Education and Human Sciences, College of (CEHS)
First Advisor
Susan Sheridan
Date of this Version
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Latinx students in the United States are at risk for unmet mental and behavioral health needs (Kataoka, Zhang, & Wells, 2002; Toppelberg, Hollinshead, Collins, & Nieto-Castañon, 2013) and are disproportionately referred for special education and disciplinary consequences (Moreno & Segura-Herrera, 2014). Effective approaches and interventions are needed to address behavioral and socioemotional concerns for Latinx students; Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) is one such approach. CBC is an indirect problem-solving approach designed to build socioemotional skills and decrease maladaptive behaviors in children (Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2008). Preliminary research demonstrates that CBC is effective for Latinx children and families (Clarke et al., 2017), but little is known regarding factors that made moderate CBC’s effects. Ecological variables, such as culture, socioeconomic status, and parent-teacher relationship history may influence the efficacy of CBC for Latinx participants. The purpose of the current study is to determine whether these variables moderate CBC’s effects on Latinx student’s behavior outcomes as reported by parents and teachers (externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, and school problems).
This study contains data drawn from three prior randomized controlled trials of CBC, across which 96 Latinx students and their parents, as well as 86 teachers, participated. Cultural orientation, as assessed via a language proxy, and parent-teacher relationship history were found to moderate the effects of CBC on Latinx student’s school problems (attention and learning difficulties). Cultural orientation was found to moderate CBC’s effects on home internalizing behaviors as well. Family socioeconomic status was not found to be a significant moderator of CBC’s effects on any of the behavioral outcomes examined. Study limitations (including sample size and power), future directions for research, and implications for practice are discussed.
Advisor: Susan M. Sheridan
Comments
A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Psychological Studies in Education (School Psychology), Under the Supervision of Professor Susan M. Sheridan. Lincoln, Nebraska: May, 2020
Copyright 2020 Samantha R. Eastberg