Abstract
A pretest posttest control group design was employed to determine the effectiveness of a ten-week stress management program for middle school adolescents. Thirty-six adolescents participated in the experimental groups and 18 served as controls. The experimental subjects, in contrast to controls, reported a significant increase in the use of cognitive control coping strategies, in the effectiveness of adaptive coping strategies, and in the ratio of the use of adaptive relative to maladaptive coping strategies. The adolescents in the experimental group reported a significantly lower degree of stress than those in the control group. A 67.5 percent reduction in muscle tension following the use of relaxation procedures was reported by the experimental group members. The program appears to have been successful in developing stress management skills in two major areas emphasized in the intervention, cognitive control coping strategies and relaxation methods.
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de Anda, D. The Evaluation of a Stress Management Program for Middle School Adolescents . Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 15, 73–85 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022297521709
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022297521709