Examining the Executive Function-Stress Loop and its Association with Student Outcomes: Implications for Middle Schoolers with or At Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

The purpose of the research plan is to better understand the pathways to the onset and intensification of behavior and academic problems for middle school students with EBD. The PI will conduct a longitudinal study with two cohorts of students with EBD in self-contained settings, students with or at risk for EBD in general education settings, and students without disabilities (approximately 300 total). Students will be followed from the beginning of 6th grade to end of 7th grade. In Years 1 and 2 (Cohort 1), the PI will collect data on students' cool EF (EF that is used during neutral situations, such as daily learning), hot EF (EF that is used to regulate in situations that are motivationally or emotionally significant, such as peer pressure), school-based stress, stress regulation, and academic and behavioral outcomes over four time points (fall and spring of both years). The PI will also collect observational data on classroom quality, including individual teacher-student interactions and class-wide interactions, in self-contained classrooms. In Years 3 and 4, this data collection procedure will be repeated for Cohort 2. The PI will use structural equation models to (1) explore the longitudinal relationships among the EF-Stress Loop and academic and behavioral outcomes of students with or at risk for EBD compared with peers without disabilities, and (2) examine the effects of classroom quality on the EF-Stress Loop for students with EBD in self-contained classrooms.