A large body of literature exists related to parent-implemented interventions for children with disabilities, so it is helpful to synthesize the results of outcome-based interventions for children with developmental disabilities. Specifically, what are the effects of parent-implemented interventions intended to improve children’s (1) social behaviors, (2) life skills/adaptive behavior, and (3) communication skills? Using meta-analytic aggregation of effect sizes across 30 studies with a total of 1,356 participants, this review examined the association between parent-implemented interventions and intended outcomes for young children with developmental disabilities. Across all 30 studies comparing children’s outcomes to control groups, the random-effects-weighted average effect size was d = 0.495 (95% confidence interval = 0.31 to 0.68). Effect sizes ranged from d = -0.28 to 3.23, with the index of heterogeneity reaching statistical significance (Q (29) = 72.0, p < .001; I2 = 59.7%). The overall results were not moderated by the four participant characteristics evaluated—age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and disability. All parent-implemented interventions resulted in child outcomes that were statistically significantly better than the control group. Interventions targeting communication skills resulted in the greatest relative gains, and interventions targeting life skills/adaptive behavior resulted in the smallest relative gains (yet statistically better than the control group). Findings indicate clinical benefits when professionals include parents in interventions intended to influence the social–behavioral, communication, and adaptive development of young children with developmental disabilities.

There is a paucity of research on the mental health of Pacific Islanders living in the United States, including those of Polynesian descent. This study examined coping strategies, attitudes toward seeking mental health counseling, public and self-stigma toward seeking mental health services, and
psychological adjustment among 638 Polynesian Americans. On average, participants held neither favorable nor unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, but men endorsed moderate self-stigma
about mental illness and women endorsed high levels of public stigma about mental illness. Women showed relatively more favorable attitudes than men about seeking help from professional mental health providers. Participants
reported benefitting more from culturally congruent practices for coping with distress (accepting, reframing, striving, family support, and religiosity/spirituality) than from seeking assistance from private emotional outlets
(e.g., therapy) or avoidance and detachment. Mental health professionals need to build cross-cultural bridges and culturally adapt services to address concerns among Polynesian Americans.

This is a graduate level textbook for students in the biobehavioral and social sciences, introducing the major multivariate and modern regression methods that form the methodological core of research in those disciplines. The publication year is 2012, but it was released in December 2011. Co-author Suzanne Hendrix is a professional biostatistician with a PhD in mathematical statistics, Dawson Hedges MD is a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University, and Timothy Smith is a professor of counseling psychology at Brigham Young University.