As the youth mentoring field has expanded and diversified in America over the last 30-plus years, many adults who care about getting these valuable relationships to more young people have asked questions about the scope and scale of mentoring in American society. In 2014, MENTOR first started to examine these societal level trends in a seminal…

Background: Whilst lack of social support has been associated with stress for parents of children with autism, group programmes for parents which bring together those with similar experiences and provide learning and resources can offer a form of social support. Although studies of such programmes suggest positive outcomes, including in terms of…

A systematic review and meta-analysis were utilised to explore the methodological quality, program fidelity, and efficacy of social skills group programs (SSGPs) aiming to support autistic adolescents in navigating their everyday social worlds. The study evaluated the methodological quality and theoretical fidelity of studies, with a random effect…

Methods to estimate the causal effects of interventions are increasingly used in clinical medicine, public policy and social science. Using observational data, researchers can obtain causal treatment effect estimates without the ethical risks and time constraints that typically burden randomized experiments. The three studies in this dissertation…

This qualitative action research study aimed to examine and improve the experiences of social connectedness and sense of belonging among Black students at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Initial data collected from Cycle 1 showed that Black students faced multiple challenges on campus, primarily stemming from a perceived negative campus…

Initially launched in 2013, researchED claims to be a 'grassroots' organisation which disseminates the best educational research to classroom practitioners. During the last 10 years, it has played a pivotal role in cementing the 'new science' of educational research as the primary route to educational effectiveness. ResearchED events are popular…

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological qualitative research study was to solicit the perceptions of currently attending as well as recent graduate minority male students of one Texas private, postsecondary institution regarding the identification of academic, social, financial, and moral support programs considered to be most…

The problem addressed by this study is low retention rates of U.S. African American males at historically Black colleges. At an Eastern historically Black college, a mentoring program is being used to address this problem. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate African American male students' perspectives on their experience…

The current study endeavors to assess the impact of the Preschool Executive Functions Intervention Program (PEFIP) on children's executive functions. A quasi-experimental design was employed, encompassing both pre-test and post-test assessments within a control group, complemented by follow-up evaluations over a 5-week period. The sample comprises…

Purpose: Despite group-level improvements in active engagement and related outcomes, significant individual variability in response to early intervention exists. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the effects of a group-based Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) on active engagement among a heterogeneous…

Autistic children have significant difficulties in recognizing and labeling emotions, difficulties which may hinder the natural development of their ability to express and regulate further emotions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an augmented reality emotion recognition program (ARERP) delivered in a group format on the…

This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of a virtual supportive program on knowledge among mothers of preterm infants and their bond. Mothers of preterm infants are at risk of becoming emotionally detached from their infants because of immediate separation and the lack of support during the early postpartum period, especially in mothers…

Advocacy and intentional 'allyship' from faculty members at institutions of higher education is of particular significance for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) community. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the impact of an institutionalized gender and sexuality resource center…

Black and Latinx male students' college completion rates are much lower than their White male peers. Mentoring is essential as it helps to cultivate students' college aspirations, prepare them for a successful transition from high school to college, and connect them to academic and social supports once on campus. Mentoring programs are a useful…

According to the 2019 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, 65.7% of college students experienced "overwhelming anxiety" within the last 12 months, up from 49.1% in 2008. In an attempt to address this critical increase in student anxiety with viable and cost-effective interventions, many college mental…