For education to be effective, educators need to understand pertinent theories concerning behavior change and to apply them in programming. The study reported here sought to determine if the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) could be used to design, implement, and evaluate a brief educational session. Results show a significant increase in…

The authors examined the effect a curriculum about cooperative businesses had on high school student attitudes toward these businesses. Cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions were measured before and after participating in the curriculum. Older high school students increased their attitudes toward cooperatives more than did younger…

The pilot investigation evaluated a theatrical intervention program, Social Emotional NeuroScience Endocrinology (SENSE) Theatre, designed to improve socioemotional functioning and reduce stress in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eight children with ASD were paired with typically developing peers that served as expert models.…

The present study sought to investigate the effects of a multidimensional educational intervention on high school students' motivation and engagement. The intervention incorporated: (a) multidimensional targets of motivation and engagement, (b) empirically derived intervention methodology, (c) research-based risk and protective factors, (d)…

Most students struggle when faced with complex and open-ended tasks because the strategies taught in schools and universities simply require finding and applying the correct formulae or strategy to answer well-structured, algorithmic problems. For students to develop their ability to solve ill-structured problems, they must first believe that…

There is growing interest in understanding the usefulness of mentorship programs for children's rehabilitation service providers. This evaluation study examined the effects of an occupational therapy mentorship program on the skills and behaviors of 8 new and 17 experienced occupational therapists practicing at a regional children's rehabilitation…

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of an abstinence education program on sexual intercourse initiation and on possible cognitive mediators of sexual initiation for virgin seventh graders in suburban Virginia. Methods: Measures of sexual behavior and 6 mediating variables were compared at 3 time periods for program participants and a matched…

This study compared the impact of the Aban Aya Youth Project (AAYP; Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 158: 377-384, 2004) social development classroom curriculum (SDC), school/family/community (SC) intervention curriculum, and a health enhancement curriculum (HEC) attention placebo control on changes over time in violent behaviors…

Purpose: This study assessed the effectiveness of Active Start, a community-based behavior change and fitness program, designed to promote physical activity among sedentary community-dwelling older adults. Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data were analyzed using a within-group pretest-post-test design to calculate changes…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy with children who have classroom-related behavior problems within a school setting. Five to seven sessions of solution-focused brief therapy services were provided to 67 children, identified by school faculty and staff as needing assistance in solving behavior problems.…

Objective: To evaluate the New York State Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program using economic methodology. Design: Data were collected by nutrition educators in a pretest, posttest design with an epidemiological modeling approach to assess costs and estimate potential health benefits of the state program. Setting: Cooperative Extension,…

This research assessed effects of brief wilderness programs on adolescents' self-concepts, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and environmental attitudes and contrasted effects for adolescents in five racial groups. A pretest-posttest design compared adolescents who participated in wilderness outings (n = 67) with adolescents on a waiting…

Universities often conduct alcohol interventions for individuals who have violated institutional, local, or state laws. Few of these programs have been evaluated thoroughly. This study examined the impact of a 10-hour alcohol education course on 400 college students whose attendance was required as part of a judicial sanction. The…

Drug and alcohol use among youth remains pervasively high, but students are receiving less school-based prevention. Infusing health information into core curricula may be a valuable prevention approach. Therefore, behavior change theory was used to develop a science education curriculum on drugs for fourth- and fifth-grade students, which was then…

The present study evaluated two primary care parenting interventions. First, we evaluated the most widely used Dutch practices for primary care parenting support. Second, we assessed the applicability of the Primary Care Triple P approach, which is now being utilized in a wide variety of primary care settings. Both interventions target parents of…