School-Based Implementation of Abbreviated Coping Cat Program to Reduce Behavioral Symptoms of Anxious Children

Abstract

Anxiety symptoms present on a continuum; however, students presenting with even a few of the debilitating symptoms of social anxiety may benefit from treatment regardless of whether they meet full diagnostic criteria. Research suggests an increase in transportability efforts of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy into school settings. Modifications to the 16-session Coping Cat Program resulted in a brief, 8-session version that would be more easily implemented within the school setting. The brief version of Coping Cat has not yet been fully evaluated, but many studies show the effectiveness of the full Coping Cat program. Nonetheless, these studies use methods that are costly and may present a problem for implementation in the school system due to limited funding. This study used reliable and valid screening instruments freely available in the public domain to identify students presenting with anxious behaviors and to evaluate outcomes. The current study also used a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the implementation ease and efficacy of a further abbreviated version of the 8-session Coping Cat protocol in a school setting. Specific treatment outcomes were classroom behaviors, including limited social interactions and eye contact, crying, tantrums, blushing, and lack of academic engagement. Outcomes on these domains were monitored through a combination of rating scales and direct observations of classroom behavior. Results indicated that the abbreviated Coping Cat program is effective in reducing anxious behaviors observed in the classroom under normal circumstances (i.e., no significant interfering situations such as family crisis or bullying). Factors specific to school-based implementation are discussed.