Dimensional comparisons between math and verbal achievements affect students' academic self-concepts by increasing (decreasing) students' self-concept in the subject with their intraindividual higher (lower) achievement. Dimensional comparison theory assumes that dimensional comparisons are also triggered by external influences. The present…

Dropout from engineering studies has been linked to 'fixed mindset' beliefs of intelligence as fixed-at-birth that make students more likely to disengage when facing new challenges. In contrast, 'growth mindset' beliefs that intelligence can be improved with effort make students more likely to persist when confronting difficulties. This systematic…

Research has indicated beneficial effects of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) for children with Autism. However, there is a dearth of meta-analyses and findings are often contradictory. The current meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of AAIs on social interaction, communication and global Autism symptoms. A total of 1447 studies were…

Complementary and reciprocal interactions are a defining feature of sibling relationships for young children. However, the social and communication difficulties of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can make reciprocal play more difficult and play between siblings can be less rewarding. Sibling play can serve an important role in…

The research question guiding the production of the youth employment evidence and gap map (EGM) is stated as follows: What is the nature and extent of the evidence base of impact evaluations and systematic reviews on youth employment programmes in the world? The primary objective of is to catalogue impact evaluations and systematic reviews on…

The purpose of this systematic review is to describe current evidence regarding interventions that improve the participation and performance of chores in children and youth with disabilities from the ages of 3 to 21. A systematic review of articles published between 2000 and 2019 was conducted using the PRISMA-P systematic review methodology. An a…

Background: Public stigma, or negative community-held beliefs, about children with disabilities (CWDs) often leads to negative outcomes for CWD and their families. This study considers the effectiveness of four community-level interventions to reduce public stigma in two Lusaka, Zambia communities. Methods: This feasibility study describes four…

Fear of losing control over one's emotions has gained increased research interest. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been found to improve emotional disturbance in clinical and nonclinical samples. However, no studies have concurrently examined the direct effects of MBSR on reduced fear of emotions among university students in Chinese…

Anxiety disorders are among the most common co-occurring disorders for individuals with ASD. Several adaptations to cognitive behavioral approaches have been proposed for this population (Moree & Davis, 2010). The current study examined feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an ASD-specific adaptation of one-session treatment (OST) for…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an embedded naturalistic intervention for teaching augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) application responses to three preschool-aged males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents were taught to embed opportunities for their child to communicate with a grid-based AAC application during…

Students often experience psychological barriers that negatively impact their academic performance. For example, students may experience motivated disengagement and limited access to manageable and actionable strategies when needed. Past research has shown that scientifically informed interventions can mitigate such barriers and improve success…

A large percentage of adults throughout the world have low reading skills. Computer technologies can potentially help these adults improve their literacy in addition to instructors at literacy centers. AutoTutor was designed to teach comprehension strategies by implementing conversational "trialogues" in which two computer agents (tutor…

This systematic review describes a set of practices that have evidence of positive effects with autistic children and youth. This is the third iteration of a review of the intervention literature (Odom et al. in J Autism Dev Disorders 40(4):425-436, 2010a; Prevent School Fail 54(4):275-282, 2010b; Wong et al. in…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there are over 400,000 children currently in foster care in the United States. Most youth are in the system for at least a year, with 38% for two years or longer. The most common placement setting for children in foster care is nonrelative foster family homes; about half of youth exit…

In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 8% of youth in grades 9-12 reported being in a physical fight one or more times in the 12 months preceding the survey, with more than 7% reporting being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of…