Project Activities
Structured Abstract
Setting
Sample
Research design and methods
Control condition
Key measures
Data analytic strategy
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products from this study included results of analyses of the randomized trial of EcoFIT. Results of the cost analysis of EcoFIT implementation and sustainability will also be included.
Book chapter
Fosco, G.M., Dishion, T.J., and Stormshak, E.A. (2012). A Public Health Approach to Family-Centered Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Addiction: A Middle School Strategy. In H.J. Shaffer, D.A. LaPlante, and S.E. Nelson (Eds.), The American Psychological Association Addiction Syndrome Handbook (pp. 225-245). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/13750-010
Stormshak, E.A., Brown, K.L., Moore, K.M., Dishion, T.J., Seeley, J., and Smolkowski, K. (2016). Going to Scale With Family-Centered, School-Based Interventions: Challenges and Future Directions. In E. Kim, and S. Sheridan (Eds.), Research on Family-School Partnerships: Family-School Partnerships in Context, Vol. 3 (pp. 25-44). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-19228-4_2
Stormshak, E.A., Margolis, K., Huang, C.Y., and Dishion, T.J. (2012). Implementation of a Family-Centered, School-Based Intervention to Prevent Student Academic and Behavioral Problems. In B. Kelly, and D.F. Perkins (Eds.), Handbook of Implementation Science for Psychology in Education (pp. 264-276). New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139013949.020
Book chapter, edition specified
Fosco, G.M., Seeley, J.R., Dishion, T.J., Smolkowski, K., Stormshak, E.A., Downey-McCarthy, R., Falkenstein, C.A., Moore, K.J., and Strycker, L.A. (2012). Lessons Learned From Scaling Up the Ecological Approach to Family Interventions and Treatment (EcoFIT) Program in Middle Schools. In M. Weist, N. Lever, C. Bradshaw, and J. Ownes (Eds.), Handbook of School Mental Health (2nd ed., pp. 237-254). New York: Springer.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Dishion, T.J. (2011). Promoting Academic Competence and Behavioral Health in Public Schools: A Strategy of Systemic Concatenation of Empirically Based Intervention Principles. School Psychology Review, 40(4): 590-597.
Supplemental information
This research team will test the effectiveness of a family and school intervention, the Ecological Approach to Family Intervention and Treatment (EcoFIT), under scaled-up conditions in middle schools. From numerous studies across diverse settings, the EcoFIT intervention has obtained strong evidence of its efficacy for reducing problem behaviors in the school and home environments and increasing academic achievement and attendance.
EcoFIT implementation is most successful in public schools that have a well-defined behavior management system such as PBS. PBS involves schoolwide behavior expectations for all students as well as more intensive and targeted interventions for individual students as needed. Within the PBS framework, EcoFIT consists of three components: (a) a Family Resource Center (FRC), housed in schools and staffed by at least one parent consultant (e.g., school counselor, school psychologist, special educator), which provides information on school-wide PBS, parenting skills, and behavior support; (b) the Family Check-Up (FCU), a series of three meetings which target family management and socialization practices to reduce and prevent the onset of student problem behavior and to increase academic success; and (c) further intervention and treatment options, such as family management parent groups, based on assessment results and the motivation and circumstances of the child and family.
The research design is based in the RE-AIM model which suggests that to evaluate an intervention for broad adoption, evidence must be available regarding (a) reach, the proportion and representativeness of individual intervention participants, (b) effectiveness, both intended and unintended impacts on important outcomes, (c) adoption, the number, proportion, and representativeness of settings, organizations, or agents who implement the intervention, (d) implementation, fidelity, timing, and cost of the elements of the intervention protocol and individuals' use of intervention strategies, and (e) maintenance, the intervention's sustained, long-term effects at the individual level and long-term sustainability at the setting level.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
