Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance.... more Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance. However, the expense of measuring EFs accurately has restricted most field-based research on them to smaller, non-longitudinal studies of homogeneous populations with specific diagnoses. We therefore monitored the development of 259 diverse, at-risk students' EFs as they progressed from 6th through 12th grade. Teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for a random subset of their students. At that same time, those same students completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Self Report (BRIEF-SR) about themselves; teachers generally reported stronger EFs in students than students reported in themselves. Results further indicated that both BRIEF and BRIEF-SR Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores-measures of overall executive functioning-significantly predicted overall GPAs more than was already predicted by students' gender, IEP status, and eligibility for free/reduced school lunch. BRIEF (teacher) scores were better predictors and contributed more to predictive accuracy than the BRIEF-SR (student) scores; BRIEF scores even added additional predictiveness to a model already containing BRIEF-SR scores, while the reverse did not hold. This study provides evidence for valid use of BRIEF and BRIEF-SR GEC scores to predict middle and high school GPAs, thereby supporting practitioners use for this purpose within similar, diverse, at-risk populations. The study also illuminates some of the EF development for this population during adolescence.
The family, juvenile, and domestic-relations courts face America's most pressing social probl... more The family, juvenile, and domestic-relations courts face America's most pressing social problems without the requisite mental health and social services. Two alternative approaches to this dilemma—the direct service approach, which encourages the expansion of court-related mental health services, and the community organization approach, which urges the stimulation of community agencies to better serve the needs of the court population—were implemented by an experimental family court mental health service in an urban setting. Analysis of this experience suggests that there are general principles favoring the community organization approach.
Tensions between mental health practitioners and their colleagues in quality assurance can be red... more Tensions between mental health practitioners and their colleagues in quality assurance can be reduced. A sociological view of the evolution of psychiatric practice from the doctor-patient dyad to the therapist-patient-third party triad and of the discontinuity between the new structure and the culture of professional practice frames the discussion. Drawing on approaches to quality developed in business settings, it is argued that third parties as well as patients are "customers" and that a different approach to quality is appropriate to each. Crosby's methodology is recommended as relevant to the management of relationships with third parties.
Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance.... more Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance. However, the expense of measuring EFs accurately has restricted most field-based research on them to smaller, non-longitudinal studies of homogeneous populations with specific diagnoses. We therefore monitored the development of 259 diverse, at-risk students' EFs as they progressed from 6th through 12th grade. Teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for a random subset of their students. At that same time, those same students completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Self Report (BRIEF-SR) about themselves; teachers generally reported stronger EFs in students than students reported in themselves. Results further indicated that both BRIEF and BRIEF-SR Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores-measures of overall executive functioning-significantly predicted overall GPAs more than was already predicted by students' gender, IEP status, and eligibility for free/reduced school lunch. BRIEF (teacher) scores were better predictors and contributed more to predictive accuracy than the BRIEF-SR (student) scores; BRIEF scores even added additional predictiveness to a model already containing BRIEF-SR scores, while the reverse did not hold. This study provides evidence for valid use of BRIEF and BRIEF-SR GEC scores to predict middle and high school GPAs, thereby supporting practitioners use for this purpose within similar, diverse, at-risk populations. The study also illuminates some of the EF development for this population during adolescence.
Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance.... more Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance. However, the expense of measuring EFs accurately has restricted most field-based research on them to smaller, non-longitudinal studies of homogeneous populations with specific diagnoses. We therefore monitored the development of 259 diverse, at-risk students' EFs as they progressed from 6th through 12th grade. Teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for a random subset of their students. At that same time, those same students completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Self Report (BRIEF-SR) about themselves; teachers generally reported stronger EFs in students than students reported in themselves. Results further indicated that both BRIEF and BRIEF-SR Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores-measures of overall executive functioning-significantly predicted overall GPAs more than was already predicted by students' gender, IEP status, and eligibility for free/reduced school lunch. BRIEF (teacher) scores were better predictors and contributed more to predictive accuracy than the BRIEF-SR (student) scores; BRIEF scores even added additional predictiveness to a model already containing BRIEF-SR scores, while the reverse did not hold. This study provides evidence for valid use of BRIEF and BRIEF-SR GEC scores to predict middle and high school GPAs, thereby supporting practitioners use for this purpose within similar, diverse, at-risk populations. The study also illuminates some of the EF development for this population during adolescence.
The family, juvenile, and domestic-relations courts face America's most pressing social probl... more The family, juvenile, and domestic-relations courts face America's most pressing social problems without the requisite mental health and social services. Two alternative approaches to this dilemma—the direct service approach, which encourages the expansion of court-related mental health services, and the community organization approach, which urges the stimulation of community agencies to better serve the needs of the court population—were implemented by an experimental family court mental health service in an urban setting. Analysis of this experience suggests that there are general principles favoring the community organization approach.
Tensions between mental health practitioners and their colleagues in quality assurance can be red... more Tensions between mental health practitioners and their colleagues in quality assurance can be reduced. A sociological view of the evolution of psychiatric practice from the doctor-patient dyad to the therapist-patient-third party triad and of the discontinuity between the new structure and the culture of professional practice frames the discussion. Drawing on approaches to quality developed in business settings, it is argued that third parties as well as patients are "customers" and that a different approach to quality is appropriate to each. Crosby's methodology is recommended as relevant to the management of relationships with third parties.
Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance.... more Executive functions (EFs) show promise as important mediators of adolescent academic performance. However, the expense of measuring EFs accurately has restricted most field-based research on them to smaller, non-longitudinal studies of homogeneous populations with specific diagnoses. We therefore monitored the development of 259 diverse, at-risk students' EFs as they progressed from 6th through 12th grade. Teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for a random subset of their students. At that same time, those same students completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Self Report (BRIEF-SR) about themselves; teachers generally reported stronger EFs in students than students reported in themselves. Results further indicated that both BRIEF and BRIEF-SR Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores-measures of overall executive functioning-significantly predicted overall GPAs more than was already predicted by students' gender, IEP status, and eligibility for free/reduced school lunch. BRIEF (teacher) scores were better predictors and contributed more to predictive accuracy than the BRIEF-SR (student) scores; BRIEF scores even added additional predictiveness to a model already containing BRIEF-SR scores, while the reverse did not hold. This study provides evidence for valid use of BRIEF and BRIEF-SR GEC scores to predict middle and high school GPAs, thereby supporting practitioners use for this purpose within similar, diverse, at-risk populations. The study also illuminates some of the EF development for this population during adolescence.
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