The Effects of the Accept-Identify-Move (AIM) Curriculum on Students Externalizing Behaviors and Psychological Flexibility with Social- Emotional and Behavioral Needs

The present study examines how implementation of the (Accept-Identify- Move) AIM curriculum affects individuals with social-emotional and behaviors needs by determining its impacts on their externalizing behaviors and psychological flexibility. The AIM curriculum focuses on social-emotional development and is based on theories of mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (Dixon & Paliliunas, 2018). This study is conducted through a meta-analysis design using both single-subject and aggregate score studies. The study identified 4 articles that met all the inclusion criteria. Large-scale quantitative data indicated moderate gains in mindfulness and psychological flexibility (pooled g ≈ 0.53) but negligible changes in self-reported conduct and hyperactivity (g = 0.05–0.11). In contrast, smaller-scale single-case designs reported medium-to-large reductions in observed disruptive behaviors (Tau-U ≈ 0.50–0.80), particularly when AIM was paired with its reinforcement systems such as token economies. The current investigator concludes that while this meta-analysis is a small sample size, the AIM curriculum is an effective framework for increasing individuals with social-emotional and behavioral needs psychological flexibility scores. However, with inconsistent data supporting reductions in externalizing behavior across the studies, additional research is needed to determine if the Accept-Identify-Move (AIM) curriculum contributes to externalizing behavior reduction.