A meta-analysis of 166 HIV-prevention interventions tested theoretical predictions about the effects of experts, lay community members, and similar and dissimilar others, as agents of change. In general, expert interventionists produced greater behavior change than lay community members, and the demographic and behavioral similarity between the…

Depression and anxiety affect up to 50% of people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) (Marsh, 2000; Murray, 1996), however, few studies have examined the effectiveness of psychological treatment. This study examined the effectiveness of group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in treating depression and anxiety in PD. Four participants, aged between 56…

Adaptive inferential feedback (AIF) partner training is a cognitive technique that teaches the friends and family members of depressed patients to respond to the patients' dysfunctional thoughts in a targeted manner. These dysfunctional attributions, which AIF addresses, are a common residual feature of depression amongst remitted patients, and…

Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence…

This practicum was designed to give parents of preschool children with autism an understanding of the disorder and appropriate skills to manage their children's challenging behaviors. A curriculum-based training series involving weekly 2-hour sessions was implemented during a 12-week period for 25 participants. Goals included increasing the…

This paper describes the participants, treatment features and outcomes of a day treatment program for adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems, who had been formally adjudicated "dependent." Characteristics of the 133 adolescents served over a 5-year period are presented along with a chart of referral sources for each year of…

The book discusses current issues and trends in special education programming at the secondary level. An introductory chapter by Cynthia L. Warger outlines service delivery program models and the range of curriculum content options. In Chapter 2, Janet Sansone focuses on the issue of accountability in secondary education as it relates to…

The Model Behavior Shaping Resource Unit (BSRU) project was designed to provide behaviorally oriented intervention techniques to reduce levels of highly inappropriate behaviors in children classified as Trainable Mentally Retarded (TMR) and Severely and Profoundly Impaired (SPI). By modifying or reducing the frequencies of targeted behaviors to…

The Pendleton Project residential service is a short term intensive care alternative to the long term, costly, and ineffective non-community based institutional model for treating children and families suffering from behavior problems. The residential services are designed to develop community competency from the vantage point of its unique…

Describes an evaluation of the added value of skills methods for preventing smoking with sixth-grade students from two schools. Skills conditions subjects learned problem-solving, self-instruction, and interpersonal communication methods. The article discusses the strengths, limits, and implications of the study for other smoking prevention…

This four-page issue brief summarizes findings from Mathematica's evaluation of Teach For America. The researchers found that TFA teachers outperformed non-TFA teachers in the same schools in math and achieved the same results in reading. However, TFA teachers also reported greater challenges in managing their classrooms. TFA and non-TFA teachers…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of the Vermont Best Practices for Educating Students with Serious Emotional Disturbances in Their Local Public Schools and Communities project. The purpose of the project was to use best practices in the development of programs and services for students with serious…

A study accessed the outcomes achieved by preschoolers with both severe mental retardation and autistic features who received intensive Lovass (O Ivar) behavioral treatment (n=11) and those who received minimal treatment (n=10). Results found that the intensively treated children obtained a higher mean IQ and evinced more expressive speech.…

This article makes the case for early intervention with young children with both developmental and behavioral problems. It cites intervention research that supports the effectiveness of parent management training and the use of applied behavior analysis, but recognizes the need for randomized controlled trials with adequate follow-up and…

Evaluates a cognitive-behavioral school-based group intervention for Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescent girls. At posttest, the young women who participated in the group intervention had statistically significantly better scores on all outcome measures. The cognitive-behavioral group intervention shows promise as an effective…