A strengths programme may help college students feel more in charge

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   Seven full-time students with learning disabilities or ADHD finished the study. Four of the eleven who signed up left early.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each student met one-to-one with a coach for eight weekly sessions of about an hour. In each session they set a weekly goal for one class, planned how to use their strengths and tracked progress. Students started at different times, after about two and a half or five and a half weeks.

3. 03

   What happened

   Questionnaire scores rose for all seven students, from before the programme to after it. The rise was big enough to count as real on a standard test. At the middle, the two groups did not clearly differ, and text-message ratings showed little change overall.

What the study found

1. No comparisonMotivation

   After eight weekly sessions on goals and strengths, seven students rated themselves as more in charge of their choices.

   • Action: Build on what already worksused
   • Action: Set a specific goalused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small study of one group of 7 college students with learning disabilities or ADHD · no comparison group · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; many people dropped out

2. No comparisonGoals

   The coach's notes show goal achievement rising as students carried out their weekly plans.

   • Action: Set a specific goalused
   • Action: Track your progressused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small study of one group of 7 college students with learning disabilities or ADHD · no comparison group · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; many people dropped out

Source