Provider Self-Reported Use and Usefulness of Intervention Strategies for Externalizing Behaviors in Youths with ASD.

Objective: To examine predictors of implementation and perceived usefulness of four empirically supported strategies for treating externalizing behavior in youths with ASD.

Method: Participants were 557 providers in the United States with experience treating externalizing behavior in youths with ASD. Generalized estimating equations were used to determine whether self-reported use and usefulness of four empirically supported intervention strategies (functional communication training, functional behavior analysis, visual tools/supports, token economy) were predicted by key provider characteristics: professional discipline, experience, and practice specialization (across three indices) in ASD.

Validity and reliability of the Body-Esteem Scale among a diverse sample of preadolescent youth.

Researchers have called for more psychometric research on body image assessment measures in children. The Body-Esteem Scale (BES) is a commonly used 24-item measure of self-evaluation of body image in youth, yet only one study has evaluated the psychometric properties of this measure in preadolescent children. The goal of the present study was to replicate and extend the original psychometric work on the BES by examining the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity in a diverse sample of children ages 9-11 years old.

A qualitative examination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents with autism and their parents.

Background: The unprecedented challenges introduced by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be amplified for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families.

Aims: The current study aimed to describe the experiences of children with ASD and their families during the pandemic and to identify the needs of this community during emergency situations.

Methods And Procedures: Participants were 122 parents of 122 children and adolescents (aged 3-18 years; one parent per family participated) with ASD living in Arizona, USA who participated in the first time point (July/August 2020) of a larger longitudinal survey study.

Identifying central symptoms of eating disorders among ethnic and racial minority women.

Experiencing eating disorder symptoms is associated with maladaptive outcomes and impairment in functioning. A paucity of research exists examining eating disorder symptoms among ethnic/racial minority women. Using a network analysis, we evaluated core symptoms of eating disorder psychopathology and the degree of association between eating disorder symptoms in a sample of ethnic/racial minority women.