects being most pronounced for inattention. No effects on teacher-rated or masked ODD behavior were found. This study showed that antecedent- and consequent-based techniques were effective in improving classroom ADHD symptoms and impairment. Long-term changes in teacher-rated ADHD are promising. These results extend previous findings and show the potential of short individually tailored interventions in classroom settings as treatment of ADHD symptoms.

Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions and Its Relevance to School Psychology

The control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions is a well-established theoretical framework which delineates the predictive relationships among distal and proximal antecedents, academic emotions, and student engagement and achievement. Although most research anchored in CVT is conducted by educational psychologists, the theory is arguably applicable to the field of school psychology. In this article, we first provide a brief overview of the theory, with a specific focus on the proximal antecedents (i.e., cognitive appraisals), as well as academic emotions and performance. Given that school psychologists are often consulted with strategies regarding students’ emotional challenges exhibited in the classroom, we then discuss empirical evidence of control- and value-based interventions (e.g., attributional retraining, utility-value), both of which can be posited to address the cognitive appraisals of achievement emotions. Lastly, we discuss the implications of CVT and control- and value-based interventions to school psychologists’ work.

Effectiveness of Specific Techniques in Behavioral Teacher Training for Childhood ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Microtrial

Objective: Behavioral teacher training is the most effective classroom-based intervention for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is currently unknown which components of this intervention add to its effectiveness and for whom these are effective.

Method: In this microtrial, teachers of 90 children with impairing levels of ADHD symptoms (6–12 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a short (2 sessions), individualized intervention consisting of either (A) antecedent-based techniques (stimulus control), (B) consequent-based techniques (contingency management) or (C) waitlist. Primary outcome was the average of five daily assessments of four individualized problem behaviors, assessed pre and post intervention and three months later. Moderation analyses were conducted to generate hypotheses on child, teacher and classroom factors that may contribute to technique effectiveness.

Results: Multilevel analyses showed that both antecedent- and consequent-based techniques were equally and highly effective in reducing problem behaviors compared to the control condition (Cohen’s d =.9); effects remained stable up to three months later. Child’s age and class size were moderators of technique effectiveness. For younger children, consequent-based techniques were more effective than antecedent-based techniques, whereas for older children the effect was in the opposite direction. Further, beneficial effects of antecedent-based techniques increased when the number of students per class decreased, whilst effectiveness of consequent-based techniques did not depend on class size.

Conclusions: This study shows that both antecedent- and consequent-based techniques are highly effective in reducing problem behavior of children with ADHD. Interventions may be adapted to the child’s age and class size.

Bibliometric Review: Classroom Management in ADHD—Is There a Communication Gap Concerning Knowledge Between the Scientific Fields Psychiatry/Psychology and Education?

Many students with ADHD experience educational attainment difficulties. Nevertheless, evidence-based classroom management strategies (CMS) are seldom used. This science–practitioner gap might be due to a lack of shared knowledge between the scientific fields of psychology/psychiatry and education. This review uses science mapping to explore the basis of the current stock of knowledge in each of the two scientific fields, compares current approaches, and examines whether implementation methods and related barriers are investigated topics. We conducted a systematic search of the literature to identify articles on CMS in ADHD. We then conducted co-citation analyses and bibliographic coupling analysis. The former revealed six clusters of psychology/psychiatry and five clusters of education. Bibliographic coupling analysis resulted in eight clusters, with literature from both fields. The majority of the research is conducted in the field of psychology/psychiatry; teachers’ perspectives are focused only in the field of education. The number of studies on implementation and potential barriers is small. There was thus relatively little communication between the sciences, but the scientific fields have seemed to converge recently. Connecting the scientific fields more and concentrating on implementation methods and barriers is strongly needed to close the science–practitioner gap.