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…

Alcohol use, especially heavy or binge-drinking behavior, among college students continues to be an area in need of prevention and effective clinical intervention. With the myriad of known consequences that are associated with problematic and risky drinking, it is crucial that there are evidence-based programs available and offered to college…

The aim of this review was to support the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), other funders, and developers and deliverers scaling-up interventions by undertaking, for the seven effectiveness trials that had been completed by 2019: (1) a quantitative comparison of effect sizes at the efficiency and effectiveness stages; and (2) a qualitative…

High rates of student misbehavior within the American public school system are a chronic problem for many public schools. Public schools sometimes address the rising problem of student misbehavior in ineffective, unproductive, and often harmful ways; they punish and exclude students from the academic setting, thus fostering resentment in students…

A brief intervention is described and evaluated that aimed to build and strengthen relationships for families of children diagnosed with ASD aged 12 and under. A particular focus was on socially disadvantaged parents. Parents were offered around five home visits which took place on weekdays during working hours; each lasting around 90 min. They…

Evidence-based psychological treatments (EBPTs) for common mental health conditions are efficacious but remain underutilized in clinical service settings. Novel transdiagnostic and modular approaches that treat several disorders simultaneously promise to address common barriers to the dissemination and implementation of traditional EBPTs. Despite…

As of 2021, eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have implemented legislation regarding mandatory test-based grade retention focusing on minimum reading proficiency levels (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019) with many of those policies targeting the third-grade year. While grade retention has been largely viewed negatively…

With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) known as No Child Left Behind, Every Student Succeeds Act, and other school reforms, rigorous demands are placed upon administrators and educators when students do not make Adequate Yearly Progress. In trying to follow state goals to enhance students' academic…

The present study examined the effects of a streamlined and virtual version of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) as implemented by trained school professionals (e.g., school psychologists, special education teachers). The effectiveness of CBC was examined using a multiple baseline across participants design among three students with or at…

This dissertation explores the dynamics of undergraduate socialization within a STEM Intervention Program (SIP), specifically the STEM Scholars Program (SSP), with a particular emphasis on comparing the experiences of first-generation and continuing-generation college students. The study employs a longitudinal design and uses random intercept…

Racial disparities in violence exposure and criminal justice contact are a subject of growing policy and public concern. We conduct a large-scale, randomized controlled trial of a six-month behavioral health intervention combining intensive mentoring and group therapy designed to reduce criminal justice and violence involvement among Black and…