Examining the Classroom Impact of the Bounce Back Trauma Intervention: Implications for Selecting Progress Monitoring Tools

Limited research has examined the impact of Bounce Back (BB), a trauma-focused intervention for elementary-age students, on student academic engagement and daily classroom behavior. This study utilized both ongoing direct and indirect measures of student functioning to evaluate student progress and inform the implementation of BB. Participants were six students (four male and two female). We employed an AB single-subject design across cases with follow-up, and we collected data via the Direct Behavior Rating-Single Item Scale (DBR). We also employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS), and mySAEBRS across raters before/after intervention implementation. We found either direct or indirect assessment could be used to monitor intervention effectiveness for youth who presented with some internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas indirect measures (i.e., rating scales) showed the primary effect for youth with solely internalizing problems, and direct assessment (i.e., DBR) showed the primary effect for youth with predominantly externalizing behaviors. Selecting progress-monitoring tools based on presenting concerns is important to adequately monitor the effectiveness of school-based mental health interventions. Implications for practice are discussed.