Browsing by Subject "intervention"

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Anoka-Hennepin Compensatory Education Pilot Program, Year 1 Report
(Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2007-01) Wahlstrom, Kyla; Hornbacher, Judy; Dretzke, Beverly; Peterson, Kristin; London, Rachel
The Anoka-Hennepin Compensatory Pilot Program is a state funded effort to examine student impact when Compensatory Education dollars are reallocated to 2nd and 3rd grades in three pilot schools. Shifting the traditional allocation of funds allows the district to provide a major intervention in three schools with high populations of at-risk students. The intervention includes program structures for mathematics and reading, changing instructional delivery methods in math and reading, providing intense professional development for teachers in math and reading, coaching follow-up at each site, and significant oversight. The Year 1 Report reviews student achievement results from the pilot schools and a matched set of control students, levels of implementation of the project in classrooms, impact of strategies on outcomes and changes in teacher and staff attitudes toward the project.
The Effect of Go/No-Go Training Dosage on Weight Loss, Food Evaluation, and Disinhibition in Primarily Overweight and Obese Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial
(2021) Jansen, Emily T
Response inhibition trainings have recently been studied as innovative approaches to obesity treatment by targeting the impulsive (unconscious) processes that underlie eating behaviors. Specifically, the go/no-go (GNG) task has resulted in reduced food consumption and small, but significant, weight loss in two brief intervention studies. In the current study, participants were randomized to one of three groups: high intensity food-specific GNG (four times per week for 4 weeks; n = 19), low intensity food-specific GNG (one time per week for 4 weeks; n = 22), or nonfood-specific GNG (i.e., control group, one time per week for 4 weeks; n = 23). Pre- and post-intervention measures assessed for changes in body weight, food evaluation, snack consumption, binge eating, and dietary disinhibition. It was hypothesized that those receiving the food-specific GNG training (high intensity and low intensity groups) would experience greater improvement in outcome measures than those in the nonfood GNG group and that a similar pattern would result between the high intensity and low intensity food-specific GNG groups. Moderators (e.g., dietary restraint, disinhibition) were explored, along with the mechanism of food devaluation. Results of repeated measures ANCOVA's (controlling for BMI and dieting status) for all outcome variables revealed there was no significant difference between groups across time. No studied variable was found to moderate the effects of the training, and the devaluation of foods did not mediate the relationship between GNG training and weight loss. Therefore, regardless of dosage, the GNG training did not have a meaningful effect on any of the outcomes assessed. Future research should focus on identifying the underlying mechanism of food-specific GNG training and its interaction with person specific characteristics.
Effectiveness and Key Components of School-Based Anxiety Interventions
(2019-05) Erhardt, Victoria
Anxiety disorders and subclinical anxiety symptoms are prevalent in childhood and adolescence, highlighting the need for prevention and early intervention efforts. While research has demonstrated positive effects for some school-based anxiety interventions, additional research is warranted to ascertain program effectiveness, composition, and delivery to best meet student needs. This multi-study dissertation project comprised of two studies. Study 1 was a systematic literature review that examined anxiety interventions for youth in school settings and updated and expanded a previous systematic review (Neil & Christenson, 2009) to more fully understand the state of the science regarding school-based anxiety programs. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) from articles published between 2008 and June 2016 were reviewed and evaluated in areas including program effectiveness, program content, intervention intensity, and participant age. Twenty-two RCTs, representing 9,693 study participants, were coded and analyzed. Results indicated that 43% of trials reported statistically significant reductions in anxiety (ES = -0.69 to -0.15) with the majority of programs based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Results from Study 1 were used to inform the development and implementation of an applied school-based anxiety intervention. In Study 2, Think Good Feel Good was implemented as a low-cost, 6-week, CBT-based modularized intervention to address student anxiety in an elementary school utilizing a multiple-baseline single case design. The main purpose was to analyze the effectiveness of the program as measured by formative and summative anxiety assessment measures following a multi-method, multi-source approach. Participants included 14 students across third, fourth, and fifth grades at a public elementary school. Results of the study indicated both responders and non-responders to the intervention. Self-report data on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC-2) pre/post assessments showed statistically significant anxiety reduction on the generalized anxiety disorder and the physical symptoms scales, whereas parent and teacher pre/post data and progress monitoring data revealed mixed findings. Social validity data from students indicated high acceptability and perceived utility. The implications of the results from this dissertation project for future research and practice are discussed.
The Effects of Combining Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies and Incremental Rehearsal on Non-Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners' Reading Achievement
(2016-05) Leinen, Amy
This study examined the effects of a phonics-based intervention on the reading outcomes of non-Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs). Thirty-Six K-3, primarily Karen- and Hmong-speaking ELs were randomly assigned to receive a modified version of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS; Fuchs et al., 2001b) combined with Incremental Rehearsal (IR; Tucker, 1989; treatment), 30 min per day for 27-36 sessions in small groups or to continue with business as usual (control). A between-subjects pre-/post-test design using five Formative Assessment System for Teachers™ (FAST; Christ et al., 2014) earlyReading and CBMReading subtests was implemented. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variances (MANOVAs and ANOVAs) on the fluency and error rate of participants indicated treatment students outperformed control students at post-test in letter-sound identification (p = .006) with a large effect size (g = .88) and had significantly fewer errors (p = .002) with a moderately-strong effect size (g = .69). There were no significant differences between the treatment and control group in consonant-vowel-constant, nonsense and sight words or passage reading fluency or error rate. Effect sizes were small to moderate (g = -.28-.45). Results suggest that modified K-PALS with IR may be an effective intervention to improve the letter-sound identification skills of non-Spanish-speaking ELs, but further research is needed to verify this claim.
The Effects of Early Numeracy Interventions for Students in Preschool and Early Elementary: A Meta-Analysis
(2017-12) Nelson, Gena
The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of early numeracy interventions for young students, including students with disabilities or those at-risk for mathematics difficulty (MD). This study evaluated preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade interventions on early numeracy content, instructional features, and methodological components that improved students’ mathematics achievement. A total of 33 studies met inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis, with 51 treatment groups. Excluding outliers, the average weighted effect size for numeracy interventions across 49 treatment groups was moderate (g = 0.63), and the 95% confidence interval did not include zero [0.50, 0.73]. Results indicated that early numeracy interventions that included preschool and kindergarten students produced larger treatment effects than interventions with first-grade participants; in addition, treatment effects were slightly higher on average for students identified as at-risk for MD according to low socio-economic status and performance greater than the 25th percentile on a mathematics screener, compared to students who were identified as typically achieving or at-risk for MD according to performance below the 25th percentile. The results of the final meta-regression model for the total sample of studies indicated that the following predictors accounted for the most between-studies variance: concrete-representational-abstract instructional framework, intervention duration, risk status of participants, and the inclusion of counting with one-to-one correspondence in the intervention content (Pseudo R2 = 75%). Directions for future research on conducting interventions are provided, and implications for educators implementing early numeracy interventions are discussed.
Evaluation of an Explicit Approach to Teach Grammatical Forms to Children with Developmental Language Disorders
(2017-05) Engman, Jennifer
The current study evaluated an alternative, explicit instruction procedure to teach true grammatical forms to children with developmental language disorders other than SLI. Two children with characteristics of ASD between the ages of 5 and 6 years participated in treatment targeting a weak grammatical structure. Each participant completed a series of treatment sessions that comprised implicit instructional approaches followed a series of treatment sessions that incorporated an explicit instructional approach. Accuracy was assessed during each session across baseline, implicit, and explicit conditions as well as 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months post treatment. Results revealed a significant advantage for the explicit treatment over the implicit treatment. Immediately after introducing an explicit instructional approach a marked increase in level and upward trend was observed as well as an increase in percent of non-overlapping data compared to baseline and implicit phases for both participants.
An examination of fidelity of two parent-implemented vocabulary interventions for young learners with autism spectrum disorder
(2016-08) Parker-McGowan, Quannah
The current study examined fidelity over time of two parent-implemented interventions designed to teach novel vocabulary items to three young children (3;3-5;11) with autism spectrum disorder. Additional dependent variables included: (a) rate of vocabulary item acquisition; (b) learner generalization; and (c) learner maintenance. One intervention required the parent to initiate teaching opportunities while the other intervention relied on the child to initiate teaching opportunities. Both interventions utilized mand, model, and time delay strategies within two different structured play scenarios. Three novel vocabulary items were taught within each of the two play scenarios. One replication was conducted for each parent-child dyad. Visual analysis of the data was conducted within participants. Results showed that all parents exhibited a degrading trend in intervention fidelity across experimental conditions. All participants acquired all vocabulary items across sets, though rate of acquisition differed between conditions. Results from generalization probes using storybooks were mixed. Two participants showed modest generalization across materials while one participant did not demonstrate generalization of vocabulary within a different medium. Maintenance probe results were also mixed, however, all participants showed a decreasing trend across vocabulary items. Implications for practice and research are discussed, as are study limitations.
Examination of the Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on the Wellbeing of Caregivers of Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis
(2021-06) Marshall, Elaine
Caregivers of older adults afflicted with a variety of chronic physical and mental health conditions provide vital support and assistance for this growing population. Although essential, many individuals in this time-consuming role are unprepared older adults themselves, which creates significant burdens on their own mental and physical health. Caregivers are at risk for depression, loneliness, and reduced health related to chronic stress. Evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) interventions alleviate aspects of this burden and psychological distress, as well as provide benefits to physical health. However, there are notable limitations in the previous reviews that have attempted to synthesize the evidence for the benefits of PA interventions. Using meta-analytic methodology, this study investigated and quantified the impact of PA interventions on different domains of mental and physical health for caregivers of older adults. A comprehensive search yielded 25 controlled studies. PA interventions led to small-to-medium effects on mental health, with the most notable impact on quality of life. PA interventions led to trivial effects on physical health, with small but significant effects found for mobility outcomes. Moderator analyses revealed that yoga interventions, study quality, and duration of interventions had significant moderating effects. PA interventions appear to be effective for improving caregiver health, particularly in relation to psychological health. Further high-quality research using standardized measures for health domains is needed to determine the type, format, and length of PA interventions that best serve different caregiving populations.
Fair Play in Youth Football: Reducing Injury Rates Through Improved Sportsmanship Behavior
(2018-01) White, Andrew
Sport participation is one of the leading causes of injury among American youth and poor sportsmanship behavior contributes to the risk of sport-related injury. Theories of behavior modification suggest operant conditioning can lead to behavior change, as can other environmental and personal factors. Additionally, models of sport-related injury show behavioral change can alter injury risk. One context injury prevention research should focus on is youth American football, as the competition injury rates are higher than those of other sports. The current study implemented modified Fair Play rules, which utilize operant conditioning, in a youth football league to determine if, compared to teams using standard rules, teams using Fair Play rules had (a) better sportsmanship behavior and attitudes and (b) lower injury rates; (c) if there was an effect, the study also aimed to determine how Fair Play rules impacted injury rates. These purposes were examined over two football seasons with one group of teams using Fair Play rules both seasons (FP-FP), one group using standard rules both seasons (Std-Std), and one group switching from standard to Fair Play rules after one season (Std-FP). At the beginning of this study, participants were on average 12.19 (±0.44) years old, Caucasian (85.1%), and male (99.4%). Linear mixed models revealed the only statistically significant group difference for injury rates was a significantly higher rate of head/neck injuries for the FP-FP group than the Std-Std group when Fair Play penalty yards per game was not accounted for. Similarly, collapsing across groups, the rate of opponent head/neck injuries significantly increased after the first season, but no other changes over time were significant. A MANOVA revealed no group differences in athlete self-reported sportsmanship behavior and attitudes or athletes’ perceptions of coach sportsmanship behavior. High variability and small group sizes limited the power to detect differences, but examining mean values of injury rates revealed complex patterns across groups and time. Results suggest Fair Play rules and player sportsmanship behavior affect injury rates in youth American football; however, this effect is complex and further research is required to clearly determine the effect of Fair Play rules in this context.
An Investigation Into the Validity of Using a CSA to Inform Hypotheses Regarding Student Behavior
(2015-05) Peterson, Meredith
Identifying the functions of challenging behavior can lead to interventions that can be effective in decreasing challenging behavior in students, thus leading to improved academic and social outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which a contingency space analysis (CSA) could lead to effective intervention for challenging behavior of middle school students in a general education classroom. Participants were four middle school students, previously identified by their classroom teachers to engage in persistent patterns of challenging behavior. A CSA was conducted with each participant and hypotheses as to the functions of each participants’ behavior were developed. Interventions targeting the functions of teacher attention, peer attention, and escape were then implemented and the results were compared to those of the CSA. Results indicated that the CSA accurately predicted the most effective intervention for three of the four participants.
Neural Correlates of Mindfulness and Executive Function Training in Internationally Adopted Children: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
(2015-06) Esposito, Elisa
Self-regulation, particularly attention regulation, is related to anxiety. Children who have been internationally adopted (IA) are at risk for deficits in both attention and emotion regulation. Promising evidence for focal executive function (EF) training and mindfulness training suggest that these skills can be readily improved in adults and children, and training EF independently may transfer to emotion regulation skills. This study examined the effects of mindfulness and executive function training programs on neural correlates of self-regulation in a sample of 96 IA children. Children were randomized to receive either 12 total hours of training (mindfulness vs. executive function) or a no-intervention control. Children completed a battery of executive function measures at laboratory testing sessions before and after the 6-week training period. Four months after training, parents and teachers provided additional ratings of children’s self-regulation skills. Executive function training led to improvement on measures of executive attention and inhibitory control, whereas mindfulness training was related to improvements in emotion regulation. Changes in the error-related negativity (ERN) were divergent between the two groups, supporting the differential impact of training on behavior. There was no evidence of transfer of EF training to observer reports of emotion regulation.
An Online Mindfulness Intervention to Reduce Stress and Anxiety Among College Students
(2015-08) Greer, Christiaan
This study evaluated the efficacy of two different web-based stress management programs among college students at a large Midwestern university. After completing the pretest, students (N = 401) were randomly assigned to a Mindfulness plus Present Control intervention, a Mindfulness only intervention, or a Stress-information only comparison group. Primary outcomes were stress, anxiety, depression, perceived stress and worry; hypothesized mediators of intervention efficacy were rumination, mindfulness and present control. Self-report measures were completed online at pre-intervention, post-intervention, first follow-up (2-3 weeks postintervention) and second follow-up (4-5 weeks postintervention). Ninety percent of the sample (n = 365) completed the pretest and comprised the intent-to-treat sample. Linear mixed modeling was used to assess significant change over time and hierarchical regression was used to test for mediation. Participants in all three groups reported significant decreases in all five primary outcomes across all time points (within group d's = -.15 to -.56). All time by intervention group interaction effects were non-significant suggesting that the three conditions were equally effective. With regard to the mediators, participants reported significant increases in present control and mindfulness and significant decreases in rumination from baseline to post-intervention and both follow-ups (within group d's = .01 to .71). There was one significant time by intervention group interaction effect in the analyses assessing change over time in the mediators specifically indicating a between-group difference in changes in rumination, F(8, 973) = 3.73, p = .0003. In this case, the Mindfulness plus Present Control group reduced rumination significantly more than the comparison group. Because there were few differences across conditions, mediation analyses were performed collapsing across conditions. In general, changes in present control were associated with changes in depression and changes in rumination were associated with changes in worry and perceived stress at the second follow-up controlling for baseline scores. Limitations and future direction are discussed.
A Randomized-Controlled Trial of Mindfulness and Executive Function Trainings to Promote Self-Regulation in Internationally Adopted Children
(2015-08) Lawler, Jamie
While children adopted internationally show remarkable recovery once placed in families, as a group these children continue to show delays in certain aspects of development years after adoption. In particular, the area that seems to show the most lasting, and sometimes profound deficits is children’s self-regulation. The current study uses a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based and executive function trainings on internationally adopted (IA) children’s self-regulation, including inhibitory control, attention, and emotion regulation. Seventy-two IA children ages 6-10 were randomized into Mindfulness training (MT), Executive Function training (EF), or no intervention (NI) groups. The MT and EF groups attended 12 one-hour group sessions. Children in both intervention groups showed fewer hyperactivity and attention problems and showed better emotion regulation in the classroom, as rated by teachers blind to group status. The EF training was more successful in improving inhibitory control, while the MT group may have improved in delay of gratification. Both interventions improved selective attention in children with poor baseline regulatory functioning. Parent-reported behavior did not significantly change in any domain. Contrary to expectations, the mindfulness intervention did not improve perspective taking skills or prosocial behavior. Implications and future directions are discussed.
A Scoping Review of Interventions Increasing Screening and Diagnosis of Familial Hypercholesterolemia
(Elsevier, 2022) Polanski, Amanda; Wolin, Ellory; Kocher, Megan; Zierhut, Heather
Purpose Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is one of the most common genetic conditions, with a prevalence of ~1/250 individuals. If left untreated, FH greatly increases risk for cardiovascular disease and premature death. Currently, FH is largely underdiagnosed, and interventions are needed to increase identification. The purpose of this study was to identify effective interventions aimed at increasing FH diagnosis. Methods A scoping review of the literature addressing interventions to increase FH detection was conducted. Included studies detailed interventions which increased screening and detection of FH globally. Studies were characterized by intervention type and analyzed for themes using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Results A total of 46 studies were included in the review across 32 countries. All studies were effective in increasing FH detection. Twelve different intervention types were extracted with the most used being cascade and electronic medical record screening-based interventions. Conclusions Given the versatility of effective interventions in this review, efforts could explore approaches that maximize identification through a combination of interventions. Our results support one such strategy that uses electronic medical records to screen for index cases and a two-step indirect and direct contact method of index cases’ relatives.
Sources of Variance In Reading Comprehension Research: the Role of Measures and Interventions
(2020-05) Diggs, Calvary
The purpose of this study was to examine if differences in reading comprehension measures’ response formats were associated with differential outcomes for reading comprehension interventions. Specifically, this study used meta-analysis to evaluate the overall treatment effect of reading comprehension interventions, the association between a measure’s response format and measured intervention outcomes, and whether specific intervention effects varied based on the measure’s response format. A systematic review of the literature identified 66 published and unpublished research reports and studies conducted since 2000. All studies administered a reading comprehension intervention for students in the primary grades and measured the effects using a reading comprehension measure. Meta-analytic findings suggested an overall positive effect of reading comprehension interventions for both intervention to control group comparisons at posttest (Hedge’s g = 0.20) and pretest to posttest comparisons in the intervention group (Hedge’s g = 0.71). The response format of a reading comprehension measure, specifically retell/summary formats, was significantly associated with intervention outcomes, even after controlling for purposively selected variables. Findings also indicated that improving background knowledge and multicomponent interventions were significantly associated with performance on measures of reading comprehension with retell/summary response formats. The results of this study provide additional evidence that measures using the retell/summary response formats value reading comprehension differently, specifically in the context of interventions. Findings may also be used to caution against the interchangeable use of retell/summary formats with other measures of reading comprehension.
Staying Power: Assessing the Impact of the be@school Program on Student Attendance Behavior
(Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2012-12) Sheldon, Timothy
Truancy has reached epidemic levels in schools in the United States. School truancy is associated with delinquency, substance abuse, educational failure, and school attrition. This paper describes 2010-2011 evaluation results of the be@school truancy intervention program in Hennepin County, Minnesota’s most populous county. The program was implemented to increase school attendance through coordinated, progressive early intervention efforts that provide educational and support services to school-age children and their families. Over 6,000 children, grades K-12, and their families were referred to the program. The evaluation compared children’s attendance records before and after program interventions. Results showed a significant reduction in unexcused absence rates among students whose families participated in parent group meetings. Moreover, students whose families received community agency support had significantly fewer absences than their counterparts who received no such support. The findings suggest that early school interventions that include community and parental involvement can markedly reduce student truancy rates.
Staying Power: Assessing the Impact of the be@school Program on Student Attendance Behavior (Evaluation Report)
(Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2012-02) Sheldon, Timothy; Daugherty, Martha
The be@school Program was implemented to increase school attendance and to improve community connections across Hennepin County through a coordinated early intervention effort that provides educational and support services to school-age children and their families. The program builds on the Minneapolis schools’ attendance improvement activities which include making automated calls to parents after the first unexcused absence, sending a Principal’s letter to parents after three unexcused absences, and offering helpful resources to the families. This report presents evaluation findings for the 2010-2011 school year of Hennepin County’s be@school Program. The program used early intervention strategies with individual families to address children’s poor school attendance. Over 6,000 children in grades K-12 and their families were referred to the program during the timeframe under study. Referrals came from 21 school districts, charter schools, and independent schools across Hennepin County. The evaluation focused on comparing children’s attendance records before and after program intervention. Additionally, analyses were completed between students whose families participated in the program and those who were referred, but did not participate (comparison group). Qualitative data analyses were also carried out to identify impediments to school attendance. Throughout this report, demographic information and program activities are described and related to the findings.
Which Treatment do Parents Prefer?: A Randomized Preference Trial to Inform Personalization of a Parent Training Program
(2016-07) He, Yaliu
Studies on personalized interventions suggest that the ‘one size fits all’ approach of most psychotherapeutic interventions fails to meet the needs of many healthcare consumers. Because parents ultimately decide upon treatment for their children, there is a growing recognition that parents should be involved in the selection of their children’s mental health treatments. The goal of this pilot study is to investigate the relationships among parent preference, treatment attendance, treatment modality, and parenting treatment outcomes using a doubly randomized preference trial. At baseline, 129 families with children ages 4 to 12 years presenting at community mental health clinics participated in a conduct problems intervention study. Families consenting to participate in the study were randomly assigned to preference (n = 64) or non-preference groups (n = 64). Those in the choice group were able to choose between four intervention options while families in the no-choice group were randomly assigned to one of those four options. The results of Study 1 showed that individual family home-based Parent Management Training Oregon Model (PMTO) was the most preferred treatment and parents who were randomized to the choice group were more likely to attend the interventions than parents in the no-choice group. Using data from baseline, post-intervention and 6-month follow-up, in Study 2, the results of mixed-effects models showed that parents in the choice group who selected PMTO interventions had better parental treatment outcomes over time compared to parents in the choice group who selected child therapy. Implications were discussed.

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