Structural Determinants of School Discipline: Examining State-Level Racial Bias and Neighborhood Opportunity.

Objective: Addressing the disproportionate use of school detentions and suspensions among Black youth is crucial for reducing educational and health disparities across the lifespan. Yet, few studies have explored external factors beyond school or individual characteristics as potential contributors to school discipline disparities, such as state-level racial bias and neighborhood opportunity.

Method: A subsample from the larger Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® was used (M age at baseline = 9.

Racial Disparities in Autism Diagnosis, Assessment, and Intervention among Minoritized Youth: Sociocultural Issues, Factors, and Context.

Purpose Of Review: Despite the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among youth, disparities exist when it comes to access to diagnostic assessment and intervention of ASD in clinical and school settings. A review of the literature on sociocultural issues that contribute to these disparities would allow psychiatrists, clinicians, and researchers to better understand these challenges and aid in the development of culturally responsive approaches to support racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse families of youth with ASD.

Recent Findings: Disparities in ASD services are primarily due to system-level factors, including access to information or healthcare, stigma, and discrimination.

A Validation Study of the BRIEF-2 Among Kindergarteners and First Graders At-Risk for Behavior Problems.

Early identification of executive dysfunction and timely school-based intervention efforts are critical for students at risk for problematic behaviors during early elementary school. The original Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) was designed to measure real-world behavioral manifestations of executive functioning, neurocognitive processes critical for school success. With the updated BRIEF-2, independent validation is needed with kindergarten and first grade students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders.

Culturally Responsive Approaches for Addressing ADHD Within Multi-tiered Systems of Support.

Purpose Of Review: Limited work has emphasized cultural responsiveness when working with families and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from diverse backgrounds. We present a primer for psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals on the implementation of culturally responsive practices within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework when collaborating with schools.

Recent Findings: Individuals with ADHD demonstrate unique behavioral challenges that affect school and home functioning.

Association of acculturative stress, Islamic practices, and internalizing symptoms among Arab American adolescents.

Although the numbers of Arab American immigrant youth in schools is increasing, there is little understanding of their mental health and the sociocultural factors that might influence it. This study examined the relationship between 2 sociocultural factors (i.e.

Specific Learning Disorders and ADHD: Current Issues in Diagnosis Across Clinical and Educational Settings.

With the recent changes in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), this article provides a comprehensive review of two high-incidence disorders most commonly seen in childhood and adolescence: specific learning disorder (SLD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Updates regarding comorbidity, shared neuropsychological factors, and reasons for the changes in diagnostic criteria are addressed. Although the revisions in the DSM-5 may allow for better diagnostic sensitivity based on the symptomology, specifiers, and the clinical features outlined, there continues to be challenges in operationalizing SLD and implementing consistent assessment practices among mental health professionals particularly when considering the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides guidelines in the evaluation of SLD in school settings.

Verbal and visuospatial working memory as predictors of children's reading ability.

Children with reading difficulties often demonstrate weaknesses in working memory (WM). This research study explored the relation between two WM systems (verbal and visuospatial WM) and reading ability in a sample of school-aged children with a wide range of reading skills. Children (N = 157), ages 9-12, were administered measures of short-term memory, verbal WM, visuospatial WM, and reading measures (e.

Differentiating Behavioral Ratings of Inattention, Impulsivity, and Hyperactivity in Children: Effects on Reading Achievement.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to differentiate between behaviors of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity and how each domain contributes to reading achievement in elementary school-aged children.

Method: Data from 131 children were collected, which include performance from reading fluency and comprehension measures as well as parent and teacher ratings of ADHD behaviors based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) criteria.

The influence of inattention and rapid automatized naming on reading performance.

The current study examined the relation between attention, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading fluency among typically developing children. A total of 104 third- and fourth-grade children (8-11 years of age) completed RAN measures consisting of four stimuli (letter, digit, color, and object) and an oral reading fluency measure from the Gray Oral Reading Test-Fourth Edition. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses revealed that all four RAN stimuli, particularly letter RAN, were significant predictors of reading fluency.

Ethnic differences in parental beliefs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and treatment.

Objective: A survey study was conducted to explore ethnic differences in parental beliefs about the causes and treatments of ADHD and whether these beliefs predicted treatment preference.

Method: Ethnically diverse parents of 5- to 12-year-old children with ADHD (n = 58) and without ADHD (n = 61) completed a questionnaire developed by the authors that asked them to rate statements about biological and psychological causes of ADHD and their beliefs about medication and behavioral treatment.

Results: There were no significant ethnic differences in how parents viewed causes of ADHD.