Acceptability and fidelity of a media literacy education-based, comprehensive sexual health program for college students: A multi-method student-centered evaluation.

The present study compares the feasibility and acceptability of two asynchronous, interactive, 2-3-hour, online interventions: , which is a comprehensive sex education program, taught from a media literacy perspective and , which is a comprehensive sex education program containing identical sexual health content, but no media literacy content. Among = 649 community college students, both programs were equivalently high in program fidelity (88% completed all lessons) and acceptability (average 90% positive ratings). Qualitative analyses revealed that both programs were informative and usable, with few criticisms besides program length.

Barriers and facilitators to providing sexual health programming at community colleges across the United States: a qualitative study with administrators, faculty, and staff.

Background: Community college students are in need of sexual health programming. Unfortunately, community colleges are less likely than 4-year colleges to provide such programming, and very little research has focused on understanding the factors influencing sexual health program implementation at community colleges.

Purpose: To examine the barriers and facilitators to adoption, implementation, and sustainability of student-facing sexual health programming at community colleges.

A Media Literacy Education Approach to Sexual Health Promotion: Immediate Effects of on the Sexual Health Cognitions of Young Adult Community College Students.

This study evaluates the efficacy of , a comprehensive sex education program with a media literacy education approach, for improving sexual health cognitions among 1139 U.S. community college students (ages 18-19) from 23 campuses.

A randomized controlled trial of enhanced mentoring program practices for children of incarcerated caregivers: Assessing impacts on youth and match outcomes.

Parental incarceration is an adverse childhood experience that is associated with heightened risk for negative outcomes in youth. Mentoring programs seek to mitigate this risk by providing children of incarcerated parents (COIP) with a supportive relationship that fosters positive outcomes. The current study presents findings from a longitudinal evaluation of enhanced mentoring program practices designed for supporting COIP.

Evaluating the mechanisms and long-term effects of a web-based comprehensive sexual health and media literacy education program for young adults attending community college: study protocol for a three-arm randomized controlled trial.

Background: Many community college students experience poor sexual and relationship health outcomes. Young adults consume a plethora of media content, much of which depicts unhealthy sexual and romantic relationships, and research has shown that media exposure can negatively impact health outcomes. Asynchronous, web-based media literacy education (MLE) programs have been shown to improve short-term sexual and relationship health outcomes.

Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training.

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) mentoring programs typically have the goals of generating interest and excitement in STEM topics and careers and supporting STEM career achievement persistence. These outcomes are fostered through positive and trusting relationships with mentors. Mentors in STEM programs often have extensive subject matter expertise in a STEM content area, but they may lack the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that are important for establishing an effective mentoring relationship with a young person.

Rape Myth Acceptance Reflects Perceptions of Media Portrayals as Similar to Others, but Not the Self.

Understanding the antecedents and consequences of rape myths is important for sexual assault prevention programming. We investigated whether general perceptions of media predict rape myth endorsement among community college students, a group with elevated sexual assault risk. Students who perceived greater similarity between people they know and people in media reported higher endorsement of rape myths that blame the victim and exonerate the accused.

The Prevention of Drugged Driving: Needs, Barriers, and Self-Efficacy of Prevention Professionals.

Driving under the influence of drugs (e.g., marijuana, prescription medications) is a major public health and safety concern.

Does having a similar disability matter for match outcomes?: A randomized study of matching mentors and mentees by visual impairment.

Mentoring is modestly effective for youth with a chronic illness or physical disability; however, program effectiveness may be enhanced when mentors and mentees are matched on shared interests and experiences. To test this hypothesis, mentees were randomly assigned to having a mentor with or without visual impairment (VI). Results showed that mentors without VI were younger and more likely to work or be educated in a helping profession and less likely to have a fixed mindset and extremely high positive expectations than mentors with VI.

The understudied half of undergraduates: Risky sexual behaviors among community college students.

This study examines the prevalence and risk factors associated with risky sexual behaviors in community college students. A diverse sample of 18-19-year-old community college students ( = 264). : Baseline data from an online prevention program administered in 2015.

Using Media Literacy Education for Adolescent Sexual Health Promotion in Middle School: Randomized Control Trial of Media Aware.

This study examined the short-term efficacy of Media Aware, a classroom-based media literacy education (MLE) program for improving adolescents' sexual health outcomes. In a randomized control trial, schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (N = 5 schools) or health promotion control (N = 4 schools) group. Students completed questionnaires at pretest (N = 880 students) and immediate posttest (N = 926 students).

Understanding the unique role of media message processing in predicting adolescent sexual behavior intentions in the United States.

This study investigated the role that media message processing variables stemming from the Message Interpretation Process (MIP) model play in adolescents' intentions to engage in sexual activity. Data collected from 873 adolescents in the United States were examined in an ordered logistic regression model containing demographic variables; attitudes; self-efficacy; parent and peer normative beliefs; and media message processing variables. The analyses revealed that media message processing variables have a unique influence on adolescent sexual intentions above and beyond the influence of all the other predictors.

Mentoring Program Enhancements Supporting Effective Mentoring of Children of Incarcerated Parents.

Children of incarcerated parents (COIP) are at risk for a range of negative outcomes; however, participating in a mentoring relationship can be a promising intervention for these youth. This study examined the impact of mentoring and mentoring program enhancements on COIP. Secondary data analyses were conducted on an archival database consisting of 70,729 matches from 216 Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) local agencies to establish the differential effects of mentoring on COIP.

Supporting Mentoring Relationships of Youth in Foster Care: Do Program Practices Predict Match Length?

Implementation of research- and safety-based program practices enhance the longevity of mentoring relationships, in general; however, little is known about how mentoring programs might support the relationships of mentees in foster care. Benchmark program practices and Standards in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, 3rd Edition (MENTOR, 2009) were assessed in the current study as predictors of match longevity. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a national agency information management database from 216 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies serving 641 youth in foster care and 70,067 youth not in care from across the United States (Mean = 11.

Examining the efficacy of an mHealth media literacy education program for sexual health promotion in older adolescents attending community college.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a mobile health (mHealth), media literacy education program, Media Aware, for improving sexual health outcomes in older adolescent community college students.

Participants: 184 community college students (ages 18-19) participated in the study from April-December 2015.

Methods: Eight community college campuses were randomly assigned to either the intervention or a wait-list control group.

The effectiveness of online, family-based media literacy education for substance abuse prevention in elementary school children: Study of the Media Detective Family program.

The present study investigates the effectiveness of a family-based, online media literacy education (MLE) program for substance abuse prevention in children from rural areas. A total of 83 families were randomly assigned to receive (n = 47) or a control computer program (n = 36) between pre- and posttest questionnaires. Fifty-one percent (N=42) completed a three-month follow-up questionnaire.

Predictors of Premature Match Closure in Youth Mentoring Relationships.

Although mentoring is a popular and effective means of intervention with youth, the positive effects of mentoring can be diminished by premature match closure of relationships. Program, mentor, and mentee characteristics were examined as predictors of premature match closure. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a large national database of mentoring programs consisting of match and youth risk information from 170 mentoring programs and 6468 matches from across the U.

Media as a "Super Peer": How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts Their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms.

Adolescents' media environment offers information about who uses substances and what happens as a result-how youth interpret these messages likely determines their impact on normative beliefs about alcohol and tobacco use. The Message Interpretation Processing (MIP) theory predicts that substance use norms are influenced by cognitions associated with the interpretation of media messages. This cross-sectional study examined whether high school adolescents' (n = 817, 48 % female, 64 % white) media-related cognitions (i.

Teacher (Mis)Perceptions of Preschoolers' Academic Skills: Predictors and Associations With Longitudinal Outcomes.

Preschool teachers have important impacts on children's academic outcomes, and teachers' misperceptions of children's academic skills could have negative consequences, particularly for low-income preschoolers. This study utilized data gathered from 123 preschool teachers and their 760 preschoolers from 70 low-income, racially diverse centers. Hierarchical linear modeling was utilized to account for the nested data structure.

The impact of mindfulness education on elementary school students: Evaluation of the Program.

Children need to be equipped with the skills to respond effectively to stress and prevent poor decision-making surrounding alcohol and tobacco use. Training and practice in mindfulness is one possible avenue for building children's skills. Recent research has revealed that mindfulness education in the classroom may play a role in enhancing children's self-regulatory abilities.

The impact of media-related cognitions on children's substance use outcomes in the context of parental and peer substance use.

Media-related cognitions are a unique influence on adolescents' substance use outcomes even after accounting for the powerful influence of parent and peers. This cross-sectional study expands upon prior research by investigating the impact of media-related cognitions on children's alcohol and tobacco outcomes in the context of parental and peer substance use. Six hundred forty-nine elementary school children (M = 9.

How is this child feeling? Preschool-aged children's ability to recognize emotion in faces and body poses.

The study examined children's recognition of emotion from faces and body poses, as well as gender differences in these recognition abilities. Preschool-aged children ( = 55) and their parents and teachers participated in the study. Preschool-aged children completed a web-based measure of emotion recognition skills, which included five tasks (three with faces and two with bodies).

The Association between Preschool Children's Social Functioning and Their Emergent Academic Skills.

This study examined the relationship between social functioning and emergent academic development in a sample of 467 preschool children (M = 55.9 months old, SD = 3.8).

Student characteristics as predictors of teachers' implementation of a kindergarten readiness program.

Recent years have seen increasing numbers of classroom-based interventions designed to enhance the school readiness of at-risk preschoolers. Even the most comprehensive, well-designed programs can suffer from limited effectiveness due to low-frequency implementation by teachers. The current study presents findings from the Building Bridges (BB) project, an integrated program targeting school readiness in Head Start and low-income child care centers.