Purpose: Adolescent mental health is a public health priority. Considered an early intervention approach, Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) trains adults to provide initial assistance to adolescents experiencing a mental health problem or crisis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. version of YMHFA (YMHFA-USA) among graduate…

Purpose: This study was designed to examine whether preretirement intervention, through preparation programs conducted by social workers, enhances retirees' healthy retirement transition, self-mastery, and well-being outcomes. Methods: Data were gathered at preprogram, postprogram, and at 6-month follow-up. A total of 84 participants filled out…

Home visitation has the potential to improve parent, child, and maternal outcomes and has become a widely implemented prevention program across the United States. The purpose of this research was to use a randomized controlled trial to assess the short-term effectiveness of the Arizona Healthy Families program across a range of outcomes. Two…

Purpose: As the number of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) rises, attention is increasingly focused on employment outcomes for individuals with ASD who are exiting public school settings. This review aimed to identify what works in transition programs to help students with ASD obtain competitive employment after…

Objective: Use of some restrictive procedures, including physical restraint, has been controversial. For children within the foster care system, who have already suffered various degrees of abuse and neglect, restrictive procedures could add to their emotional and behavioral problems. The current study was conducted to determine whether a…

Objective: The Evaluation Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) is being developed as an outcomes assessment instrument for social work courses focusing on evaluation. Method: This scale, based on social cognitive theory, was pretested, revised, and then used with a final sample of 85 master's-level students in the original study. Using a single-group,…

Objective: This systematic review examined the effectiveness of school social work practices using meta-analytic techniques. Method: Hierarchical linear modeling software was used to calculate overall effect size estimates as well as test for between-study variability. Results: A total of 21 studies were included in the final analysis.…

Objective: An exploratory analysis of self-report data gathered by the Family Connections program is used to build a predictive model of program completion. Method: The sample includes 136 families in a poor, urban neighborhood who meet risk criteria for child neglect. Families are randomly assigned to receive 3- or 9-month interventions.…

Objectives: This study examined health care cost outcomes resulting from a health education program (HEP), a social work intervention for spouse caregivers of frail older adults. Method: One-hundred five spouses were recruited and randomly assigned to HEP or usual care (UC). Health care utilization and cost data were collected from the HMO's…