Karen Bierman

ObjectiveThe authors sought to determine whether the Fast Track mental health intervention delivered to individuals in childhood decreased mental health problems and the need for health services among the children of these individuals.MethodsThe authors examined whether Fast Track assignment in one generation of children (generation 2; G2) from grades 1 through 10 reduced parent-reported mental health problems and health services use in these children’s children (generation 3; G3) 18 years later relative to a control group. The Fast Track intervention blended parent behavior-management training, child social-cognitive skills tutoring, home visits, and classroom social-ecology changes across grades 1–10 to ameliorate emerging conduct problems among the G2 children. For this study, 1,057 G3 children of Fast Track participants (N=581 intervention group, N=476 control group) were evaluated.ResultsG3 …

Parents boost STEM skills by scaffolding children’s attention and discovery during play, but many need support doing so. Using human-centered design (HCD) methods, we created activity kits fostering parents’ (a) involvement in and (b) valuing of parent-child play to promote preschoolers’ STEM skills. Study 1 documents how HCD methods informed the design of guided activity kits. In initial home visits, we videorecorded six parent-child dyads playing with basic building materials. Play revealed minimal parental STEM scaffolding and talk. Collaborating with 18 families and drawing on prior research, parent interviews, videotaped play sessions, and advisory-board members’ expertise, the interdisciplinary research team designed and refined activity kit prototypes. Study 2 was a randomized field test comparing use and evaluation of final guided kits (n = 50) versus basic kits (n = 25) that contained identical …

American children need access to high-quality early education. One limiting factor is the lack of professional development for the childcare workforce. This study examined the impact of a professional development model designed for teachers working with preschool children in childcare settings. Intervention included an evidence-based early learning curriculum focused on social-emotional learning and early literacy. Center directors were trained to serve as program coaches. Childcare centers with classrooms serving preschool children were recruited from ten counties in [state blinded for review] characterized by concentrated population-level poverty and randomized to intervention and control groups. Teachers and directors showed high levels of intervention engagement and good program implementation. Pre- to post-test comparisons of the intervention and control groups revealed that the intervention …

This study aimed to parse between-person heterogeneity in growth of impulsivity across childhood and adolescence among participants enrolled in five childhood preventive intervention trials targeting conduct problems. In addition, we aimed to test profile membership in relation to adult psychopathologies. Measurement items representing impulsive behavior across grades 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10, and aggression, substance use, suicidal ideation/attempts, and anxiety/depression in adulthood were integrated from the five trials (N = 4,975). We applied latent class growth analysis to this sample, as well as samples separated into nonintervention (n = 2,492) and intervention (n = 2,483) participants. Across all samples, profiles were characterized by high, moderate, low, and low-increasing impulsive levels. Regarding adult outcomes, in all samples, the high, moderate, and low profiles endorsed greater levels of …

Children who display aggressive-disruptive behaviors in the early school years are at a high risk for poor school outcomes. Some of these children receive positive socialization supports in the school setting that foster improved school behavior and adjustment. For the others, behavior problems tend to escalate in adolescence, with increases in defiant rule-breaking and antisocial behaviors. Concurrent attention deficits with aggressive behaviors increase risks for academic difficulties. Attending schools that serve many other aggressive students increases risk for the escalation of aggressive behavior problems over time. Aggressive-disruptive school behaviors predict lifelong interpersonal problems and legal troubles, as well as underemployment and financial stress. For these reasons, early identification and school-based intervention are essential for aggressive students. This chapter reviews the developmental …

BackgroundCross-sectional studies link adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with school disengagement, contributing to chronic absenteeism and underachievement.ObjectiveThis prospective longitudinal study explored malleable mediators that might account for the developmental progression from early childhood ACEs to preadolescent school disengagement. Negative cascades were tested that explored student-teacher relationship quality and child behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing) as potential mediators.Participants and setting556 children were recruited from Head Start preschool classrooms (Mage = 4.67 years old, SD = 0.32; 51% female; 58% European American, 25% African American, 19% Latinx) at which time parents reported on ACEs.MethodsChildren were followed longitudinally; kindergarten and third grade teachers rated student-teacher relationship quality and classroom …

Parents play a central role in supporting the early learning that positions young children for success when they enter formal schooling. For this reason, efforts to engage families in meaningful collaboration is a long-standing goal of high-quality early childhood education (ECE). Family–school engagement can take multiple forms; in this review, we focus on universal preschool-based outreach strategies that help parents support growth in child social-emotional and self-regulation competencies and prepare them for the transition into formal schooling. Recent research has expanded understanding of the neurodevelopmental processes that underlie child school readiness, and the impact of parenting (and the social ecology affecting parenting) on those processes. These new insights have fueled innovation in preschool-based efforts to partner with and support parents, expanding and shifting the focus of that …

Small group social skills training (SST) is recommended to improve the social behavior and peer relations of rejected children, but child responses vary. This study explored variation in intervention experiences that emerged in a large study of a school‐based SST program for peer‐rejected children and associations with program outcomes. One hundred and seven peer‐rejected elementary students (60% White, 15% Black, 22% Latinx, 3% Multi‐racial, and 65% male) were identified by classroom sociometrics and randomly assigned to a year‐long small group SST program. Normative classmates served as partners. Among the peer‐rejected targets of the intervention, those with relatively better pretreatment social skills received more SST sessions and were more positively engaged, whereas those with fewer social skills and more behavior problems experienced more negative peer responses during SST …