Background-The Good Behavior Game (GBG), a method of classroom behavior management used by teachers, was tested in first-and second-grade classrooms in 19 Baltimore City Public * Supplementary data on Cohort 2 and additional information on the Good Behavior Game intervention are available with the online version of this paper at http://dx.doi.org by entering doi: xxxxxxxx.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Schools beginning in the 1985-1986 school year. The intervention was directed at the classroom as a whole to socialize children to the student role and reduce aggressive, disruptive behaviors, confirmed antecedents of later substance abuse and dependence disorders, smoking, and antisocial personality disorder. This article reports on impact to age 19-21. NIH Public AccessMethods-In five poor to lower-middle class, mainly African American urban areas, three or four schools were matched and within each set randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) GBG, 2) a curriculum-and-instruction program directed at reading achievement, or 3) the standard program. Balanced assignment of children to classrooms was made, and then, within intervention schools, classrooms and teachers were randomly assigned to intervention or control.Results-By young adulthood significant impact was found among males, particularly those in first grade who were more aggressive, disruptive, in reduced drug and alcohol abuse/dependence disorders, regular smoking, and antisocial personality disorder. These results underline the value of a first-grade universal prevention intervention.Replication-A replication was implemented with the next cohort of first-grade children with the same teachers during the following school year, but with diminished mentoring and monitoring of teachers. The results showed significant GBG impact for males on drug abuse/dependence disorders with some variation. For other outcomes the effects were generally smaller but in the same direction.

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The present study used general growth mixture modeling to identify pathways of antisocial behavior development within an epidemiological sample of urban, primarily African American boys. Teacher-rated aggression, measured longitudinally from 1st to 7th grade, was used to define growth trajectories. Three high-risk trajectories (chronic high, moderate, and increasing aggression) and one low-risk trajectory (stable low aggression) were found. Boys with chronic high and increasing trajectories were at increased risk for conduct disorder, juvenile and adult arrest, and antisocial personality disorder. Concentration problems were highest among boys with a chronic high trajectory and also differentiated boys with increasing aggression from boys with stable low aggression. Peer rejection was highest among boys with chronic high aggression. Interventions with boys with distinct patterns of aggression are discussed.Antisocial behavior is among the most common and serious mental health problems presently faced in the United States (Kessler et al., 1994). Conduct disorder is one of the most prevalent disorders of childhood (3%-10%; Lewinsohn, Hops, Roberts, Seeley, & Andrews, 1993) and is associated with an array of other problems, including school failure, substance abuse, and adult psychiatric disorder (

The aim of this study was to identify classes of children at entry into first grade with different patterns of academic and behavior problems. A latent class analysis was conducted with a longitudinal community sample of 678 predominantly low-income African American children. Results identified multiple subclasses of children, including a class with co-occurring academic and behavior problems. Gender differences were found in relation to the number of identified classes and the characteristics of academic and behavior problems for children. Several of the identified classes, particularly the co-occurring academic and behavior problems subclass for both genders, predicted negative long-term outcomes in sixth grade, including academic failure, receipt of special education services, affiliation with deviant peers, suspension from school, and elevated risk for conduct problems. The finding that subclasses of academic and behavior problems predict negative long-term outcomes validates the importance of the identified classes and the need to target interventions for children presenting with the associated class characteristics. Implications for early identification, prevention, and intervention for children at risk for academic failure and disruptive behavior problems are discussed. KeywordsAcademic underachievement; Behavior problems; Latent class analysis Academic underachievement and disruptive behavior are serious problems afflicting a large number of children and adolescents. Separately, academic and behavior problems have been associated with substantial costs to families and society. Much has been written about the deleterious outcomes associated with life course persistent or early starter pathways to antisocial behavior problems (Patterson et al. 1991;Moffitt 1993). In particular, children with early behavior problems have an elevated risk for academic failure, peer rejection, substance abuse, and delinquency. Research has also shown that early learning problems by themselves predict future academic underachievement, school drop out, and other negative NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript outcomes. Furthermore, learning deficits are costly in terms of expenses related to special education services and the personal suffering and frustration for children and families. Likewise, disruptive behavior problems contribute to loss of instruction time in the classroom (Arnold 1997), frustration for children and families, and considerable societal burden associated with antisocial acts, including delinquency and harm to others (Reid et al. 2002). Additionally, both behavioral and learning problems are quite refractory to typical interventions (see Hinshaw 1992b). Together academic and behavior problems are a significant public health burden, comprising major psychological, economic, and social problems.Understanding and identifying the academic and behavioral characteristics associated with children at increased risk for these problems early in development can inform preve...

Multiple group analysis and general growth mixture modeling was used to determine whether aggressive-disruptive behavior trajectories during elementary school, and their association with young adulthood antisocial outcomes, vary by gender. Participants were assessed longitudinally beginning at age 6 as part of an evaluation of 2 school-based preventive programs. Two analogous trajectories were found for girls and boys: chronic high aggression-disruption (CHAD) and stable low aggressiondisruption (LAD). A 3rd class of low moderate aggression-disruption (LMAD) for girls and increasing aggression-disruption (IAD) for boys also was found. Girls and boys in analogous CHAD classes did not differ in trajectory level and course, but girls in the CHAD and LAD classes had lower rates of antisocial outcomes than boys. Girls with the LMAD trajectory differed from boys with the IAD trajectory.