Interventions With Preadolescent Aggressive Children

This study evaluates the effects of the Coping Power Program with at-risk preadolescent boys at the time of transition from elementary school to middle school. Aggressive boys were randomly assigned to receive only the Coping Power child component, the full Coping Power Program with parent and child components, or a control condition. Results indicated that the Coping Power intervention produced lower rates of covert delinquent behavior and of parent-rated substance use at the 1-year follow-up than did the control cell, and these intervention effects were most apparent for the full Coping Power Program with parent and child components. Boys also displayed teacher-rated behavioral improvements in school during the follow-up year, and these effects appeared to be primarily influenced by the Coping Power child component. Aggressive children have been found to be at risk for subsequent delinquent and criminal behavior and for poor school adjustment (Coie, Terry, Lenox, Lochman, & Hyman, 1995; Lochman & Wayland, 1994; Tremblay et al., 1992). Thus, preventive interven-tions that are designed to interrupt these developmental trajectories toward serious antisocial behavior can be developed on the basis of developmental models of risk factors for aggression (Coie et al., 1993) and on evolving knowledge about evidence-based interven-tions for aggressive children (Brestan & Eyberg, 1998; Conduc