The purpose of the present experiments was to systematically replicate Step it UP! Game interventions with adults with disabilities. Participants were divided into two competing teams, and the team with the highest step count participated in a prize drawing. Experiment 1 (N = 9) evaluated the efficacy of an extended version of the Step it UP! Game…

Background: Mentalising and stress regulation pose challenges for adults with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID), emphasising the importance of an intervention program. The study examined the effectiveness and social validity of the serious game 'You & I' in enhancing mentalising and stress regulation among adults with MBID.…

For many years, those who work in the mentoring field have wondered how they can extend the impact of their programs beyond the benefits experienced by young people they serve. There has been an increasing desire within our field to harness the power of mentoring to enable the youth served in a program to not just grow individually, but to…

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how short-term relationship and marriage education (RME) reached participants for events such as the Utah Marriage Celebration Conference. This article examines participant-perceived relationship knowledge from an annual marriage conference that began prior to the pandemic and has continued through the disruption…

Game-based learning offers an interactive and effective way to teach health content and skills. This article discusses feasibility testing of "Using the Connect" ("UTC"), an innovative, game-based sexuality education program to evaluate its acceptability among youth. Utilizing mixed methods in a single case study design,…

RELAX: Alternatives to Anger is an educational anger management program that helps adults understand and manage anger, develop communication skills, manage stress, and make positive behavioral changes in their interpersonal relationships. A sample of 1,168 evaluation surveys were collected from RELAX: Alternatives to Anger participants over 3…

Across the U.S., youth development approaches are being tested in out-of-school time programs as a strategy to combat the growing opportunity gap between privileged and underprivileged youth (Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2009). Along with increased recognition of the value of youth development programming has come increased financial support…

High schools have recently become a popular source of mentors for school-based mentoring (SBM) programs. The high school Bigs program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, for example, currently involves close to 50,000 high-school-aged mentors across the country. While the use of these young mentors has several potential advantages, their age…

Background: For healthy development, children need positive relationships with adults. Due to changes in family systems and shifting social norms, many children may be receiving less parental support than in the past and may be discouraged from forming natural mentoring relationships with other adults. Mentoring programs are designed to facilitate…

Assessed the effects of a relationship enhancement program on the relationship adjustment; trust and intimacy; empathy, warmth and genuineness; and communication of premarital couples (N=25). Results showed that following training the experimental group, relative to the control group, made significant increases on all dependent variables. (Author)

Discusses a study that evaluated the impact of an interpersonal skills training program designed to enhance the social work behaviors of mentally retarded adults. (JOW)

In this report, we review current scientific knowledge on the topic of youth mentoring, including what is known about relationships and programs, and their interface with organizations and institutions. Two primary conclusions can be drawn from this review. First, mentoring relationships are most likely to promote positive outcomes and avoid harm…

This article serves as an introduction to the special issue and to the emerging topic of intergenerational relationships and partnerships in community programs. Our aim is to offer a frame in which to consider theory and practice on the topic. Toward that end, we focus on the multiple purposes of intergenerational relationships, adult strategies…

The report describes a site visit to the Seven Counties Services Region in Kentucky to identify and document promising practices for serving people with severe disabilities in integrated community-based services. The regional agency serves Jefferson, Oldham, Henry, Trimble, Spencer, Bullitt and Shelby Counties. Regional service priorities have…

Two studies replicated and refined a program for evaluating and improving residential treatment services during group leisure periods in living units for persons with severe developmental disabilities. Results indicated that provision of leisure materials and interaction with clients decreased maladaptive client behavior. The monitoring system…