Publications by authors named "Courtney Zulauf-McCurdy"

Behavioral interventions delivered in preschools can help young children who need support for their behavior. However, preschool teachers face barriers to implementing behavioral interventions, leading to a research-to-practice gap. To better understand how to support preschool teachers, we conducted a scoping review of determinants (i.

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Objectives: During the preschool years, children depend on adult caregivers to provide opportunities for physical activity (PA). Research has focused on measuring PA in preschool, as well as barriers and facilitators to children's PA but caregiver perceptions remain largely unknown especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to understand the value of PA in preschool following the pandemic from three types of adult caregivers, parents of a young child (n=7), preschool teachers (n=7) and preschool administrators (n=7).

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Article Synopsis
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative treatments (CATs) for ADHD in children, focusing on randomized controlled trials.
  • Out of 2,253 manuscripts screened, only 87 met the criteria, revealing mixed evidence on the efficacy of various CATs, with cognitive training being the only one showing statistical effectiveness.
  • Clinicians might consider recommending cognitive training as an adjunct to traditional treatments but should monitor patients closely due to the need for further research on CATs.
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  • ADHD impacts about 5% of youth worldwide and leads to various negative life effects and economic burdens; initial treatments were mainly medication-based.
  • Recent research highlights non-pharmacological treatments, showing that while some, like multicomponent cognitive behavioral therapy and polyunsaturated fatty acids, have modest benefits, none consistently outperform medication for ADHD symptoms.
  • Non-pharmacological treatments are generally safe and can be tolerated by clinicians, but families should be informed about their limitations, such as costs and lack of strong proven efficacy compared to pharmacological options.
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The Latino community has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unique challenges. This paper explores the lived experiences of five Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of young children receiving early childhood special education (ECSE) services during the pandemic. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) What barriers have Spanish-speaking Latino families encountered in ECSE service delivery during this pandemic? (2) How have families overcome those barriers? Latina mothers describe how despite encountering numerous barriers to ECSE service delivery during the pandemic, they also experienced key areas of support and strength.

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Objective: Almost no studies identify mediators of psychosocial interventions for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-largely due to design limitations. Understanding mediators can promote streamlined interventions in usual care (UC) settings. When individual studies are insufficient to pursue complex questions, integrative data analysis (IDA) allows researchers to pool raw data from multiple studies to produce cumulative scientific knowledge.

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There has been increasing interest in applying integrative data analysis (IDA) to analyze data across multiple studies to increase sample size and statistical power. Measures of a construct are frequently not consistent across studies. This article provides a tutorial on the complex decisions that occur when conducting harmonization of measures for an IDA, including item selection, response coding, and modeling decisions.

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Sleep problems are common and often increase when initiating pharmacotherapy for ADHD. Stimulants are commonly associated with delayed sleep onset/insomnia although nonstimulants can be associated with daytime sleepiness. There is a wide variability in severity and duration of sleep effects, but most effects are mild and improve over time.

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Article Synopsis
  • High school students with ADHD face significant challenges in school, yet few receive effective interventions; this study introduces Summer STRIPES, a peer-led program designed to support these students during their transition to high school.
  • The program involves 72 rising ninth graders randomly assigned to either Summer STRIPES or typical school services, with outcomes assessed at various points to measure impacts on ADHD symptoms and academic performance.
  • The study aims to enhance understanding of care access for ADHD adolescents, with ethical approval secured and plans for results dissemination through journals and conferences.
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Community implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is greatly lacking. A recent randomized community-based trial of an EBP for ADHD (Supporting Teens' Autonomy Daily; STAND) demonstrated suboptimal implementation and effectiveness outcomes. In the present study, we conducted an Innovation Tournament (IT) with agency staff stakeholders (N = 26) to identify barriers to successful implementation of STAND and implementation strategies for a revised service delivery model.

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