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First Adaptation of Coping Power Program as a Classroom-Based Prevention Intervention on Aggressive Behaviors Among Elementary School Children

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Abstract

Children with high levels of aggressive behavior create a major management problem in school settings and interfere with the learning environment of their classmates. We report results from a group-randomized trial of a program aimed at preventing aggressive behaviors. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to determine the extent to which an indicated prevention program, Coping Power Program, is capable of reducing behavioral problems and improving pro-social behavior when delivered as a universal classroom-based prevention intervention. Nine classes (five first grade and four second grade) were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Findings showed a significant reduction in overall problematic behaviors and in inattention–hyperactivity problems for the intervention classes compared to the control classes. Students who received Coping Power Program intervention also showed more pro-social behaviors at postintervention. The implications of these findings for the implementation of strategies aimed at preventing aggressive behavior in school settings are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy

    Pietro Muratori, Azzurra Manfredi, Lisa Polidori, Laura Ruglioni & Annarita Milone

  2. Associazione Mente Cognitiva, Lucca, Italy

    Iacopo Bertacchi, Consuelo Giuli & Silvia Bonetti

  3. Pandora, Centro di Psicoterapia, Lucca, Italy

    Lavinia Lombardi

  4. Department of Sciences of Education and Psychology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy

    Annalaura Nocentini

  5. The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    John E. Lochman

Authors
  1. Pietro Muratori
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  2. Iacopo Bertacchi
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  3. Consuelo Giuli
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  4. Lavinia Lombardi
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  5. Silvia Bonetti
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  6. Annalaura Nocentini
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  7. Azzurra Manfredi
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  8. Lisa Polidori
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  9. Laura Ruglioni
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  10. Annarita Milone
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  11. John E. Lochman
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Correspondence to Pietro Muratori.

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Muratori, P., Bertacchi, I., Giuli, C. et al. First Adaptation of Coping Power Program as a Classroom-Based Prevention Intervention on Aggressive Behaviors Among Elementary School Children. Prev Sci 16, 432–439 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0501-3

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