Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1992). A developmental and clinical model for the prevention of conduct disorders: The Fast Track Program. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 509-527.

Abstract--This paper presents a developmental and a clinical model for the treatment of conduct disorder through the strategy of preventive intervention. The theoretical principles and clinical strategies utilized in the Fast Track (Families and Schools Together) Program are described. We indicate how the clinical model is derived from both our developmental model and previous findings from prevention trials. The Fast Track Program integrates five intervention components designed to promote competence in the family, child, and school and thus prevent conduct problems, poor social relations, and school failure. We discuss the need to test the effects of this comprehensive approach, as a necessary step in developing new intervention models for this population.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-Process/Implementation Measures (parent training, home visiting/case management, social skills training, and teacher-based classroom intervention)

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Wehby, J.H., Dodge, K.A., Valente, E., Jr., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1993). School behavior of first-grade children identified as at-risk for development of conduct problems. Behavioral Disorders, 19, 67-78.

Abstract--This paper describes the implementation of a direct observation procedure with first grade children identified as at-risk for the development of conduct disorders. Children were identified as high-risk or low-risk at kindergarten using a three-stage screening process. Stage one consisted of identifying kindergarten classrooms located in schools with reportedly high rates of behavior problems; stage two used kindergarten teachers' reports of school readiness; and stage three involved parents' ratings of their children's behavior at home. Subjects were assessed 15 months later in the first grade during both structured and unstructured activities using behavioral observation and observers' impressions. Results of this study suggest that children identified as high-risk at kindergarten demonstrate difficulties one year later in their interactions with teachers and peers when compared to a low-risk group. Interpretation of results and future research in this area are presented.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
-Fast Track School Observation Program
-ASKER/MOOSES (Post Observation Inventory, Social Health Profile, Minnesota Affect Rating Scale, Classroom Atmosphere Ratings)

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Harnish, J.D., Dodge, K.A., Valente, E. Jr., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1995). Mother-child interaction quality as a partial mediator of the roles of maternal depressive symptomatology and socioeconomic status in the development of child behavior problems. Child Development, 66, 739-753.

Abstract--This investigation examined the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and the development of externalizing behavior problems in children by incorporating mother-child interaction quality into a series of models. A representative sample of 376 first-grade boys and girls (mean age = 6.52) from diverse backgrounds (234 from the lowest 2 socioeconomic classes) and their mothers completed an interaction task designed to measure the quality of mother-child interaction. Latent variable structural equations analyses revealed that mother-child interaction quality partially mediated the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and child behavior problems even when the effects of socioeconomic status on both variables were taken into account. Although this model held for boys, girls, and Caucasians, the relation between maternal depression and interaction quality was not significant for African Americans. Further investigation is required to understand the lack of generalizability of the model to African American mother-child dyads.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
-Family Information Form-Parent (Socioeconomic Status)
-Parent-Child Interaction Task (PCIT)

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Lochman, J.E., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1995). Screening of child behavior problems for prevention programs at school entry. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 549-559.

Abstract--Targeted programs designed to prevent conduct problems in childhood and adolescence rely on screening systems to identify high-risk individuals. This study examines the proximal usefulness of a multiple-gating approach to screening, using teacher and parent ratings in a two-step procedure with a sample of 382 kindergarten children. The study explored differences in the accuracy of the two steps of screening information and whether parents' reports of parenting practices augment the prediction of negative outcomes. The two-step screening system was found to effectively predict negative behavior outcomes over one year later, although some false-positive and false-negative predictions were evident. The Parenting Practices Screen did not substantially add to prediction accuracy. The discussion emphasizes the potential contributions and problems of using screening measures.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Screen used 14 items from the Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Parent Screen involved 24 items about externalizing behavior problem items from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Revised Problem Behavior Checklist.
-Parenting Practices

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McMahon, R.J., Greenberg, M.T., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1995). The Fast Track Program: A developmentally focused intervention for children with conduct problems. Clinician's Research Digest, Supplemental Bulletin, 13, 1-2.

Abstract-Conduct problems are among the most serious and unyielding behavioral problems of childhood and adolescence. This Supplemental Bulletin describes Fast Track, with a focus on the multiple components and long-term nature of the interventions in this prevention program. The FastTrack program advocates a developmentally based intervention model that identifies particular periods and critical areas of intervention for both the child and his order socialization support systems. By focusing on multiple domains, comprehensive and integrated interventions across the elementary and preadolescent years are more likely to produce significant reductions in conduct problems and improvements in adaptive outcomes for these children and their families.

Measures Used: n/a

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Bierman, K., Greenberg, M.T., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). Social skills training in the Fast Track Program. In R. Dev. Peters and R.J. McMahon (Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance use, and delinquency (pp. 65-89). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

(From the chapter) The Fast Track Program is a multisite prevention research project involved in the development and evaluation of comprehensive, multicomponent preventive intervention. Key program goals include promoting the competencies of children at risk for conduct disorders. The program involves a series of controlled field trials currently under way in four areas of the US that were selected to represent a range of geographical areas and demographic characteristics. At each of these sites, three cohorts of children have been identified as at risk for the development of conduct disorders based on teacher and parent ratings of behavior problems in kindergarten. The intervention activities of the Fast Track Program are described in this chapter. The total program involves a 6-yr span of prevention activities, covering the important developmental transitions of school entry and the transition to middle school. The focus is on the school entry intervention conducted at the 1st- and 2nd-grade levels. This chapter highlights three components [of the program]--a universal prevention curriculum used by teachers, a social skills training group program for targeted high-risk children, and a peer-pairing program, all designed to build social skills.

Measures Used: n/a

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Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). Integrating social skill training interventions with parent training and family-focused support to prevent conduct disorder in high-risk populations: The Fast Track Multi-Site Demonstration Project. In C.F. Ferris and T. Grisso (Eds.), Understanding aggressive behavior in children (pp. 256-264). New York: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

(From the chapter) The Fast Track prevention program was designed, based upon a developmental model of conduct disorders, to test the effectiveness of a comprehensive, multi-faceted, and long-term set of prevention activities for children at risk for conduct disorders. The intervention program involves a six-year span of prevention activities, covering the important developmental transitions of school entry and the transition to middle school. This paper describes the social-skills training program components and the corresponding family support program components used in the first phase of the intervention, at school entry in grades one and two.

Measures Used: n/a

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). An initial evaluation of the Fast Track Program. In J.A. Linney (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fifth National Prevention Research Conference (pp. 54-56) Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Mental Health.

Abstract-The Fast Track project is predicated on a developmental model that assumes long-term prevention of children's antisocial behavior will be achieved by enhancing immediate competencies among the children and their parents and teachers. This paper describes the outcomes of the first intensive period of intervention, during the transition at school entry in the first grade year. The results of the first year indicate strong and consistent evidence for better social skills and more positive peer relations as a result of the intervention, with some indication of fewer conduct problems. Intervention children also developed better basic reading skills and better social and emotional coping skills than the control children. Intervention parents demonstrated more positive involvement in their children's schools and more effective discipline strategies, as well as more positive relations with their children. If these positive findings are maintained over the life course of these children, the guiding developmental theory leads us to expect that the intervention children will demonstrate fewer conduct problems in adolescence than control children.

Measures Used: n/a

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Dodge, K.A. (1996). The legacy of Hobbs and Gray: Research on the development and prevention of conduct problems. Peabody Journal of Education, 71, 86-98.

Abstract--This essay summarizes advances in the understanding of how chronic conduct problems develop, with a discussion of risk factors in the development of conduct problems. Such factors include: socioeconomic status; biological predisposition; and harsh physical discipline. The Fast Track Project is described, as a large-scale preventive intervention effort.

Measures Used: n/a

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McMahon, R.J., Slough, N., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). Family-based intervention in the Fast Track Program. In R. Dev. Peters and R.J. McMahon (Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance use, and delinquency (pp. 90-110). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

(From the chapter) The Fast Track Program investigates the efficacy of a comprehensive intervention designed to prevent the development of serious conduct problems in young at-risk children. This chapter focuses on the family-based components of the intensive intervention during the period of transition to elementary school. The chapter includes a) a brief discussion of the conceptual and empirical bases of the intervention components; b) a description of the content and structure of each of the family-based components; and c) a discussion of issues involved in the initial recruitment of families and the maintenance of their involvement in Fast Track.

Measures Used: n/a

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Stormshak, E.A., Bellanti, C.J., Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1996). The quality of sibling relationships and the development of social competence and behavioral control in aggressive children. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1-11.

Abstract--To understand the relations between sibling interactions and the social adjustment of children with behavior problems, 53 aggressive 1st- and 2nd-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings were interviewed about positive and negative aspects of the sibling relationship. When conflict and warmth were considered together, 3 types of sibling dyads emerged: conflictual (high levels of conflict, low levels of warmth), involved (moderate levels of conflict and warmth), and supportive (low levels of conflict, high levels of warmth). On most measures of social adjustment at school, children in involved sibling relationships showed better adjustment than did children in conflictual relationships. Results are discussed in terms of a developmental model for at-risk children in which some sibling relationships may foster the development of social skills in addition to providing emotional support, which may enhance adjustment at school.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Sociometrics
-Social Health Profile (SHP)

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Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1997). Implementing a comprehensive program for the prevention of conduct problems in rural communities: The Fast Track experience. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 493-514.

Abstract--Childhood conduct problems are predictive of a number of serious long-term difficulties (e.g., school failure, delinquent behavior, and mental health problems), making the design of effective prevention programs a priority. The Fast Track Program is a demonstration project currently underway in four demographically diverse areas of the United States, testing the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders. This paper describes some lessons learned about the implementation of this program in a rural area. Although there are many areas of commonality in terms of program needs, program design, and implementation issues in rural and urban sites, rural areas differ from urban areas along the dimensions of geographical dispersion and regionalism, and community stability and insularity. Rural programs must cover a broad geographical area and must be sensitive to the multiple, small and regional communities that constitute their service area. Small schools, homogeneous populations, traditional values, limited recreational educational and mental health services, and politically conservative climates are all more prevalent in rural areas.

Measures Used: n/a

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Hope, T.D., Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1998). Patterns of home and school behavior problems in rural and urban settings. Journal of School Psychology, 36, 45-58.

Abstract--This study examined the cross-situational patterns of behavior problems shown by children in rural and urban communities at school entry. Behavior problems exhibited in home settings were not expected to vary significantly across urban and rural settings. In contrast, it was anticipated that child behavior at school would be heavily influenced by the increased exposure to aggressive models and deviant peer support experienced by children in urban as compared to rural schools, leading to higher rates of school conduct problems for children in urban settings. Statistical comparisons of the patterns of behavior problems shown by representative samples of 89 rural and 221 urban children provided support for these hypotheses, as significant rural-urban differences emerged in school and not in home settings. Cross-situational patterns of behavior problems also varied across setting, with home-only patterns of problems characterizing more children at the rural site and school-only patterns of behavior problems characterizing more children at the urban sites. In addition, whereas externalizing behavior was the primary school problem exhibited by urban children, rural children displayed significantly higher rates of internalizing problems at school. The implications of these results are discussed for developmental models of behavior problems and for preventive interventions.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Socioeconomic Status (Family Information Form)

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McMahon, R.J. (1998). Towards the prevention of severe conduct problems in children: Early findings from the Fast Track project [Abstract]. Australian Journal of Psychology, 50 (Supplement), 104.

Abstract-Children who begin to engage in conduct problem behaviors during the preschool and early school-age periods are at significant risk for negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Fast Track is an ongoing, comprehensive, multisite intervention trial that is designed to prevent serious and chronic conduct problems. . The program is based on a developmental model of conduct problems that posits the interaction of multiple influences on the development of antisocial behavior. The intervention begins in the first grade and continues through tenth grade. The elementary-school phase of the intervention is unique in combining targeted interventions for the highest risk children with a universal intervention directed to the promotion of social and emotional competence for all children in the intervention schools. There is a high-risk intervention sample of children selected at school entry on the basis of high levels of prior conduct problems, a comparable sample of high-risk children who do not participate in the intervention, and a normative comparison sample. Findings are presented concerning the intervention effects over the first several years with the high-risk sample. Attempts by the CPPRG to examine mediational models that test how changes in various malleable risk factors may account for the intervention effects are summarized, as are changes in the developmental model that are related to the onset of early adolescence and how these changes influence planned intervention strategies.

Measures Used: n/a

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Stormshak, E.A., Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1998). The implications of different developmental patterns of disruptive behavior problems for school adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 451-467.

Abstract--Based upon developmental models of disruptive behavior problems, this study examined the hypothesis that the nature of a child's externalizing problems at home may be important in predicting the probability of and nature of school adjustment problems at school entry. Parent ratings were collected for a sample of 631 behaviorally disruptive children using the Child Behavior Checklist. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed differentiated ratings of oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home. Teacher and peer nominations assessed school adjustment at the end of first grade. As expected from a developmental perspective, aggressive behaviors indicated more severe dysfunction and were more likely to generalize to the school setting than were oppositional behaviors. Hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home led to more classroom disruption than did aggressive or oppositional behaviors. Co-occurring patterns of oppositional/aggressive and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors were more common than were single-problem patterns, and were associated with broad dysfunction in the social and classroom contexts. The results were interpreted within a developmental framework, in which oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors may reflect distinct (as well as shared) developmental processes that have implications for the home-to-school generalization of behavior problems and subsequent school adjustment.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Revised Problems Behavior Checklist
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Sociometrics

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). Initial impact of the Fast Track prevention trial for conduct problems: I. The high-risk sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 631-647.

Abstract--Fast Track is a multisite, multicomponent preventive intervention for young children at high risk for long-term antisocial behavior. Based on a comprehensive developmental model, intervention included a universal-level classroom program plus social skills training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting to improve competencies and reduce problems in a high-risk group of children selected in kindergarten. At the end of Grade 1, there were moderate positive effects on children's social, emotional, and academic skills; peer interactions and social status; and conduct problems and special-education use. Parents reported less physical discipline and greater parenting satisfaction/ease of parenting and engaged in more appropriate/consistent discipline, warmth/positive involvement, and involvement with the school. Evidence of differential intervention effects across child gender, race, site, and cohort was minimal.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-Parent-Child Interaction Task (PCIT)
-Social Health Profile (SHP)
-Teacher Report Form-Externalizing
-MOOSES
-Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
-Interview of Emotional Experience
-Social Problem Solving
-Home Inventory with Child
-School Records
-Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised
-Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale
-Social Competence Scale-Parent
-Parent Practices Scale
-Parent Questionnaire
-Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Parent
-Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher
-Developmental History
-Post Intervention Ratings of Child and Parent Change
-Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire
-Parent-Child Interaction Task-Behavioral Coding System (PCIT-BCS)
-Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
-Coder Impressions Inventory
-Parent Daily Report
-Teacher Ratings of Child Behavior Change
-Sociometrics

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). Initial impact of the Fast Track prevention trial for conduct problems: II. Classroom effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 648-657. [Reprinted in M.E. Hertzig & E.A. Farber (Eds.), Annual progress in child psychiatry and child development, 2000-2001. New York: Brunner-Routledge.]

Abstract--This study examined the effectiveness of the universal component of the Fast Track prevention model: the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum and teacher consultation. This randomized clinical trial involved 198 intervention and 180 comparison classrooms from neighborhoods with greater than average crime in 4 U.S. locations. In the intervention schools, Grade 1 teachers delivered a 57-lesson social competence intervention focused on self-control, emotional awareness, peer relations, and problem solving. Findings indicated significant effects on peer ratings of aggression and hyperactive-disruptive behavior and observer ratings of classroom atmosphere. Quality of implementation predicted variation in assessments of classroom functioning. The results are discussed in terms of both the efficacy of universal, school-based prevention models and the need to examine comprehensive, multiyear programs.

Measures Used:
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Social Health Profile (SHP)
-Sociometrics
-ASKER Classroom Rating

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Greenberg, M.L., Lengua, L.J., Coie, J., Pinderhughes, E.E., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). Predicting developmental outcomes at school entry using a multiple-risk model: Four American communities. Developmental Psychology, 35, 403-417.

Abstract--The contributions of different risk factors in predicting children's psychological and academic outcomes at the end of 1st grade were examined. Using a regression model, levels of ecobehavioral risk were assessed in the following order: specific demographics, broad demographics, family psychosocial status, mother's depressive symptoms, and neighborhood quality. Participants were 337 families from four American communities. Predictor variables were assessed in kindergarten, and teacher, parent, and child outcomes (behavioral and academic) were assessed at the end of 1st grade. Results indicated that (a) each level of analysis contributed to prediction of most outcomes, (b) 18%-29% of the variance was predicted in outcomes, (c) a common set of predictors predicted numerous outcomes, (d) ethnicity showed little unique prediction, and (e) the quality of the neighborhood showed small but unique prediction to externalizing problems.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Family Information Form (Socioeconomic Status)
-Life Changes
-Family Expressiveness Questionnaire
-Inventory of Parent Experiences
-Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Relationship Adjustment Scale)
-Maternal depression assessed using CES-D (Feelings Scale)
-Post-Visit Reaction Inventory-Parent
-Neighborhood Questionnaire
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Social Health Profile (SHP)
-Woodcock-Johnson Psycho Educational Battery-Revised (Letter-word recognition and Calculations)

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Orrell-Valente, J.K., Pinderhughes, E.E., Valente, E., Laird, R.D., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). If it's offered, will they come? Influences on parents' participation in a community-based conduct problems prevention program. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 753-783.

Abstract--Examined influences on the rate and quality of parent participation in the Fast Track Program, a multi-system community-based, longitudinal preventive intervention for children who are at risk for conduct problems. Data on family coordinator (FC) and parent characteristics, therapeutic engagement between FC and parent, and rate and quality of parent participation were gathered using questionnaires, ratings, and records. FCs are the Fast Track program personnel who conduct group based parent-training sessions and home visits. Ss in this study included 12 FCs (aged 24-40 yrs; 42% African American, 58% European American) and 87 parents (aged 23-67 yrs; 55% African American, 45% European American). The level of therapeutic engagement between the parent and the FC was positively associated with the rate of parent attendance at group training sessions. The extent of family coordinator-parent racial and socioeconomic similarity and the extent of the FC's relevant life experiences were highly associated with the level of therapeutic engagement. The quality, but not the rate, of participation was lower for African American parents. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention with this population are discussed.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)

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Stormshak, E.A., Bierman, K.L., Bruschi, C., Dodge, K.A., Coie, J.D., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). The relation between behavior problems and peer preference in different classroom contexts. Child Development, 70, 169-182.

Abstract--This study tested two alternative hypotheses regarding the relations between child behavior and peer preference. The first hypothesis is generated from the person-group similarity model, which predicts that the acceptability of social behaviors will vary as a function of peer group norms. The second hypothesis is generated by the social skill model, which predicts that behavioral skill deficiencies reduce and behavioral competencies enhance peer preference. A total of 2895 children in 134 regular first-grade classrooms participated in the study. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to compare four different behaviors as predictors of peer preference in the context of classrooms with varying levels of these behavior problems. The results of the study supported both predictive models, with the acceptability of aggression and withdrawal varying across classrooms (following a person-group similarity model) and the effects of inattentive/hyperactive behavior (in a negative direction) and prosocial behavior (in a positive direction) following a social skill model and remaining constant in their associations with peer preference across classrooms. Gender differences also emerged, with aggression following the person-group similarity model for boys more strongly than for girls. The effects of both child behaviors and the peer group context on peer preference and on the trajectory of social development are discussed.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Sociometrics

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Zelli, A., Dodge, K.A., Lochman, J.E., Laird, R.D., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). The distinction between beliefs legitimizing aggression and deviant processing of social cues: Testing measurement validity and the hypothesis that biased processing mediates the effects of beliefs on aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 150-166. [Translated and reprinted in D. Bacchini & P. Valerio (Eds.) (2001), Giovani a rischio: Interventi possibili in realtà impossibili (pp. 61-99). Milano, Italy: Franco Angeli Editore.]

Abstract--In two studies the authors examined knowledge and social information-processing mechanisms as two distinct sources of influence on child aggression. Data were collected from 387 boys and girls of diverse ethnicity in three successive years. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the discriminant validity of the knowledge construct of aggression beliefs and the processing constructs of hostile intent attributions, accessing of aggressive responses, and positive evaluation of aggressive outcomes. In Study 2, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the mediation hypothesis that aggression beliefs would influence child aggression through the effects of deviant processing. A stronger belief that aggressive retaliation is acceptable predicted more deviant processing one year later and more aggression two years later. However, the intervening effects of deviant processing on aggression substantially accounted for this latter effect.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Normative Beliefs About Aggression
-Home Interview with Child
-Things That Happen to Me
-What Do You Think?
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Self-Reported Delinquency

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Bellanti, C.J., Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Disentangling the impact of low cognitive ability and inattention on social behavior and peer relations. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 66-75.

Abstract--Examined the shared and unique contributions of low cognitive ability and inattention to the development of social behavior problems and peer relationships of children at the time of school entry. Kindergarten and first-grade assessments of cognitive ability, inattention and prosocial and aggressive behavior were collected for a multisite, normative sample. Sociometric assessments of peer relationships were collected at the end of first grade. Cognitive ability and inattention both contributed to the prediction of social behavior and peer relationships. Low cognitive ability was particularly predictive of prosocial skill deficits, and social behavior mediated the relation between cognitive ability and social preference. Inattention predicted both prosocial skill deficits and elevated aggressive-disruptive behavior problems. Behavior problems partially mediated the relation between inattention and social preference. Identified subgroups of children with elevated levels of inattention or low cognitive ability showed different patterns of peer problems, with low acceptance characteristic of the low cognitive ability (only) group and high dislike ratings characteristic of the inattentive and inattentive/low-ability group. Implications are discussed for the design of early intervention and prevention programs.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-ADHD Checklist-Parent
-ADHD Checklist-Teacher
-Sociometrics
-Social Competence Scale

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Merging universal and indicated prevention programs: The Fast Track model. Addictive Behaviors, 25, 913-927.

Abstract--Fast Track is a multisite, multicomponent preventive intervention for young children at high-risk for long-term antisocial behavior. Based on a comprehensive developmental model, this intervention includes a universal-level classroom program plus social-skill training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting to improve competencies and reduce problems in a high-risk group of children selected in kindergarten. The theoretical principles and clinical strategies utilized in the Fast Track Project are described to illustrate the interplay between basic developmental research, the understanding of risk and protective factors, and a research-based model of preventive intervention that integrates universal and indicated models of prevention.

Measures Used: n/a

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Kohl, G.O., Lengua, L.J., McMahon, R.J., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Parent involvement in school: Conceptualizing multiple dimensions and their relations with family and demographic risk factors. Journal of School Psychology, 38, 501-523.

Abstract--Examined the relationship between parent involvement (PI) in school and family and demographic risk factors. The subjects were 387 kindergarten and 1st-grade students from high-risk neighborhoods in four different sites (each site representing a different cross-section of the US population). Data were collected from the subjects' parents and teachers. A confirmatory factor analysis of a theoretical factor model of PI identified six PI factors (Parent-Teacher Contact, PTC; PI at School, PIS; Quality of Parent-Teacher Relationship, PTR; Teacher's Perception of the Parent, TPP; PI at Home, PIH; and Parent Endorsement of School, PES). The relationship among three specific family and demographic risk factors (parental education level, maternal depression, and single-parent status) and the six PI factors were examined using path analyses in structural equation modeling. Differences in PI in African American and Caucasian families were also examined. The results indicate that the three risk factors are differentially associated with the six PI factors. Specifically, parental education level is associated with PTC, PIS, TPP, and PIH. Maternal depression is associated with PIS, PTR, TPP, PIH, and PES. Single-parent status is associated with PTR, TPP and PIS. No significant ethnic group differences in PI are reported.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Family Information Form
-Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
-Parent-Teacher Involvement-Teacher
-Parent-Teacher Involvement-Parent

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Rabiner, D., Coie, J.D., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Early attention problems and children's reading achievement: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 859-867.

Abstract-The objectives of this study are to determine whether attention problems predict the development of reading difficulties, and to examine whether screening for attention problems could be of practical value in identifying children at risk for reading underachievement. In this study, three hundred eighty-seven children were monitored from kindergarten through fifth grade. Standardized assessments of attention problems and reading achievement were conducted at multiple time points. Attention problems predicted reading achievement even after controlling for prior reading achievement, IQ, and other behavioral difficulties. Inattentive first graders with normal reading scores after kindergarten were at risk for poor reading outcomes. The study concludes that attention problems play an important role in the development of reading difficulties for some children, and screening for attention problems may help identify children at risk for reading difficulties.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised (Letter-Word Identification and Passage Comprehensive)
-7 items from the Teacher Report Form used to measure Child Attention Problems
-WISC-R (Vocabulary and Block Design)
-5 items from the Teacher Report Form used to directly measure activity level
-ADHD Rating Scale
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form
-Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher version

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Schwartz, D., Dodge, K.A., Pettit, G.S., Bates, J.E., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Friendship as a moderating factor in the pathway between early harsh home environment and later victimization in the peer group. Developmental Psychology, 36, 646-662.

Abstract--Two prospective investigations of the moderating role of dyadic friendship in the developmental pathway to peer victimization are reported. In Study 1, the preschool home environments (i.e., harsh discipline, marital conflict, stress, abuse, and maternal hostility) of 389 children were assessed by trained interviewers. These children were then followed into the middle years of elementary school, with peer victimization, group social acceptance, and friendship assessed annually with a peer nomination inventory. In Study 2, the home environments of 243 children were assessed in the summer before 1st grade, and victimization, group acceptance, and friendship were assessed annually over the next 3 years. In both studies, early harsh, punitive, and hostile family environments predicted later victimization by peers for children who had a low number of friendships. However, the predictive associations did not hold for children who had numerous friendships. These findings provide support for conceptualizations of friendship as a moderating factor in the pathways to peer group victimization.

Measures Used:
-Family Information Form (FIF)
-Peer nomination review (Sociometrics)
-Post-Visit Inventory which included items adapted from the Home Observation for the Measurement of Environment(HOME)

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Stormshak, E.A., Bierman, K.L., McMahon, R.J., Lengua, L.J., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2000). Parenting practices and child disruptive behavior problems in early elementary school. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 17-29.

Abstract-This paper examines the hypothesis that distinct parenting practices may be associated with type and profile of a child's disruptive behavior problems (e.g., oppositional, aggressive, hyperactive). Parents of 631 behaviorally disruptive children described the extent to which they experienced warm and involved interactions with their children and the extent to which their discipline strategies were inconsistent and punitive and involved spanking and physical aggression. As expected from a developmental perspective, parenting practices that included punitive interactions were associated with elevated rates of all child disruptive behavior problems. Low levels of warm involvement were particularly characteristic of parents of children who showed elevated levels of oppositional behaviors. Physically aggressive parenting was linked more specifically with child aggression. In general, parenting practices contributed more to the prediction of oppositional and aggressive behavior problems than to hyperactive behavior problems, and parenting influences were fairly consistent across ethnic groups and sex.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders used as guideline
-Parent Questionnaire
-Parenting Practices Inventory
-Conflict Tactics Scale

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Murphy, S.A., Van Der Lann, M.J., Robins, J.M., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2001). Marginal mean models for dynamic regimes. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 96, 1410-1423.

Abstract--A dynamic treatment regime is a list of rules for how the level of treatment will be tailored through time to an individual's changing severity. In general, individuals who receive the highest level of treatment are the individuals with the greatest severity and need for treatment. Thus, there is planned selection of the treatment dose. In addition to the planned selection mandated by the treatment rules, staff judgment results in unplanned selection of the treatment level. Given observational longitudinal data or data in which there is unplanned selection of the treatment level, the methodology proposed here allows the estimation of a mean response to a dynamic treatment regime under the assumption of sequential randomization.

Measures Used: n/a

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Pinderhughes, E.E., Nix, R., Foster, E.M., Jones, D., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2001). Parenting in context: Impact of neighborhood poverty, residential stability, public services, social networks, and danger on parental behaviors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 941-953.

Abstract--This prospective longitudinal study examined the unique and combined effects of neighborhood characteristics on parental behaviors in the context of more distal and more proximal influences. With a sample of 368 mothers from high-risk communities in 4 parts of the United States, this study examined relations between race (African American or European American), locality (urban or rural), neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child problem behaviors, and parental warmth, appropriate and consistent discipline, and harsh interactions. Analyses testing increasingly proximal influences on parenting revealed that initial race differences in warmth and consistent discipline disappeared when neighborhood influences were considered. Although generally culture and context did not moderate other relations found between neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child behaviors, the few interactions found highlight the complex influences on parenting.

Measures Used:
-Family Information Form (FIF)
-Neighborhood Questionnaire
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent (CBCL-PRF)
-Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
-Parenting Practices Inventory
-Conflict Tactics Scale

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). The implementation of the Fast Track program: An example of large-scale prevention science efficacy trial. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 1-18.

Abstract--In 1990, the Fast Track Project was initiated to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders in four demographically diverse American communities (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group [CPPRG], 1992). Representing a prevention science approach toward community-based preventive intervention, the Fast Track intervention design was based upon the available data base elucidating the epidemiology of risk for conduct disorder and suggesting key causal developmental influences (R. P. Weissberg & M. T. Greenberg, 1998). Critical questions about this approach to prevention center around the extent to which such a science-based program can be effective at (1) engaging community members and stakeholders, (2) maintaining intervention fidelity while responding appropriately to the local norms and needs of communities that vary widely in their demographic and cultural/ethnic composition, and (3) maintaining community engagement in the long-term to support effective and sustainable intervention dissemination. This paper discusses these issues, providing examples from the Fast Track project to illustrate the process of program implementation and the evidence available regarding the success of this science-based program at engaging communities in sustainable and effective ways as partners in prevention programming.

Measures Used: n/a

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Evaluation of the first 3 years of the Fast Track prevention trial with children at high risk for adolescent conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 19-36.

Abstract--Fast Track is a conduct-problem prevention trial that derives its intervention from longitudinal research on how serious and chronic adolescent problem behaviors develop. Over 9,000 kindergarten children at 4 sites in 3 cohorts were screened, and 891 were identified as high risk and then randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Beginning in Grade 1, high-risk children and their parents were asked to participate in a combination of social skills and anger-control training, academic tutoring, parent training, and home visiting. A multiyear universal classroom program was delivered to the core schools attended by these high-risk children. By the end of third grade, 37% of the intervention group was determined to be free of serious conduct-problem dysfunction, in contrast with 27% of the control group. Teacher ratings of conduct problems and official records of use of special education resources gave modest effect-size evidence that the intervention was preventing conduct problem behavior at school. Parent ratings provided additional support for prevention of conduct problems at home. Parenting behavior and children's social cognitive skills that had previously emerged as proximal outcomes at the end of the 1st year of intervention continued to show positive effects of the intervention at the end of third grade.

Measures Used:
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-DISC-2 Parents
-Classroom Sociometric
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-Parent)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Parent Daily Report
-TRF-Externalizing
-Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher Report
-School Records
-Social Problem-Solving Measure
-Home Interview with Child
-Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale
-Parent Questionnaire

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Predictor variables associated with positive Fast Track outcomes at the end of third grade. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 37-52.

Abstract--Progress has been made in understanding the outcome effects of preventive interventions and treatments designed to reduce children's conduct problems. However, limited research has explored the factors that may affect the degree to which an intervention is likely to benefit particular individuals. This study examines selected child, family, and community baseline characteristics that may predict proximal outcomes from the Fast Track intervention. The primary goal of this study was to examine predictors of outcomes after three years of intervention participation, at the end of third grade. Three types of proximal outcomes were examined: parent-rated aggression, teacher-rated oppositional-aggressive behavior, and special education involvement. The relation between 11 risk factors and these three outcomes was examined, with separate regression analyses for the intervention and control groups. Moderate evidence of prediction of outcome effects was found, although none of the baseline variables were found to predict all three outcomes, and different patterns of prediction emerged for home versus school outcomes.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-Family Information Form
-Neighborhood Questionnaire
-Inventory of Parent Experiences
-Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
-Woodcock-Johnson PsychoEducational Battery-Revised
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Parent Daily Report
-School Records

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Using the Fast Track randomized prevention trial to test the early-starter model of the development of serious conduct problems. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 925-943.

Abstract--The Fast Track prevention trial was used to test hypotheses from the Early-Starter Model of the development of chronic conduct problems. We randomly assigned 891 high-risk first-grade boys and girls (mean age 6.5 yrs) to receive the long-term Fast Track prevention or not. After 4 years, outcomes were assessed through teacher ratings, parent ratings, peer nominations, and child self-report. Positive effects of assignment to intervention were evident in teacher and parent ratings of conduct problems, peer social preference scores, and association with deviant peers. Assessments of proximal goals of intervention (e.g., hostile attributional bias, problem-solving skill, harsh parental discipline, aggressive and prosocial behavior at home and school) collected after grade 3 were found to partially mediate these effects. The findings are interpreted as consistent with developmental theory.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-Parent Daily Report
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Post Intervention Ratings of Parent Change
-Home Interview with Child
-Social Problem Solving Scale
-Social Competence-Parent Report Form
-School Records
-Sociometrics
-Things Your Friends Have Done
-Social Competence-Teacher Report Form

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Dodge, K.A., Laird, R., Lochman, J.E., Zelli, A. and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Multidimensional latent-construct analysis of children's social information processing patterns: Correlations with aggressive behavior problems. Psychological Assessment, 14, 60-73.

Abstract--Social information processing (SIP) patterns were conceptualized in orthogonal domains of process and context and measured through responses to hypothetical vignettes in a stratified sample of 387 children (50% boys; 49% minority) from 4 geographical sites followed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Multidimensional, latent-construct, confirmatory factor analyses supported the within-construct internal consistency, cross-construct discrimination, and multidimensionality of SIP patterns. Contrasts among nested structural equation models indicated that SIP constructs significantly predicted children's aggressive behavior problems as measured by later teacher reports. The findings support the multidimensional construct validity of children's social cognitive patterns and the relevance of SIP patterns in children's aggressive behavior problems.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Home Interview with Child
-Social Problem Solving Scale
-Things That Happen To Me
-Interview on Emotional Experiences
-Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Parent Checklist
-Parent Daily Report
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)

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Farmer, A.D., Bierman, K.L., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Predictors and consequences of aggressive-withdrawn problem profiles in early grade school. Journal of Clinical and Adolescent Psychology, 31, 299-311.

Abstract-This study identified first-grade children who exhibited four different behavior problem profiles from an initial sample of 754: aggressive-withdrawn (n = 63, 8%) aggressive only (n = 165, 22%), withdrawn only (n = 94, 12%), and nonproblem (n = 432, 57%). Group comparisons revealed that children who became aggressive-withdrawn in first grade exhibited deficits in attention and social skills in kindergarten. Furthermore, these kindergarten deficits contributed to the emergence of their aggressive-withdrawn behavior problems in first grade, after accounting for kindergarten levels of aggressive and withdrawn behaviors. In later grades, aggressive-withdrawn first-grade children were more likely than children in any other group to demonstrate poor peer relations and poor academic performance. In addition, kindergarten skill deficits added to first-grade aggressive and withdrawn behavior problems to predict third-grade social and academic adjustment difficulties. The results document the key role of early inattention and social skill deficits in the prediction of aggressive-withdrawn problem profiles, validate the significance of this problem profile at school entry, and identify potential developmental mechanisms that have implications for preventive interventions.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Family Information Form
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Social Problem Solving
-Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
-Social Competence-Parent Report Form
-Social Competence-Teacher Report Form
-Child Behavior Checklist
-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
-School Records

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Jones, D., Dodge, K.A., Foster, E.M., Nix, R., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Early identification of children at risk for costly mental health service use. Prevention Science, 3, 247-256.

Abstract-This study examined the ability of a short conduct problems screening procedure to predict future need for mental health assistance, special education services, and the juvenile justice system during elementary school ages. The screen was based on teacher and parent report of child behavioral habits in kindergarten, and was used to identify children as either at risk or not at risk for behavioral problems. Service outcomes were derived from a service-use assessment administered to parents at the end of the 6th grade, while special education information was gathered through a survey of school records. Subjects were 463 kindergarten children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in four diverse communities across the US. Results indicated that, while controlling for demographic background variables, the risk indicator strongly predicted which children would require services related to conduct disorder or behavioral/emotional problems. Additional analyses revealed that the dichotomous high-risk indicator was nearly as strong as the continuous screening variable in predicting the service-use outcomes, and that the screening of both parents and teachers may not be necessary for determining risk status.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Revised Problem Behavior Checklist
-SACA-Parent

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Kaplow, J.B., Curran, P.J., Dodge, K.A., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Child, parent, and peer predictors of early-onset substance use: A multisite longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 199-216.

Abstract--The purpose of this study was to identify kindergarten-age predictors of early-onset substance use from demographic, environmental, parenting, child psychological, behavioral, and social functioning domains. Data from a longitudinal study of 295 children were gathered using multiple-assessment methods and multiple informants in kindergarten and 1st grade. Annual assessments at ages 10, 11, and 12 reflected that 21% of children reported having initiated substance use by age 12. Results from longitudinal logistic regression models indicated that risk factors at kindergarten include being male, having a parent who abused substances, lower levels of parental verbal reasoning, higher levels of overactivity, more thought problems, and more social problem solving skills deficits. Children with no risk factors had less than a 10% chance of initiating substance use by age 12, whereas children with 2 or more risk factors had greater than a 50% chance of initiating substance use. Implications for typology, etiology, and prevention are discussed.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised(TOCA-R)
-Post-Visit Reaction Inventory
-Parent Questionnaire
-Parent-Child Interaction Task-Interaction Rating Scales (PCIT-IRS)
-Developmental History
-Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire-Teacher
-Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
-Family Information Form
-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
-Teacher Report Form-Externalizing
-Parent Daily Report
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Emotion Recognition Questionnaire
-Social Problem-Solving Scale
-Home Inventory with Child
-Sociometrics
-Things That You Have Done

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Miller-Johnson, S., Coie, J.D., Maumary-Gremaud, A., Bierman, K., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Peer rejection and aggression and early starter models of conduct disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 217-230.

Abstract--Peer rejection and aggression in the early school years were examined for their relevance to early starting conduct problems. The sample of 657 boys and girls from four geographical locations was followed from 1st through 4th grades. Peer rejection in 1st grade added incrementally to the prediction of early starting conduct problems in 3rd and 4th grades, over and above the effects of aggression. Peer rejection and aggression in 1st grade were also associated with the impulsive and emotionally reactive behaviors found in older samples. Being rejected by peers subsequent to 1st grade marginally added to the prediction of early starting conduct problems in 3rd and 4th grades, controlling for 1st grade ADHD symptoms and aggression. Furthermore, peer rejection partially mediated the predictive relation between early ADHD symptoms and subsequent conduct problems. These results support the hypothesis that the experience of peer rejection in the early school years adds to the risk for early starting conduct problems.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Sociometrics
-ADHD Rating Scale-Parent
-ADHD Rating Scale-Teacher
-ADHD Rating Scale-Child
-Social Competence-Parents
-Social Health Profile (SHP)
-Social Problem-Solving
-Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children( CDISC), Parent Self-Report
-Things That You Have Done

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Flanagan, K.S., Bierman, K.L., Kam, C., and the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2003). Identifying at-risk children at school entry: The usefulness of multibehavioral problem profiles. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 396-407.

Abstract-This study found that 1st-grade teacher ratings of aggressive, hyperactive-inattentive, and low levels of prosocial behaviors made unique contributions to the prediction of school outcomes (measured two years later) for 755 children. Person-oriented analyses compared the predictive utility of five screening strategies based on child problem profiles to identify children at risk for school problems. A broad screening strategy, in which children with elevations in any one of the three behavior problem dimensions were identified as "at-risk," showed lower specificity but superior sensitivity, odds ratios, and overall accuracy in the prediction of school outcomes than the other screening strategies that were more narrowly focused or were based on a total problem score. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the screening and design of preventive interventions.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Teacher Checklist
-Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Checklist
-Social Health Profile (SHP)
-Sociometrics

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Foster, E.M., Dodge, K.A. and Jones, D. (2003). Issues in the economic evaluation of prevention programs. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 76-86.

Abstract--Economic analysis plays an increasingly important role in prevention research. In this article, we describe one form of economic analysis, a cost analysis. Such an analysis captures not only the direct costs of an intervention but also its impact on the broader social costs of the illness or problem targeted. The key question is whether the direct costs are offset by reductions in the other, morbidity-related costs, such as the use of expensive services. We begin by describing how economists think about costs. We then outline the steps involved in calculating the costs of delivering an intervention, including both implicit and explicit costs. Next we examine methods for estimating the morbidity-related costs of the illness or problem targeted by the intervention. Finally, we identify the challenges one faces when conducting such an analysis. Throughout the article, we illustrate key points using our experiences with evaluating the Fast Track intervention, a multiyear, multicomponent intervention targeted to children at risk of emotional and behavioral problems.

Measures Used: n/a

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Murphy, S.A. (2003). Optimal dynamic treatment regimes. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology), 65, 331-354.

Abstract--A dynamic treatment regime is a list of decision rules, one per time interval, for how the level of treatment will be tailored through time to an individual's changing status. The goal of this paper is to use experimental or observational data to estimate decision regimes that result in a maximal mean response. To explicate our objective and to state the assumptions, we use the potential outcomes model. The method proposed makes smooth parametric assumptions only on quantities that are directly relevant to the goal of estimating the optimal rules. We illustrate the methodology proposed via a small simulation.

Measures Used: n/a

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McCarty, C.A., McMahon, R.J., & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2003). Mediators of the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing and disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 545-556.

Abstract--Using a normative sample of 224 youth and their biological mothers, this study tested four family variables as potential mediators of the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms in early childhood and child psychological outcomes in pre-adolescence. The mediators examined included mother-child communication, the quality of the mother-child relationship, maternal social support, and stressful life events in the family. The most parsimonious structural equation model suggested that having a more problematic mother-child relationship mediated disruptive behavior-disordered outcomes for youth, whereas less maternal social support mediated the development of internalizing disorders. Our model included direct associations between early child internalizing problems and later internalizing disorders, and between early child externalizing problems and later disruptive behavior disorders. Gender and race were tested as moderators, but significant model differences did not emerge between boys and girls or African-American and Caucasian youth.

Measures Used:
-Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Feelings Scale CES-D)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL-PRF)
-Parent-Child Communication Scale
-People In My Life
-Inventory of Parent Experiences
-Life Changes
-Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Parent Self-Report
-Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (CDISC), Child Self-Report

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Collins, L.M., Murphy, S.A., and Bierman, K.L. (2004). A Conceptual Framework for Adaptive Preventive Interventions. Prevention Science, 5(3), 185-196.

Abstract--Recently, adaptive interventions have emerged as a new perspective on prevention and treatment. Adaptive interventions resemble clinical practice in that different dosages of certain prevention or treatment components are assigned to different individuals, and/or within individuals across time, with dosage varying in response to the intervention needs of individuals. To determine intervention need and thus assign dosage, adaptive interventions use prespecified decision rules based on each participant's values on key characteristics, called tailoring variables. In this article, we offer a conceptual framework for adaptive interventions. We point out that an adaptive intervention consists not only of the treatment itself, but the treatment inextricably coupled with the tailoring variables, measures of tailoring variables, decision rules, and implementation of decision rules. We discuss principles underlying the design and evaluation of adaptive interventions. It is noted that despite the differences between adaptive interventions and fixed interventions, the scientific evaluation of adaptive interventions is essentially the same as the evaluation required for fixed interventions. A properly conducted adaptive intervention has the potential to reduce negative effects, reduce waste, increase compliance, and enhance intervention potency. Open areas for research include the extent to which these benefits can be realized in practice, the role of clinical judgment, best designs for development of the decision rules, the cost/benefit ratio of adaptive as opposed to fixed interventions, and maintenance of implementation fidelity.

Measures Used: n/a

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2004). The Fast Track experiment: Translating the developmental model into a prevention design. In J.B. Kupersmidt & K.A. Dodge (Eds.), Children's peer relations: From development to intervention (pp. 181-208). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

(From the chapter) We explore how research on children's social relationships led to recognition of the behavioral causes and consequences of being rejected by peer groups, and to early, partially-successful intervention efforts with children with poor peer relationships. Based on these early studies, and on accumulating information about the broad range of mediating factors influencing antisocial behavior, the developmental model which serves as the foundation for Fast Track was articulated. Because it is essential that the developmental model of a preventive intervention map clearly onto the intervention research study's measurement model and onto the intervention model (Coie, 1996), we examine how the Fast Track developmental model was integrated into the corresponding intervention model. The design and procedures for the Fast Track study are outlined, and initial findings of the efficacy of the program are reviewed.

Measures Used:
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
-Parent Daily Report

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Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, Rhule, D., Vitaro, F., & Vachon, J. (2004). La prévention des problèmes de comportement chez les enfants: Le modèle de Fast Track. Revue de Psychoéducation, 33, 177-203.

Abstract--The Fast Track program represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious preventive interventions for conduct problems currently in progress. The program aims to improve competencies and reduce problems in children at high risk for long term antisocial behavior by working with their families, teachers, peers, and members of their community. The great scope of the program, however, has not compromised the rigor of implementation and evaluation in 4 diverse sites across the United States. This article first provides an overview of the theoretical basis of the Fast Track program's objectives and clinical strategies. Each intervention strategy is then described in detail. Initial results, organized according to the various levels of intervention, are presented at the end of the text. These results demonstrate that, with the appropriate resources and strategies to achieve reductions in behaviour problems, it is possible to deflect trajectories of problematic development and long term antisocial behaviour that might otherwise ensue.

Measures Used:
-Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

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Bierman, K.L., Bruschi, C., Domitrovich, C., Fang, G.F., Miller-Johnson, S., & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2004). Early disruptive behaviors associated with emerging antisocial behaviors among girls. In M. Putallaz & K.L. Bierman (Eds.), Aggression, antisocial behavior, and violence among girls (pp. 137-161). New York: Guilford Press.

Abstract--Despite being less prevalent among girls than among boys, disruptive behavior problems are a major mental health problem for girls. Prior research demonstrates that children with disruptive behaviors also experience significant social and academic achievement problems during grade school, and are at high risk for antisocial and maladaptive behavior in adolescence. Hence, these problems require early identification and intervention. Prior research on the developmental progression of disruptive behavior has focused primarily on boys; however, recent studies suggest that there may be important gender differences in the development of disruptive behavior problems. The present study hypothesizes that disruptive behavior of girls may be underidentified with measures that emphasize aggressive behavior, thus underestimating girls' risk for later antisocial activity. The authors use data from the Fast Track study of high-risk youth to evaluate gender differences in the efficacy of a narrow screening strategy, emphasizing overt aggression, compared with a broader screening strategy that includes nonaggressive oppositional and inattentive-hyperactive behaviors (along with overt aggression). They find significant predictability for both girls and boys when the broad spectrum of disruptive behaviors is used to indicate risk.

Measures Used:
-Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R)
-Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF)
-Sociometrics
-School Records
-Self-Reported Delinquency

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Hill, L.G., Lochman, J.E., Coie, J.D., Greenberg, M.T., & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2004). Effectiveness of early screening for externalizing problems: Issues of screening accuracy and utility. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 809-820.

Abstract--Accurate, early screening is a prerequisite for indicated interventions intended to prevent development of externalizing disorders and delinquent behaviors. Using the Fast Track longitudinal sample of 396 children drawn from high-risk environments, the authors varied assumptions about base rates and examined effects of multiple-time-point