Translation of the SMARTS Self-Regulation Intervention from Elementary to Middle School

Purpose: Schools are critical settings for implementing research-supported interventions addressing students’ behavioral and emotional challenges. However, interventions developed for one developmental stage often require adaptation to remain effective and feasible in new contexts. Method: This article describes the systematic, stakeholder-engaged adaptation of self-monitoring and regulation training strategy (SMARTS)—a manualized, school-based self-regulation intervention originally designed for elementary students, translated for middle school implementation. Guided by Goldstein's stepwise translational framework and grounded in participatory action and co-production methodologies, the project involved iterative testing, stakeholder feedback, and integration of digital tools to support fidelity and scalability. Results: The SMARTS middle school version retained theoretically relevant core ingredients while altering developmentally appropriate content, structures, and supports to develop an intervention to meet middle school student, teacher, and context challenges. Discussion: Adaptation guided by empirical frameworks and embedded within a co-production model promotes collaboratively designed programs that are research-supported, sustainable, acceptable, and meaningful to those they serve.