Session: Disruptive Behavior Problems in Early Childhood: Examining Impacts on Costly Child Outcomes and Effects of Intervention Efforts Targeting These Behaviors (Society for Prevention Research 24th Annual Meeting)

Children displaying disruptive behavior problems in early childhood are at greater risk for poor outcomes, including poor academic achievement, school failure, and involvement in delinquency. Moreover, the estimated societal cost of chronic behavioral difficulties with an early childhood onset is substantial, ranging from $4,000-$17,000 per child annually for additional health care, grade retention, special education services, and juvenile justice involvement. This symposium will present data on the impact of poor social behavioral readiness on costly school outcomes to underscore the need for prevention and then describe effects of two promising interventions designed to target children with disruptive behavior problems in early childhood settings. The symposium includes researchers from three institutions doing work in this area, and supports the conference theme of development and testing of interventions.

The first paper, “Social-behavioral readiness matters: Examining the influence of kindergarten social-behavioral readiness on costly academic outcomes in elementary school,” uses data from two kindergarten cohorts from a large urban district to examine relations between social-behavioral readiness and grade retention, receipt of special education services, and suspensions/expulsions in elementary school. The authors describe how poor social-behavioral readiness increases the likelihood that students will experience these negative academic outcomes by third grade and emphasize the importance of investing in efforts to bolster children’s social-behavioral skills in early childhood.

The second paper, “Improving teacher-child relationships and interactions within a Tier-2 program in preschool classrooms,” uses data from a multi-site cluster randomized control trial of BEST in CLASS, a targeted intervention designed to prevent emotional/behavioral disorders in young, high-risk children. The authors describe the intervention and highlight its impacts on teacher-child interactions, teacher-child relationships, and classroom climate.  

The third paper, “Pilot Results of Using a Data-driven, Video-based Consultation Teacher Consultation Model to Improve Preschool Children’s Challenging Behaviors” uses data from Learning to Objectively Observe Kids, an early childhood mental health consultation model that incorporates data from multiple sources to inform intervention selection and sequencing to meet the unique needs of each child and classroom. The authors discuss the intervention model and its impacts on teacher’s self-efficacy and use of evidence-based behavior management interventions, and children’s behavior.

After the presentations, the discussant will make summary statements and moderate a discussion between presenters and the audience.