Practice-Based Evidence for Children and Adolescents: Advancing the Research Agenda in Schools

Work on this article was supported by grants (MSN103215 and MSN103211) to the first author and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) from the U.S. Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies, WCER, or cooperating institutions. Support to John R. Weisz came from the Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Norlien Foundation. More detailed information on the themes in this article and the full report from the Task Force may be found at the American Psychological Association Web site (http://www.apa.org/pi/cyf/evidence.html).

Abstract.

The American Psychological Association Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice for Children and Adolescents (2008) recommended a systems approach to enhancing care in order to improve outcomes for children and adolescents with mental health needs and redress persistent systemic problems with the structure of services. Recommendations for enhancing an ecological approach to the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices are offered through increased attention to practice-based research frameworks for adoption and dissemination. Five criteria are discussed for providing acceptable evidence, including (a) systematic evidence searching and adoption of evidence-based prevention and intervention practices, (b) implementation and adherence to intervention integrity, (c) invoking standards for drawing inferences from interventions, (d) using quality assessments to measure outcomes, and (e) adopting formal data analysis procedures to assess intervention outcomes. Each criterion is illustrated with an example. Future research and policy agendas are outlined.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas R. Kratochwill

Thomas R. Kratochwill, PhD, is Sears-Bascom Professor at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He is the director of the Educational and Psychological Training Center and the School Psychology Program.

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood, PhD, is a professor of clinical psychology in psychiatry at Columbia University and director of a National Institute of Mental Health-funded Advanced Center on Implementation-Dissemination Science in States for Children and Families (The IDEAS Center).

Anne E. Kazak

Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP, is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and chief of the Section of Behavioral Oncology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

John R. Weisz

John R. Weisz, PhD, ABPP, is a professor of psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. He is also president and CEO of the Judge Baker Children's Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

Korey Hood

Korey K. Hood, PhD, is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and staff psychologist at the Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes.

Luis A. Vargas

Luis A. Vargas, PhD, is an associate professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Gerard A. Banez

Gerard A. Banez, PhD, is program director of the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program at Cleveland Clinic.