This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief Alcohol Expectancy Challenge, with the aim of reducing the prevalence of alcohol consumption amongst Maltese teenagers.119 students were randomly allocated to a control or a 3-hour expectancy challenge session. Alcohol consumption and alcohol expectancies were investigated via a…

Background: High parental self-efficacy (PSE) has been associated with healthy diets and higher levels of physical activity (PA) in children; however, data on PSE in relation to body weight and body composition are scarce. The objective of this study was to investigate associations of PSE with measures of diet, PA, body composition, and physical…

Policymakers have invested significant resources in financial education to improve financial literacy of the poor, reduce bad financial decision-making, and increase take-up of financial services and products. Yet, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions, especially in developing countries. This paper provides evidence…

The study is aimed at investigating the impact of orientation and mobility (O&M) training as a part of the special education curriculum on the social adjustment of visually impaired children. The population consisted of visually impaired children between the ages of (5-15), studying at different special education institutes in Pakistan was the…

Background: The link between disorders of attachment and psychopathology is well documented. Consequently, a person's attachment style has a profound effect on his or her development and psychological well-being. At-risk populations such as adopted children are more prone to developing pervasive patterns of attachment, given the maternal…

Peer acceptance is an important facilitator for the success of inclusive education. The aim of the current study is twofold: (1) to examine how classroom goal orientation is associated with children's acceptance of peers with learning difficulties; and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of a storytelling programme with drama techniques on…

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions that youth has to take but many young people find this a hard issue to engage with. Current career counselling practice does not appear very compelling or motivating to young people. Professional games could provide a more engaging and motivating way of acquiring professional awareness and…

Background: Although most adolescents successfully manage the transition between childhood and adulthood, the speed and magnitude of these changes may exceed the coping abilities of a significant number of young people. For vocational students, additional responsibilities arise during the vocational school transition and the need to balance…

Background: Bullying behavior in schools can lead to psychosocial problems. School-based interventions are important in raising student awareness, developing their skills and in planning to reduce bullying behavior. Methods: A randomized controlled trial, using a school-based educational intervention to reduce verbal bullying, was conducted among…

Venipuncture and other invasive procedures as blood draws, intramuscular injections or heel pricks are the most commonly performed painful procedures in children. These can be a terrifying and painful experience for children and their families. The present study aimed to identify Pain intensity after an ice pack application prior to venipuncture…

This article aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF) score in a sample of 440 Greek adolescents. The instrument's score demonstrated good internal consistency and was significantly correlated with core self-evaluations as well with somatic complaints,…

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of formative assessment on prospective teachers' academic achievement, attitudes towards educational measurement and self-regulation skills. In the study, quasi-experimental design including non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group. There are 40 prospective teachers in each one of the…

Background and objectives: Although randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been performed to alleviate loneliness among older people, little is known about how they have been implemented, or whether they are effective in real life. Our RCT-based model, "Circle of Friends" (CoF) proved to be effective in improving the wellbeing, health…

We evaluated the effects of TutorBright tutoring on the reading and mathematics skills of children in family foster care, examined several potential moderators of the impact of tutoring, and explored possible 'spill-over' effects on the children's executive functioning and behavioural difficulties and on their caregivers' level of involvement in…

The Working Alliance Inventory remains a widely studied measure of quality of therapeutic relationships between the practitioner and client. No prior study has examined the psychometrics and validity of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short (WAI-S) in a sample of families, social workers, and trained observers within child protection services.…