The intention of this dissertation in practice is to provide structure to a peer-to-peer mentoring program to improve the academic success of students, while building students' engagement and social emotional skills through connections and relationships within the school district. This study is situated in a rural school community with an…

Educators develop and implement various academic/behavioral intervention programs designed to specifically address academic shortcomings or aimed at disrupting behavioral cycles that impede success in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to identify gaps in behavioral Response to Intervention (RtI) programs and to design a RtI program…

With regard to sexual violence prevention and response programming and education, what are the differences between a campus receiving U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women Campus Grant funding and a campus that is not receiving funding? This exploratory case study provides insight about sexual violence prevention education at…

There has been a growing body of research on best approaches to reduce college men's sexual assault perpetration. While some interventions have successfully decreased perpetrator behavior, very few have accounted for college men's pre-intervention likelihood of offending (i.e., risk status). Considering the difficulties in changing high-risk men's…

Adolescence is a time of significant physical, mental, emotional, and social development marked by numerous transitions and challenges. Middle school is one of the earliest and perhaps first times of significant social and physical transition that impacts early adolescent development. As a result, schools are becoming a primary care setting for…

Bullying and peer victimization are prevalent concerns among educators, psychologists, and families alike. In recent years, research has indicated an increasing prevalence of bullying incidents among elementary school-aged children, with growing concerns about the long-term effects of bullying involvement on bullies, bully-victims, victims, as…

The purpose of this study was to determine Pennsylvania principals' perceptions and understanding of the physical and psychosocial impact of childhood obesity, whether they believe schools should be addressing the issue, who they feel should be leading efforts within schools, what actions they believe are taking place to address the issue within…

Phishing has become a preferred method among cyber criminals looking to gain access to confidential information. Although most businesses and governmental organizations provide employees with some sort of cyber security training, there is a lack of research examining whether such training methods work to actually reduce susceptibility to…

Many community college students in the U.S. do not complete a credential or degree, thus facing dramatically reduced earning potential (Levesque, 2018). The purpose of this study was to understand and examine why students drop out with the intent of developing practical and feasible solutions to prevent them from dropping out. This Action Research…

Collegiate alcohol use is a growing concern. Though alcohol use is often considered normative with this population, it is associated with negative consequences including unwanted sexual contact and suicidality (Core Institute, 2013) and as criminal charges for status offenses or driving under the influence. Often, offenses that occur on or near…

Cross-national studies consistently reveal that bullying is a pervasive problem in schools and associated with a multitude of deleterious outcomes. The present dissertation conducted two studies to further provide insight into this complex phenomenon and facilitate the development of effective bullying prevention programs. Youth involved in…

Sexual violence in the United States continues to be a growing problem. Collegiate women face some of the highest rates of sexual violence, with statistics estimating one in four women will have this unwanted experience sometime during their college career. With Title IX administrators required to provide sexual violence awareness, more colleges…

The ultimate aim of translational research in the prevention sciences is to establish evidence-based programs and services that facilitate the adoption or maintenance of positive health behaviors. Success is indicated by reductions in the incidence of mental and behavioral health disorders at the individual and population levels, and universal…

Teen Dating Violence (TDV) has become a pervasive problem for youth in the United States, with 10% to 25% of high school students engaging in physical and sexual dating violence, and with even a greater percentage of youth experiencing some form of psychological maltreatment (Kervin & Obinna, 2010, "Youth action strategies in the primary…

The postsecondary acts of violence at Virginia Technical University (VT) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) forced Illinois legislators to approve the "Campus Security Enhancement Act" in 2008 (110 ILCS 12/20). The "Act" requires all private and public postsecondary education institutions to develop a Campus Violence…