Abstract
Poverty and economic stress are risk factors for child psychopathology; however, primary and secondary control coping can buffer children against the negative effects of these risks. A 4-week (12 h) pilot prevention program aimed at enhancing coping skills and preventing symptoms of psychopathology among children growing up in poverty was evaluated using a multiple baseline design. Participants were 24 children (ages 8–12) and their primary caregivers. Attrition was low and parent-reports of program satisfaction were high. Children’s ability to generate positive coping thoughts and high quality solutions to problems improved from pre- to post-intervention. At the post-intervention measurement, parents’ and children’s involuntary engagement stress responses had declined and parents’ secondary control coping had increased. Children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms also decreased from pre- to post-intervention, according to parent-reports. Results provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention.
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Notes
Analyses revealed the presence of differences between the sample recruited from CoPES and those recruited specifically for this study (e.g., ethnic composition, age of children, use of primary control coping, and internalizing symptoms). Including recruitment method as a covariate in analyses did not significantly change the results. To maximize our degrees of freedom with the small sample, the reported results combine the two samples and do not include recruitment method as a covariate.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Ruth Kirchstein National Research Service Award F31 MH073344 from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to the first author. The authors gratefully acknowledge the consultation and contributions of John Weisz, Ph.D. to the development of the FaCES intervention. We also thank Heather Taussig, Ph.D., Sara Culhane, Ph.D., and Edward Garrido, Ph.D. for their careful review and editing of this manuscript.
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The research reported herein was based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation.
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Raviv, T., Wadsworth, M.E. The Efficacy of a Pilot Prevention Program for Children and Caregivers Coping with Economic Strain. Cogn Ther Res 34, 216–228 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9265-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9265-7