Implementing School Wide PBS in Middle Schools: The Foundation for Effective Prevention
Condition: Substance Abuse; Mental Health
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The research study will experimentally evaluate the impact of PBS on early adolescent
      development through a randomized control trial involving 36 middle schools. The impact of PBS
      on school staff discipline practices and student behavior will be evaluated. The study will
      examine whether the likely reductions in negative behavior in school are accompanied by
      reductions in peer harassment and victimization, peer rejection, deviant peer formation, and
      the development of antisocial behavior, substance use, high risk sexual behavior, and
      depression.
    

Detailed description: 
      The specific aims for the project are as follows:

        1. Evaluate the effects of the PBS intervention in a group-randomized trial in which middle
           schools are assigned to receive systematic training and consultation in the
           implementation of PBS or a one-day workshop on PBS (the control group).

             1. The PBS intervention group is expected to improve school behavior management
                practices compared to the control group.

             2. School climate is expected to improve in the PBS intervention group compared to the
                control group.

             3. Problem behaviors and deviant peer group formation are expected to decrease for
                students in the PBS intervention group compared to those in the control group.

             4. The development of problem behavior in later adolescence is expected to be lessened
                for the PBS intervention students compared to those in the control group.

           The effects of the intervention will be assessed through staff, student, and observer
           reports of discipline practices in schools. The investigators will assess changes in the
           frequency of in-school problem behaviors as measured by student reports, office
           discipline referrals, and out-of-school suspensions. Measures of student and teacher
           perception of the quality of school climate will include student reports of harassment
           and teacher reports of burnout. Formation of deviant peer groups will be assessed
           through student reports of their peer affiliation. Finally, adolescents' development of
           problems will be assessed over as many as five years through annual surveys of
           antisocial behavior, substance use, high risk sexual behavior, and depression.

        2. Assess the differential impact of intervention fidelity on targeted outcomes. No
           real-world implementation of a preventive intervention can be expected to be implemented
           with perfect fidelity in every school. The study will:

             1. Assess the degree of fidelity of implementation of all PBS intervention aspects.

             2. Examine the relationship of fidelity to changes in each of the targeted outcomes:
                discipline practices, in-school problem behavior, peer relations, deviant peer
                group formation, and adolescent problems.

             3. Provide further information about the specific facets of PBS associated with
                particular outcomes.

             4. To the extent that fidelity is related to outcome, above the simple relationship
                between condition assignment and outcome, it will strengthen the investigators
                confidence in the efficacy of PBS practices.

        3. Test a model of the influence of middle school discipline practices on the development
           of adolescent problems. The model, which is specified in Figure 1 and the following
           pages, posits that:

             1. Inadequate behavior management practices in middle schools contribute to aggressive
                and disruptive behavior among students in those schools.

             2. Schools with high levels of aggression and harassment make the formation of deviant
                peer groups more likely.

             3. Escalating aggressive behavior, harassment, and deviant peer group formation then
                contribute to the development of a range of problems in both school and non-school
                settings including antisocial behavior, substance use, depression, and high risk
                sexual behavior.

           The model will be tested using state of the art hierarchical linear modeling (e.g.,
           Singer & Willett, 2003).

        4. Assess the maintenance of the PBS intervention after termination of training and
           technical assistance. It is unlikely that effective behavior management will be
           implemented and maintained, unless the school-as an organization-has adopted a system
           that is supported by all staff and used in every setting (Gottfredson, Gottfredson &
           Czeh, 2000; Sprague, Walker, Golly et al., 2001). Research is needed, however, on the
           extent to which the PBS system, once implemented is maintained. The present project will
           provide evidence about the degree to which PBS is maintained and identify the school
           characteristics that are associated with its maintenance.

        5. Assess the relationship of Office Discipline Referral data to adolescents' reports of
           their engagement in diverse problems. Office Discipline Referrals (ODR) have been widely
           used to evaluate PBS interventions. PBS typically produces substantial reductions in
           ODR's (e.g., Metzler, Biglan, et al. 2001; Taylor-Green et al., 1997; Sprague, Walker,
           Golly, White & Myers, 2001). However, little is known about the relationship between the
           ODR measure and other measures of adolescent problems (Irvin, Tobin, Sprague, Sugai, &
           Vincent, 2004). The proposed project will:

             1. Assess the validity of the ODR by examining both the concurrent and longitudinal
                relationships of the ODR with student self-report measures of problems.

             2. Examine the significance of reductions in ODR's for PBS intervention schools and
                students.
    

Intervention name(s): Positive Behavior Supports in Middle Schools; Positive Behavior Supports in Middle Schools
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): 2-4 days SWPBS training for school team and 1-2 days for whole staff training (SW and Classroom Management). Use staff release days for whole staff training.
Schedule up to four meetings with the PBS team
1K/School is to fund part or whole day training meeting with PBS team Schedule whole staff training per school year staff release days Enhanced Intervention Family Support Universal -- parent education and invitation Selective -- Family Check up School Intervention ACT for teachers PBS Calendar Kernel Recipes (Treatment) Reminder Emails Brochures Weekly phone contact (Treatment); 1 days PBS training for school team and informational presentation to whole staff Attend 2-3 PBS team meetings (coaching) Data-based feedback (limited)
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: This study aimed to experimentally evaluate the impact of school wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) on early adolescent development through a randomized control trial involving 35 middle schools in the Pacific Northwest. The impact of two levels of SWPBIS training and technical assistance on school discipline practices and student behavior was evaluated.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Randomized Controlled Trials; Behavioral Research