Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

Family-centered, positive behavior support (PBS) has been designed to improve the quality of life for families and their children. For families of young children, PBS can be accom-plished through prevention of challenging behaviors, interven-tion for problem behaviors, promotion of positive behaviors, and fostering healthy social-emotional development (Dunlap et al., 2006; Powell, Dunlap, & Fox, 2006). Challenging behavior in young children has been associated with poor child and family outcomes. When young children exhibit chal-lenging behavior, they are more likely to experience puni-tive interactions with caregivers and peer rejection (Dunlap et al., 2006; Fox & Smith, 2007). Young children with dis-abilities might experience additional difficulties with chal-lenging behavior because of poor communication or social skills. For these children, challenging behavior might lead to decreased social competence, increased social isolation, and removal from early childhood education and care settings (Perry, Dunne, McFadden, & Campbell, 2008). Long-term challenging behavior has been linked with decreased aca-demic performance, increased rates of high school dropout, and juvenile delinquency (Huffman, Mehlinger, & Kerivan, 2001). Moreover, parents of young children with disabilities who exhibit challenging behavior have reported increased family stress and parental depression (Bailey, Golden, Roberts, & Ford, 2007). A growing body of evidence suggests PBS interventions can be used to support young children in school, home, and community settings (Conroy, Dunlap, Clark, & Alter, 2005). Some PBS research has focused on interventions imple-mented by family members in “typical ” family settings or contexts, often referred to as family-centered, positive behavior support (e.g., Lucyshyn et al., 2007; Moes & Frea, 2000; Vaughn, Wilson, & Dunlap, 2002). Within family-centered PBS, researchers have emphasized the need to design interventions that are technically sound and contex-tually appropriate (Lucyshyn, Kayser, Irvin, & Blumberg, 2002). Commonly referred to as contextual fit, researcher