Purpose: The article describes an evaluation study to test the effectiveness of "Storie in gioco" project (Stories in Play, Storie in gioco [SIG]), a dropout prevention intervention aimed to prevent early school leaving (ESL) in at risk students. Method: The research used a mixed-method approach: in the quantitative phase, a two-group…

Objective: To assess evidence of the effectiveness of school-based education programs for the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA). The programs deliver information about CSA and strategies to help children avoid it and encourage help seeking. Methods: Systematic review including meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cluster…

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted in order to generate more understanding regarding the efficacy of aftercare programs in reducing the recidivism rates of juvenile offenders reentering their communities following a period of custody. Method: 30 eligible primary studies were obtained through a systematic literature review and were coded.…

Home visitation has the potential to improve parent, child, and maternal outcomes and has become a widely implemented prevention program across the United States. The purpose of this research was to use a randomized controlled trial to assess the short-term effectiveness of the Arizona Healthy Families program across a range of outcomes. Two…

Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported…

Objectives: To examine the components affecting the quality of the implementation and their impact on the outcomes of the "Growing Up Happily in the Family" program targeted at parents with children aged 0-5. Method: At-risk and non-at-risk parents (N = 196) participated in 26 groups in local social services. Adherence, adaptations,…

Objective: Parental divorce has strong impacts on children. Evidence-based programs to support young children after parental divorce are rare. The U.S.-developed Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) is one of these. CODIP's effectiveness outside the U.S. setting is to be further replicated. This study aimed at cultural adaptation of…

Objectives: This article reports the effects of a culturally grounded parenting intervention to strengthen positive parenting practices. Method: The intervention was designed and tested with primarily Mexican origin parents in a large urban setting of the southwestern United States using an ecodevelopmental approach. Parents (N = 393) were…

Objectives: To estimate the impacts of Sweden's Contact Family/Person Program (CFPP) for older children on participants' long-term outcomes related to mental health problems, illicit drug use, public welfare receipt, placement in out-of-home care, educational achievement, and offending. Method: We analyzed longitudinal register data on more than…

Objective: Beyond Violence (BV), a new prevention program for women with assaultive offenses, demonstrated feasibility in previous studies. This study's purpose is to assess the efficacy of BV using a randomized control trial. Method: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and the experimental condition (BV). Measures of…

Objectives: This study examined the effects of Check & Connect (C&C) on the attendance, behavior, and academic outcomes of at-risk youth in a field-based effectiveness trial. Method: A multisite randomized block design was used, wherein 260 primarily Hispanic (89%) and economically disadvantaged (74%) students were randomized to treatment…

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a sexual abuse prevention education in a sample of Chinese preschool children in Beijing, China. Method: One hundred and fifty preschool children were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (N = 78) or the wait-list control group (N = 72). Children were posttested on…

HIV/AIDS knowledge measures are widely used to determine the efficacy of HIV/AIDS prevention and education efforts. While much research has looked at the interventions, less attention has been paid to the quality of the measures themselves. Objectives: (a) To identify HIV/AIDS knowledge measures created for use with adults; (b) to determine the…

Objective: Six-month follow-up outcomes from a controlled trial of a program designed to prevent aggressive behavior in childhood are described. Method: Data were collected from three sequential cohorts of third graders in two public elementary schools (N = 443). The Year 1 cohort received a routine health curriculum. The Year 2 cohort received…

Objective: A pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) examined effectiveness of HIV/STD Safer Sex Skills Building + Alcohol (SSB+A) intervention for women with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) in a residential treatment setting. Method: After randomizing thirty-six women with AUDs and reporting having intercourse with a male partner in the past 180 days…