Coping Power

Coping Power was found to have positive effects on external behavior and potentially positive effects on social outcomes for children classified with an emotional disturbance.

Coping Power is based on the earlier Anger Coping Power program. It emphasizes social and emotional skills that are needed during the transition to middle school. The program incorporates child and parent components. The child component consists of thirty-four 50-minute group sessions and periodic individual sessions over the course of 15–18 months, although the program can be shortened to fit into a single school year. Lessons focus on goal setting, problem solving, anger management, and peer relationships. The parent component is composed of 16 group sessions and periodic individual meetings. Lessons support the child component of the program and address setting expectations, praise, discipline, managing stress, communication, and child study skills.

Three studies of Coping Power that fall within the scope of the Children Classified as Having an Emotional Disturbance review protocol meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. The three studies included 650 students who were at high risk for delinquent and/or aggressive behavior from grades 4 and 5 in Alabama and North Carolina. Based on these three studies, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for Coping Power on children classified as having an emotional disturbance (or children at risk for classification) to be medium to large for external behavior and small for social outcomes. The three studies that meet WWC evidence standards did not examine the effectiveness of Coping Power on children classified with an emotional disturbance in the emotional/internal behavior, reading achievement/literacy, math achievement, school attendance, or other academic performance domains.