Initiative Description: A randomized controlled effectiveness trial of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) on school climate and discipline problems. SWPBIS is a noncurricular, universal prevention model that draws on behavioral, social learning, and organizational principles. The model aims to alter the school environment by creating improved systems (eg, discipline and data management) and procedures (eg, office referral, behavioral reinforcement) that promote positive changes in staff and student behaviors.

Study Results: Analyses indicated that children in schools that implemented SWPBIS displayed lower rates of teacher-reported bullying and peer rejection than those in schools without SWPBIS. A significant interaction also emerged between grade level of first exposure to SWPBIS and intervention status, suggesting that the effects of SWPBIS on rejection were strongest among children who were first exposed to SWPBIS at a younger age

Reference: Waasdorp, T. E., Bradshaw, C. P., & Leaf, P. J. (2012). The impact of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) on bullying and peer rejection: A randomized controlled effectiveness trial. Archives of Child and Adolescent Medicine, 116(2), 149-156. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.755

Level of Evidence: Very Good