BrainWise proven successful in study of homeless men

Posted On: March 31, 2016
Marilyn Welsh, Ph.D.
Marilyn Welsh, Ph.D.

University of Northern Colorado professor and executive functions expert Marilyn Welsh, PhD, presented results on research of BrainWise taught to homeless men at the 2016 International Neuropsychological Society meetings in Boston, Massachusetts.   The Treatment group, taught the BrainWise
program, included 210 males.  The smaller Comparison group had 61 men.  The groups did not differ significantly on age, race, or education.  The objective of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of BrainWise and to measure changes, if any, in self-reported executive functions, problem solving skills, and coping self-efficacy  of the participants.

The results found that teaching BrainWise to homeless men was related to significant improvements in executive functions as measured by emotional control, planning, inhibition of impulses, working memory, task monitoring, and self-monitoring; coping self-efficacy and knowledge of critical thinking skills.  The comparison group exhibited a much smaller set of improvements and decreased problem solving skills.  For a copy of the poster, click BrainWise INS 2016 FINAL

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