Stress and mental health difficulties are common burdens on college students. Although a small minority of these students receive psychological services, counseling centers have been overrun by demand. Thus, self-help interventions may offer a promising alternative to traditional college counseling services. The current study examined the…

Background: We present results of the development and feasibility testing of CATCH Healthy Smiles, a school-based oral health program, among children in grades K-2 in Houston, Texas. Methods: Study design was cross-sectional (N = 2 schools; N = 125 parent-child dyads; 31 kindergarteners, 42 first graders, and 52 second graders). CATCH Healthy…

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions are delivered using a tiered-service model, in which supervisors with higher levels of experience, education, and certification oversee clinicians who provide direct intervention for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Despite the base of empirical support for ABA constructed over several…

This exploratory study sought to compare the parenting variables of parenting stress, perceived social support, and parenting styles among Japanese mothers (n = 42) of children with autism and those (n = 36) without autism, and examine associations between children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors and these variables by using parent…

Children receiving services for severe emotional and behavioral difficulties are less likely to have parents who are involved in their education and support services. Peer-to-peer family support programs are one approach to increasing the self-efficacy and empowerment of parents' engagement in the treatment of a child's mental health conditions.…

Approximately 20% of youth in the U.S. are experiencing a mental health challenge; a rate that is said to increase by more than 50% by 2020. Schools are the largest provider of mental health services to youth, yet two of schools' most efficacious evidence-based systems, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and school mental health…

Intervention: In an effort to increase physical activity, 15 workplaces participated in a minimal-contact 10,000-steps-a-day program sponsored by the Sedgwick County Health Department in 2007 and 2008. Pedometers were provided to measure participants' weekly steps for the 10-week intervention. Method: Participants were defined as those who…

Counseling self-efficacy (CSE), defined as one's beliefs about his or her ability to effectively counsel a client, is an important precursor of effective clinical practice. While research has explored the association of CSE with variables such as counselor training, aptitude and level of experience, little attention has been paid to CSE among…

It is an old pursuit to find the balance between nature and society (within the individual and the sum of people). In order to talk about a healthy society, it is necessary to have the people making up the society healthy, too. The health condition of the individuals affects the society, creating a close connection among individuals and society.…

Background: There is an increasing need to identify effective mental health treatment practices for children and adolescents in community-based settings, due to current mixed findings of existing interventions. This study looked at adventure therapy (AT) as a viable option to meet this need. Objective: Using a sample of 1,135 youth from a…

Background: The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) in inner city schools, when delivered by novice CBT clinicians, and compared to usual care (UC), is unknown. Objective: This pilot study addressed this issue by comparing a modular CBT for anxiety disorders to UC in a sample of 32 volunteer youth (mean age 10.28 years, 63%…

Children aged 6 to 12 who were exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) within the last year participated in an intervention program found to be successful in reducing their internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. However, little is known about factors that may contribute to this efficacy. Both fixed and modifiable risk factors that…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" describes child maltreatment prevention programs designed to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors in families who may otherwise succumb to…

Individual variability in response to behavioral weight loss programs remains an unresolved and perplexing issue for health psychologists. Determining in advance who will succeed or fail at losing weight would be useful in devising programs that produce a more homogeneous and dramatic response to treatment. In order to examine which responses to…

Health psychologists continue to have difficulty identifying prognostic indicators of weight loss success. Psychological, social, and demographic factors have been examined, but correlations with weight loss are disappointing. Actual behaviors or quantifications of specific actions and historical measures were examined for their validity in…