Among the many life transitions that individuals must master throughout their lives, the transition to adulthood ranks very high in terms of importance, complexity and uniqueness. It involves the completion of education, and the assumption of new social roles and responsibilities, at a time when previous institutional structures that guided…

The evidence-base of psychosocial treatment outcome studies for depressed youth conducted since 1998 is examined. All studies for depressed children meet Nathan and Gorman's (2002) criteria for Type 2 studies whereas the adolescent protocols meet criteria for both Type 1 and Type 2 studies. Based on the Task Force on the Promotion and…

Although smoking cessation techniques have been effective, few programs have long term results. To investigate the effectiveness of a tobacco dependence relapse prevention program, 123 adult smokers (51 male, 72 female) voluntarily participated in one of four small group treatment conditions (6 or 30 second aversive smoking plus skill training, or…

Coping strategies of parents (n=89) of children with disabilities in special education classes were assessed on the Family Assessment Device-General Functioning Scale and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales. Results indicate that less frequent use of passive appraisal and more frequent use of reframing are associated with family…

To examine the possible interaction of types of social support variables on individuals' reactions to the supportive intervention and its effects on performance, two studies were conducted. In the first study, 167 college students attempted to solve anagrams following initial failure at five unsolvable anagrams and participation in one of four…

The "Handbook of Youth Prevention Science" describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g. substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced "silos" of isolated knowledge about the…

Parents (n=79) of children with autism and related disabilities were surveyed about their children's challenging behaviors and what resources were needed to manage these behaviors. A high frequency of such behaviors was reported. Contingency management was the most effective management approach. Results are discussed in terms of families' needs,…

Critical assumptions affecting the design of research and intervention for single-parent, mother-headed families of handicapped children involve: extent of father involvement; contribution to child-rearing of persons other than parents; socioeconomic differences between one-parent and two-parent families; heterogeneity of single-parent families;…

Literature reports of individual and group child-focused interventions designed to help students cope effectively with divorce-related transitions and to reduce potential maladjustment are described. Indirect interventions with parents, teachers, and the school organization are also discussed, and a comprehensive model of divorce-related school…

This study investigated the differential effectiveness of assertiveness and problem-solving training on 28 dually diagnosed (mild mental retardation and mental disorders) patients' adaptive social behavior, distress and psychiatric symptoms, anger control, and problem-solving coping skills. Improvements resulted from combined assertiveness and…

School-based training programs for personal and social coping skills have shown evidence of effectiveness in primary prevention of substance abuse. Early intervention programs for students most at risk are also needed, such as peer intervention, student assistance, and behavioral self-management programs in the areas of smoking and alcohol/drug…

This brief report summarizes what is known about pediatric traumatic brain injury, including the following: risk factors (e.g., males especially those ages 5 to 25, youth with preexisting problems including previous head injury victims, and children receiving inadequate supervision); life after injury; physical and neurological consequences (e.g.,…

This compilation presents five papers on issues and research in special education. "Qualitative Research in Special Education: An Evaluative Review" (Charles A. Peck and Gail C. Furman) explicates some of the epistemological assumptions underlying qualitative research methods, reviews examples of qualitative research, evaluates the contributions…