Heterogeneity in Short- and Long-Term Impacts of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) on Academic Outcomes, Behavioral Outcomes, and Criminal Activity

Abstract

Borgen, Kirkebøen, and Raaum have no interests to declare. They are responsible for choosing the research design and analyses. Most data management and estimations have been performed by Borgen, who also wrote the first complete draft in cooperation with Kirkebøen and Raaum. Ogden and Sørlie have provided the school-level data on the SWPBS intervention, the presentation of the model, and contributed to the choice of design as well as editing of the paper. Frønes have contributed to the choice of design and with the editing of the paper. The development department at the Norwegian Center for Child Behavioral Development is responsible for the adaptation, training, and implementation of SWPBS in Norway. Frønes, Ogden, and Sørlie work at the research department at the Norwegian Center for Child Behavioral Development, which is not involved in any parts of the implementation.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Norwegian schools during academic year 2020-21: population wide, register based cohort study

“…Lastly, indirect identification of school affiliation based on small geographical districts might have resulted in some misclassifications of students to schools, although previous research suggests that this assumption is not a great concern. 33 Overall, the external validity of our results might be limited to countries and contexts comparable with Norway, and the findings might not be applicable to subsequent waves of infection caused by other variants of the virus or when widespread vaccination became available.…”

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Norwegian schools: A population-wide register-based cohort study on characteristics of the index case and secondary attack rates

“…Lastly, the indirect identification of school affiliation based on small geographical neighbourhoods might results in some misclassifications of students to schools, though previous research suggests this is not a notable concern (29).…”

Impact of the School Environment on Medical Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Population‐Wide Register Data Study of School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

“…No effects have been found for students on a persistent low (84.4%), decreasing (7.9%), or increasing (5.3%) trajectory of externalizing behavior problems (Sørlie et al., 2018). Likewise, no effects of SWPBIS have been found on short‐term academic achievement, bullying victimization, or school well‐being (Borgen et al., 2019) and the long‐term probability of dropout and youth crime (Borgen et al., 2021).…”

“…Generally, evaluations of SWPBIS in Norway have typically found less evidence of intervention effects than in the United States, although differences in outcome variables and implementation make it hard to compare studies from different countries. For example, whereas effects on classroom order have been found in Norway, previous studies have not found any intervention effects on bullying victimization, poor school behavior, academic achievements, school dropout, and youth crime (Borgen et al, 2019(Borgen et al, , 2021. Moreover, whereas a previous study from Norway found short-term effects on behavioral outcomes for a 2.5% high-risk group only (Sørlie et al, 2018), a U.S. study found effects of SWPBIS both for highrisk (6.6%) and for at-risk (23.3%) students (Bradshaw et al, 2015).…”

“…A large body of research has examined the effects of SWPBIS on behavioral problems in the United States, finding strong support for positive short‐term effects of SWPBIS on externalizing problems in schools such as office discipline referrals, suspension rates, and school attendance (Chitiyo, May, & Chitiyo, 2012; Horner, Sugai, & Anderson, 2010; Lee & Gage, 2019; Mitchell, Hatton, & Lewis, 2018). However, the evidence on whether the positive intervention effects persist is limited, as few studies have followed students after they left the intervention school (Borgen et al., 2021; Jensen, 2020). Furthermore, although there is suggestive evidence of positive effects of psychosocial interventions in schools and home for ADHD children (DuPaul, Eckert, & Vilardo, 2012; Pelham & Fabiano, 2008), including components of the SWPBIS model (Eiraldi et al., 2012), no study has examined effects of SWPBIS on the prescription of ADHD medication.…”