The Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) (Walker & Severson, in press) procedure was further evaluated. Two studies are reported in which validation, replication, and normative questions were addressed. Study I was conducted in a suburban Oregon school district in which 15 elementary schools and their teachers participated. Study 2 was conducted in two school districts, one urban and one suburban, in the state of Washington. The primary focus of Study I was upon normative and validity questions (factorial, criterion-related, and discriminant): the primary focus of Study 2 was upon replication and reliability questions. The results of Study I produced evidence of the SSBD's validity, as indicated by powerful subject group differences and criterion-related validity coefficients between SSBD measures and archival school record profiles. The results of Study 2 closely replicated those of Study I and extended the results of Study 1 in two respects. Study 2 included test-retest estimates of SSBD Stage 1 and 2 measures for 40 participating teachers, and an empirical verification of the SSBD system's sensitivity to the behavioral characteristics of previously certified severely emotionally disturbed (SED) students who were main-streamed into the participating teachers' classrooms. Future research plans and school applications of the SSBD system and the measures it comprises are also discussed.

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The present study predicts cigarette and alcohol use in adolescence from the development of children's cognitions in the elementary years, beginning in the second through the fifth grade. Using Latent Growth Modeling, we examined a model using data from 712 participants in the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project, who were in the second through fifth grade at the first assessment and followed for six annual or semi-annual assessments over seven years. Growth in children's prototypes and subjective norms in the elementary years (T1 through T4) were related to their substance use in adolescence (T6) through their willingness and intentions (T5) to smoke and drink. Across the sample, for both substances, the intercept and slope of prototypes were either indirectly related to use through willingness or directly related to use. Both the intercept and slope of subjective norms were indirectly related to use of both substances through both willingness and intentions, and directly related to cigarette use. Results suggest that elementary children have measurable cognitions regarding substance use, which develop during the elementary years, and predict use later in adolescence. These findings emphasize the need for prevention programs targeting changing children's social images of substance users and encouraging more accurate perceptions of peers' use.

Participants (N = 343) from an Oregon community completed surveys at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months to assess personality, the perceived health risk of radon in combination with smoking, and changes in smoking behavior. Conscientiousness predicted instituting a more restrictive household smoking rule (p < .01), and perceived risk predicted reduction in cigarettes smoked per day for men (p < .001). Perceived risk predicted a reduction in the proportion of cigarettes smoked in the home for those who had high (p < .05) but not low or moderate levels of Conscientiousness, a dimension in one personality model. The results demonstrate the importance of Conscientiousness in the prediction of health behavior, particularly behavior that affects others as well as oneself.