Adolescents with behavioral disorders suffer academic and social struggles when compared to general education adolescents in the United States. As behavioral health strategies gain greater priority in schools, interest has increased in the use of yoga practices as one of the key approaches to addressing student well-being. The majority of previous…

Youth violence in both the juvenile justice system and in juveniles with intellectual disabilities is a significant and costly problem in the United States. An increasingly large number of youth with intellectual disabilities are being placed in secure juvenile justice facilities without specialized resources. In addition, these facilities are…

There has been a significant rise in mental health needs in adolescents, and the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disturbed everyday life, causing an increase in anxiety and social isolation amongst adolescents throughout the world (CDC, 2017; Yale Child Study Center, 2020). Effective Tier 1 social-emotional universal interventions to foster…

This dissertation explores the role of social media use in the social development of "at-risk" youth in Los Angeles, CA and Lafayette, IN, with a major goal of identifying beneficial ways to address the social support needs of youth and adolescents to aid in their successful assimilation into adulthood. This study employs ethnographic…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an equine-facilitated authentic leadership development program on at-risk youth. Participants were asked to participate in two focus groups and a 3-day equine-facilitated authentic leadership development program based on Bill George's Model of Authentic Leadership. Participants were…

Mindfulness is a technique incorporating meditation and a particular mental orientation to experience that encourages becoming aware of present-moment experience in a way that is non-evaluative and minimizes over-engagement with thoughts and feelings. Extensive research with adult populations has documented a variety of therapeutic benefits…

Employing multiple methods, including a comparison group pre/posttest design and student interviews and self-reflections, this study represents an initial attempt to investigate the efficacy of a social and emotional learning self-regulation strategy relative to the general reading ability, reading self-concept, and social and emotional well-being…

Recent research on social emotional learning (SEL) curricula has shown that implementing SEL instruction within the classroom is a qualified evidenced-based intervention to help students develop fundamental skills for success in life. SEL curricula help teach students essential skills such as recognizing and managing emotions, developing caring…

The purpose of this study was to gain a fuller understanding of the sort of assistance, support, or education parents feel they need from school counselors in parenting adolescents. The research question examined was: What sort of assistance, support, or education do independent school parents feel they need from school counselors in raising…

The purpose of this study was to examine the etiology and cultural underpinnings of adolescent violence as collective case study analysis of three inter-related groups: psychiatrically hospitalized rural adolescents, their parent/guardian, and various hospital staff. Violence among adolescents is a serious societal issue that has had varying…