Institution: University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Program: Academic and Behavioral Competencies Model

Principal Investigators:  William Pelham, Jr., Greta Massetti

Key Staff: Rebecca Marshall, Jeaveen Neaderhiser, Anne Uba

Program Description and Site-Specific Research:

The School-Wide Academic and Behavioral Competencies (ABC) Model employs a set of strategies designed to enhance students' social competencies and behavior. These strategies include school-wide discipline rules, social skills training, peer tutoring, peer mediation, and parent training, and include methods of working with children with impaired behavioral or social functioning (such as ADHD). The model is being evaluated in a large urban school district serving students from high risk, impoverished neighborhoods.

In their complementary study the researchers are focusing on two cohorts of students: One group of students is being followed from the 1st grade year to the 3rd grade year, and a second group of students is being followed from the 3rd grade year to the 5th grade year. With this design, the researchers hope to understand the effects of the ABC program on students in the third grade after one year of intervention compared to multiple years of intervention. Other aspects of the complementary study include an examination of teachers' classroom management strategies, the effects of the intervention on child psychopathology, and whether the intervention prevents the need for medication and other mental health services for children.