1. University of Kentucky
Moving Beyond What We Know: Risk and Resilience Factors and the Development of EBD
Christine Christle
Kristine Jolivette
C. Michael Nelson
University of Kentucky
Terrance M. Scott
University of Florida

2. Dismal Futures for Students with EBD
Difficulty maintaining jobs
Only 44% had jobs years after leaving school (McLaughlin, Leone, Warren, & Schofield, 1994)
Criminal Activity
1/5 of students with EBD arrested while in school
58% arrested 5 years after school
73% of EBD drop outs arrested within 5 years of leaving school (Chesapeake Institute, 1994)

3. Risk and Resilience
Risk: conditions or situations that are empirically related to particular outcomes (Reddy et al., 2001)
Resilience: a characteristic that allows a person to make appropriate behavioral choices in the presence of multiple risk factors (Finley, 1994)

4. Risk and Resilience
Operate through complex interactions across life domains
Individual
Family
School
Peer groups
Community

5. Individual Factors RISK RESILIENCE Early intervention
Cognitive deficits
Reading readiness
Following directions
Vocabulary
Social skills
RESILIENCE
Early intervention
Cognitive skills training
Parent training
Preschool programs
High/Scope Perry Preschool Program

6. Family Factors RISK RESILIENCE Poor Parenting Skills
Neglect
Harsh - Abusive
Rejection
Substance abuse, crime
Child
Malnutrition
Aggression
Emotional problems
RESILIENCE
Prenatal parent training
Home visitation by nurses
Teach child
Health and self care skills
Emotional coping strategies
(Patterson et al, 1998; Walker et al, 1991)

7. Family Factors RISK RESILIENCE Poverty
Best predictor of behavioral deviation (Scott & Nelson, 1999)
Best predictor of school failure
RESILIENCE
Link families to needed services
Medical
Social Services
Employment
Teach educators about poverty (Payne, 1998)
Adolescent Motherhood: Implications for the Juvenile Justice System.
The sons of adolescent mothers are 2.7 times more likely to be incarcerated than the sons of mothers who delay childbearing until their early 20's.
children born to adolescent mothers were found to be twice as likely to be victims of abuse and neglect than children born to 20- or 21-year-old mothers. "Abuse and Neglect: Effects of Early Childbearing on Abuse and Neglect of the Children" (George and Lee, forthcoming, in Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy)
Series: OJJDP
Published:January 1997
U.S. Dept. of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Prevention
Shay Bilchik, Administrator
Fact Sheet #50
Prevention of adolescent pregnancy is clearly a valuable first step in helping to reduce juvenile violence and victimization.
OJJDP's Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders
Poverty:
Negatively effects the lives of children regardless of race or ethnicity
Best predictor of school failure
The number of extremely poor children in single-mother families jumped by 26 percent from 1996 to 1997($6,401 a year for a three-person family)
CDF's analyses of data from the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey.
Of prison inmates between 15 & 19 years of age, 90% are products of an adolescent pregnancy. [14]  
Of the top ten disciplinary problems confronting public school teachers, pregnancy is third.

8. (Wehby et al. 1996; Shores et al. 1996)
School Factors
RISK
Low school involvement
Failure cycle
Academics difficult
Student escapes
Teacher avoids
RESILIENCE
Include students in policy decisions
Match instruction to level of ability
Facilitate success
Effective academic instruction
Effective behavior management
Students with negative behaviors receive less academic instruction
and more punitive consequences than peers
(Wehby et al. 1996; Shores et al. 1996)
Academic problems foster behavior problems (Maguin & Loeber, 1996)
Children from low income families are far more likely to have print related deficits (Adams, 1988),lower vocabulary skills, and lack of familiarity with following directions (Hart & Risley, 1995)
higher rates of negative interactions with school personnel regardless of their behavior
higher rates of punitive consequences than their peers
this tends to make behaviors worse
lower rates academic engaged time with teacher perpetuates cycle of problem behavior
Reactive disciplinary approach
Lack of teaching about rules, expectations, & consequences
Lack of staff consistency
Failure to consider and accommodate individual student differences
Academic failure
(Mayer, 1995; Sugai & Lewis, 1998; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1996)
From 1974 to 1998 suspension/expulsion rates went from 3.7% to 6.8%
Suspended youth are far more likely to drop out and become delinquent
(Justice Policy Institute, 2001)
From 8 AM - 3 PM, students with challenging behaviors fail 7 of every 10 academic trials
Nearly half of third graders in New York’s high minority public schools cannot read at all (1996)
Identified poor readers at fourth grade have a .88 probability of remaining a poor reader
forever (Adams, 1988)
82% of all crimes are committed by people who have dropped out of school
(APA Commission on Youth Violence, 1993)
Three years after leaving school, 70% of antisocial youth have been arrested (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)
Students with academic failure and problem behaviors are far more likely to:
drop out of school
be involved with the corrections system
be single parents
be involved with the social services system
be unemployed
be involved in automobile accidents
use illicit drugs

9. School Factors RISK RESILIENCE Less academics Truancy Suspension
Expulsion
Dropping out
RESILIENCE
Increase active participation
Meaningful instruction
Alternative programs
Involve parents
From 1974 to 1998 suspension/expulsion rates went from 3.7% to 6.8%
Suspended youth are far more likely to drop out and become delinquent
(Justice Policy Institute, 2001)
From 8 AM - 3 PM, students with challenging behaviors fail 7 of every 10 academic trials
Nearly half of third graders in New York’s high minority public schools cannot read at all (1996)
Identified poor readers at fourth grade have a .88 probability of remaining a poor reader forever (Adams, 1988)
82% of all crimes are committed by people who have dropped out of school
(APA Commission on Youth Violence, 1993)
Three years after leaving school, 70% of antisocial youth have been arrested (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)
Students with academic failure and problem behaviors are far more likely to:
drop out of school
be involved with the corrections system
be single parents
be involved with the social services system
be unemployed
be involved in automobile accidents
use illicit drugs

10. Peer Factors RISK RESILIENCE Teach social skills Peer rejection
Deviant peers
Deviancy training
Gang involvement
RESILIENCE
Teach social skills
Facilitate prosocial groups
Functional assessment
Replace deviant and gang involvement
(Farmer & Cadwallader, 2000; Henry, 2000)

11. Community Factors RISK RESILIENCE Media - TV Recreation
Neighborhood disorganization
Drugs
Firearms
RESILIENCE
Monitor -Teach reflection
After school programs
Community mentors (BBBSA)
School/Community links (SLP)
Drug prevention programs
LST
MPP
High levels of TV viewing – negatively effects children’s behavior
extensive television viewing, regardless of the content, has been found to negatively affect children’s behavior (Kauffman, 2001)
Exposure to media violence – related to development of violent behavior
Violent video games – effective training for violence
The number of minors in state prisons has more than doubled in the past 12 years, according to a study by the Justice Department

12. Present Study
Hypothesis: There is a correlation between school poverty rate and academic outcomes. We can predict that a school with high poverty will have lower academic outcomes.
#1: What academic variables or indicators separate effective schools that are at-risk due to poverty level compared to at-risk schools that are performing as expected?
#2: What differences in behavioral variables or indicators, if any, exist between these two types of schools?

13. Present Study Sample: ~6 elementary schools
1-2 Sds below/above mean on CTBS
Matched by county - target 3rd grade
High county poverty & percentage of free/reduced lunch

14. Data Collection Survey: 32 questions - by administrator Topical Areas
School-wide Expectations
School Climate and Discipline
Evaluation and Decision Making
Suspension, Expulsion, and Referrals
Unique Features of School
Supporting Materials (to attach)
School Handbook/Policies
Schedules/Calendar
3rd grade Curricula

15. Data Collection On-Site Observations: - Classrooms Effective Practices
Transitions
Academic foci
Behavior management systems
On-Site Interviews: -Teachers, staff
Academic & behavioral expectations
Remedial plans/decision making process
School climate
Collaboration and partnerships

16. Data Collection On-Site Observations: - School-wide Hallways
Lunchroom w/transitions
Common areas
Physical surroundings
Staffing ratios
Expectations & rules
Materials & supplies
Behavior management
Behavioral incidents

17. Discussion What other variables should be observed?
Poverty is a salient variable that can negatively affect academic achievement - what other variables have similar effects?
Are schools that are academically effective also more behaviorally effective - what variables separate these two groups (discipline data; special education referral, truancy, drop out, or retention rates)?
What is the relationship between school effectiveness/safety and the community?