Joseph A Durlak

Loyola University Chicago | LUC · Department of Psychology

This article provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current evidence for universal school-based (USB) social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions for students in kindergarten through 12th grade available from 2008 through 2020. The sample includes 424 studies from 53 countries, reflecting 252 discrete USB SEL interventions, inv...

This meta-review describes impacts from 12 meta-analyses of universal, school-based SEL programs. Results were remarkably consistent showing broad, positive impacts for SEL programs. We also examine a variety of moderating factors that may make program impacts larger or smaller. There was less consistency in the moderators.

This article reviews 12 meta-analyses of universal, school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs for children from early childhood education through high school. The aims were to assess the breath and consistency of outcomes across meta-analyses, and the potential influence of different moderators (i.e., individual, programmatic, ecolo...

This article reviews 12 meta-analyses of universal, school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs for children from early childhood education through high school. The aims were to assess the breath and consistency of outcomes across meta-analyses, and the potential influence of different moderators (i.e., individual, programmatic, ecolo...

Educators frequently hear about successful SEL programs and are then faced with answering the following questions: Should we use this program in our school? Would this new program really be helpful or worthwhile for our students? Considering a program's practical effects on student functioning helps administrators make these important decisions. Th...

This article compares results from four large-scale meta-analyses of student outcomes related to participation in universal, school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. The examination includes 356 research reports with rigorous designs and outcome data at post or follow-up from hundreds of thousands of K-12 students within and outsi...

This review of reviews presents an empirically based set of mean effect size distributions for judging the relative impact of the effects of universal mental health promotion and prevention programs for school-age youth (ages 5 through 18) across a range of program targets and types of outcomes. Mean effect size distributions were established by ex...

This chapter presents the mounting evidence regarding the success of school-based universal mental health promotion and prevention (MHPP) programs for students, from primary through postsecondary education, throughout the world. The chapter highlights the ability of these programs (MHPPPs) to promote students’ adjustment and lessen the likelihood o...

This meta-analysis reviewed 82 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions involving 97,406 kindergarten to high school students (Mage = 11.09 years; mean percent low socioeconomic status = 41.1; mean percent students of color = 45.9). Thirty-eight interventions took place outside the United States. Follow-up outcomes...

This meta-analysis found empirical support for the effectiveness of indicated prevention programs for higher education students at risk for subsequent mental health difficulties based on their current subclinical levels of various presenting problems, such as depression, anxiety, or interpersonal difficulties. A systematic literature search identif...

Social-emotional competence is a critical factor to target with universal preventive interventions that are conducted in schools because the construct (a) associates with social, behavioral, and academic outcomes that are important for healthy development; (b) predicts important life outcomes in adulthood; (c) can be improved with feasible and cost...

Evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs, when implemented effectively, lead to measurable and potentially long-lasting improvements in many areas of children’s lives. In the short term, SEL programs can enhance children’s confidence in themselves; increase their engagement in school, along with their test scores and grades; and...

The uses of technology-delivered mental health treatment options, such as interventions delivered via computer, smart phone, or other communication or information devices, as opposed to primarily face-to-face interventions, are proliferating. However, the literature is unclear about their effectiveness as preventive interventions for higher educati...

This paper discusses the fundamental importance of achieving quality implementation when assessing the impact of social and emotional learning interventions. Recent findings in implementation science are reviewed that include a definition of implementation, its relation to programme outcomes, current research on the factors that affect implementati...

This is an encyclopedia chapter on the topic of school interventions and prosocial behavior.

This study offers a commentary on the articles contained in the special issue of Prevention Science, "Readiness to implement Social- Emotional Learning interventions." The commentary also puts these articles into current context by summarizing important findings in implementation research and listing some priorities for future work.

This meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of universal mental health prevention programs for higher education students on a range of adjustment outcomes. A systematic literature search identified 103 controlled published and unpublished interventions involving college, graduate, or professional students. As hypothesized, skill-training prog...

Reviews the book, Comprehensive Evidence-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents edited by Candice A. Alfano and Deborah C. Beidel (see record 2014-31879-000 ). This book defines evidence-based interventions as “psychosocial interventions that have been subject to scientific investigation and have been empirically demonstrated to produce b...

With the goal of narrowing disparities in children's school success, a growing number of innovative early childhood interventions have been launched. As these interventions begin to show evidence of enhancing children's development, it is important that we understand the design of these interventions and their implementation. This themed issue of t...

Objective: This review is the first large-scale attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of universal promotion and prevention programs for higher education students on a range of adjustment outcomes. Participants/methods: The current review examined 83 controlled interventions involving college, graduate, and professional students, with a focus on...

Affect self-report ratings were taken before, during, and after Montague’s (1953) easy (noncompetitive) and hard (competitive) serial lists. Increased excitement, anxiety, unpleasantness, tenseness, and annoyance were related significantly to poorer performance on the hard list but not on the easy list. Compared with resting levels, significantly m...

Implementation science is growing in importance among funders, researchers, and practitioners as an approach to bridging the gap between science and practice. We addressed three goals to contribute to the understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of implementation. Our first goal was to provide a conceptual overview of the process of implemen...

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This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. Compared to controls, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflec...

Service-learning (SL) has become a popular teaching method everywhere from elementary schools to colleges. Despite the increased presence of SL in the education world, it is still unclear what student outcomes are associated with SL programs and what factors are related to more effective programs. A meta-analysis of 62 studies involving 11,837 stud...

This commentary on the special section, “Implementation research in early childhood education,” discusses 10 major conclusions drawn from implementation research and 7 additional issues needing clarification. Some major conclusions are that: (1) the level of implementation achieved can have a strong influence on program outcomes, (2) implementation...

Malabar Super Spice Co. Ltd., Burlington, Ont., has purchased a new Phantom series metal detection system from Fortress Technology Inc., Toronto, to ensure optimal product quality. The system provides detection to ensure that all the product dispatched from the Malabar facility is completely free of metal contaminants and debris. Malabar plant cond...

Participating in after-school programs (ASPs) has become a common experience for children. This special issue provides a perspective on the current status of research on ASPs. This introductory article overviews the historical and current context of ASPs and then describes a developmental ecological model to guide research in this area. The model o...

A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to enhance the personal and social skills of children and adolescents indicated that, compared to controls, participants demonstrated significant increases in their self-perceptions and bonding to school, positive social behaviors, school grades and levels of academic achievement, and significant r...

This chapter discusses the most common research methodology in psychology: the literature review. Reviews generally have three purposes: (1) to critically evaluate and summarize a body of research; (2) to reach some conclusions about that research; and, finally, (3) to offer suggestions for future work. The basic and expert competencies required fo...

This paper summarizes outcome research on primary prevention mental health programs for children and adolescents to emphasize three points: (1) prevention has been successful; (2) participants change in several positive ways following intervention; and, (3) program impact is durable over time. Intervention can prevent child and adolescent problems....

We assessed the effectiveness of a 5-year trial of a comprehensive school-based program designed to prevent substance use, violent behaviors, and sexual activity among elementary-school students. We used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design, with 10 intervention schools and 10 control schools. Fifth-graders (N = 1714) self-reported...

The objective of this article is to offer guidelines regarding the selection, calculation, and interpretation of effect sizes (ESs). To accomplish this goal, ESs are first defined and their important contribution to research is emphasized. Then different types of ESs commonly used in group and correlational studies are discussed. Several useful res...

51-page PDF technical report which, "summarizes results from three large-scale reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on elementary and middle-school students — that is, programs that seek to promote various aocial and emotional skills. Collectively the three reviews included 317 studies and involved 324...

Reviews the book, Toward positive youth development: Transforming schools and community programs by Marybeth Shinn and Hirokazu Yoshikawa (see record 2008-03908-000 ). Positive youth development (PYD) has captured the attention of many researchers, funders, policy makers, and practitioners. Although PYD draws from work conducted in several fields,...

The first purpose of this review was to assess the impact of implementation on program outcomes, and the second purpose was to identify factors affecting the implementation process. Results from over quantitative 500 studies offered strong empirical support to the conclusion that the level of implementation affects the outcomes obtained in promotio...

Relations among past maternal depressive disorder, current depressive symptoms, current maternal interaction behaviors, and children's adjustment were examined in a sample of 204 women and their young adolescent offspring (mean age = 11.86, SD = 0.55). Mothers either had (n = 157) or had not (n = 57) experienced at least one depressive disorder dur...

IntroductionHistory and Introduction to Meta-AnalysisStep 1: Formulating the Research QuestionStep 2: Obtaining Representative Studies for ReviewStep 3: Coding Studies for Important InformationStep 4: Analyzing the Data SystematicallyStep 5: Reaching Conclusions and Guiding Future Research

Reviews the book, Reducing Crime: The Effectiveness of Criminal Justice Interventions by Amanda E. Perry, Cynthia McDougall, and David P. Farrington (see record 2006-10803-000 ). This book is part of the Wiley Series on the Psychology of Crime, Policing, and Law. It is based on a review of over 100 interventions conducted in the United Kingdom and...

A review of efforts at social system change in 526 universal competence-promotion outcome studies indicated that 64% of the interventions attempted some type of microsystemic or mesosystemic change involving schools, families, or community-based organizations in an attempt to foster developmental competencies in children and adolescents. Only 24% o...

Reviews the book, Education Research in the Public Interest: Social Justice, Action, and Policy , edited by Gloria Ladson-Billings and William F. Tate (see record 2006-08653-000 ), noting that it is the 25th in a series on multicultural education. The definition of multicultural education used throughout this series is "the field of study designed...

This report is the first of several to come from CASEL's major meta-analysis project. The report describes the strong positive effects after-school programs can have, and the conditions needed to realize these benefits. A meta-analysis to evaluate the magnitude of effects obtained from 73 programs was conducted. Outcomes were examined in three gene...

Reviews the book, Community Mental Health: Challenges for the 21st Century edited by Jessica Rosenberg and Samuel Rosenberg (see record 2006-05879-000 ). Community Mental Health: Challenges for the 21st Century focuses on two primary issues: (a) the effect of deinstitutionalization on persons with mental illness (PMI) and (b) the current challenges...

Responds to comments made by Holden and Blau (see record 2006-11202-017) on the current authors' original article (see record 2005-11115-005). The current authors suggest combining the complementary strengths of the community-based approaches identified by Holden and Blau (2006) and the evidence-based approaches discussed in their original articl...

For decades, empirically tested youth interventions have prevented dysfunction by addressing risk and ameliorated dysfunction through treatment. The authors propose linking prevention and treatment within an integrated model. The model suggests a research agenda: Identify effective programs for a broadened array of problems and disorders, examine e...

Ng and Bornstein (this issue) examined the comorbidity between dependent personality disorder (DPD) and anxiety disorders (ADs) via meta-analytic techniques. Although meta-analysis can be useful in quantifying such comorbid relationships, several conceptual and methodological concerns may undermine one's confidence in Ng and Bornstein's conclusions...

Reviews Innovative Strategies for Promoting Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span (see record 2003-04405-000 ). In this volume, the coeditors, Leonard Jason and David Glenwick, have compiled a selection of reviews by distinguished multidisciplinary researchers to update the reader on prevention's accomplishments in different areas. The coed...

This chapter describes the partnerships involved in participatory approaches to primary prevention through competence promotion. The authors argue that, when implementing preventive interventions, the participation of community members may be best secured through interventions that adapt a competence-enhancement rather than a problem-prevention per...

This article comments on "A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Research on Preschool Intervention Programs for Children," by Nelson, Westhues, and MacLeod (2003). Consistent evidence obtained by independent researchers surveying slightly different but overlapping outcome literatures confirms that preschool programs have statistically significant and pra...

Researchers and practitioners tend to specialize and the area of prevention is no different. Some strive to prevent drug use, mental health problems, learning difficulties, child maltreatment, and so on. Specialization encourages concentrated effort which is often needed to overcome obstacles impeding progress and to achieve scientific breakthrough...

The authors assessed the impact of training undergraduates in multicultural counseling competencies. When compared with a control group of students in a psychology of personality course (n = 20), repeated measures analyses of variance confirmed that multicultural counseling trainees (n = 21) significantly increased levels of multicultural counselin...

Argues that the tactics adopted by the Task Force on Evidence-Based Interventions in School Psychology have advantages in terms of literature coverage and providing data on multiple dimensions that school researchers and practitioners should find useful. Two suggestions to improve Task Force efforts are offered in terms of the specification of key...

summarized the main features of meta-analysis, which is a multivariate statistical method of integrating and analyzing research findings / explanatory meta-analyses that analyze standardized group mean differences were discussed / in these situations, meta-analysts strive to identify what significant relationships exist between study characteristic...

This article discusses three issues related to the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for youth with externalizing problems: (a) the heterogeneity of externalizing difficulties and cognitive behavioral interventions; (b) typical cognitions manifested by children and adolescents and their parents; and (c) developmental considerations in selecting a...

This article presents policy recommendations relating to two aspects of primary prevention in mental health: (a) preventing adverse negative outcomes and (b) building health and wellness from the start and maintaining it thereafter. Recommendations for reducing diverse negative outcomes and end states reflect interconnections and bidirectional infl...

You encounter a meta-analysis evaluating treatments for child and adolescent problems. The abstract suggests that the reviewed treatments are highly effective. The author states that current results challenge many widely held beliefs in the field and have strong implications for future research and practice. Your dilemma is that you know nothing ab...

Conducted a meta-analytic review of 116 studies, which indicated significant improvement in children's and adolescents' self-esteem and self-concept, and significant concomitant changes in behavioral, personality, and academic functioning. Interventions specifically focused on changing self-esteem and self-concept were significantly more effective...

This chapter is divided into two major sections. In the first section, we present an overview of the breadth and results of child therapy outcome research. In the second section, we focus on several priorities for future research and identify some exemplary studies that have addressed these priorities. Our general intent is to highlight the diversi...

Evaluated the outcomes of 130 indicated preventive interventions (secondary prevention) mental health programs for children and adolescents that seek to identify early signs of maladjustment and to intervene before full-blown disorders develop. Results indicate such programs significantly reduce problems and significantly increase competencies. In...

A review of 1,200 outcome studies in six areas of research identified common risk and protective factors emerging from successful and often multilevel prevention programs, some of which had prevented multiple problems. The inter-relatedness of the factors is explored, as is their association with multiple outcomes. Implications for further research...

Evaluated the outcomes of 130 indicated preventive interventions (secondary prevention) mental health programs for children and adolescents that seek to identify early signs of maladjustment and to intervene before full‐blown disorders develop. Results indicate such programs significantly reduce problems and significantly increase competencies. In...

Program implementation refers to how well a proposed program or intervention is put into practice and is fundamental to establishing the internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion validity of outcome evaluations. Research conducted on preventive field trials indicates that program implementation is variable across change agents and s...

Several successful prevention programs are recognized as exemplars of implementation. Complicated multidimensional interventions with different goals and directed at different target populations have been conducted with a high degree of fidelity using a common set of strategies. Future research priorities involve identifying the specific factors th...

The present study investigated the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual dysfunction in men. In addition, the investigation compared sexually abused men and women on the characteristics of the sexual abuse. Subjects were 359 men who sought sexual dysfunction treatment. Thirty men reported a history of sexual abuse. Characteri...

Used meta-analysis to review 177 primary prevention programs designed to prevent behavioral and social problems in children and adolescents. Findings provide empirical support for further research and practice in primary prevention. Most categories of programs produced outcomes similar to or higher in magnitude than those obtained by many other est...

Current outcome research on primary prevention mental health programs is encouraging and the future is exciting. Data continue to accumulate regarding the efficacy of preventive intervention. Exemplary programs can prevent multiple problems across different outcome domains suggesting the need for collaboration among preventionists across discipline...

Used meta‐analysis to review 177 primary prevention programs designed to prevent behavioral and social problems in children and adolescents. Findings provide empirical support for further research and practice in primary prevention. Most categories of programs produced outcomes similar to or higher in magnitude than those obtained by many other est...

The present study was a field trial of behavioral sex therapy for 365 married couples presenting with a range of sexual dysfunctions. Treatment occurred at an outpatient sexual dysfunction clinic of a large medical center using a multidisciplinary staff. Findings supported the external validity of behavioral sex therapy. The success rate for the to...

The title of Klein and Goldston’s (1977) text, Primary Prevention: An Idea Whose Time Has Come,was prophetic. Whereas there had been relatively few reports of school-based prevention before the mid-1970s, over the past two decades there has been a surge of interest in such programs. In fact, each year millions of school-children throughout the Unit...

Various data summarized by the Children’s Defense Fund (1995) present a dramatic snapshot of the health of America’s children and suggest what improvements can be made. For example, the infant mortality rate in the United States lags behind 21 other industrialized countries. The incidence of low birth weight, which places infants at heightened risk...

Data drawn from several sources (Dryfoos, 1990; Murphy, 1990; Terman, Larner, Stevenson, & Behrman, 1996; United States Department of Education, 1992) can be pooled to indicate the nature and extent of children’s learning problems. There are approximately 2.1 million school children (5%) who have a documented learning disability and 1.2 million (3%...

In general, social policy refers to the rules governing the behavior of individuals in a particular setting. Sometimes, the rules are fixed such as in regulations or laws; at other times, the rules are more flexible such as a policy that authorizes new services but does not specify exactly service delivery or eligibility. At a very fundamental leve...

Prevention is a multidisciplinary science that draws upon basic and applied research from at least 15 major disciplines: education, psychology, medicine, nursing, public health, sociology, political science, business, communications, law, criminal justice, social work, health education, engineering, and economics. In addition, some of the specialty...

Maltreatment is a general term that encompasses neglect and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Many children are maltreated. In 1994, there were more than one million confirmed cases of abuse and neglect (Children’s Defense Fund, 1995). Due to a lack of precision in its definition plus the reluctance to report or confirm abuse, the true inciden...