Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC)
Note: The TKC program was not responsive to the CEBC's inquiry. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources.
About This Program
Target Population: Students in High School.
Program Overview
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) is a classroom-based group experience to promote and maintain mental health in adolescents through lecture, group discussions, role playing, brainstorming, handouts, group projects, and practice of problem-solving skills. Typical session topics will include:
- Learning to trust
- Developing a positive self image
- Identifying life stresses
- Identifying positive and negative ways of coping with stress.
Specific techniques for positive coping will be practiced in the group in relation to such stresses as family relationships, school problems, and peer relationships.
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC).
Manuals and Training
Publicly available information indicates there is a manual that describes how to deliver this program, and there is some training available for this program.
See contact info below.
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being
Lamb, J. M., Puskar, K. R., Sereika, S. M., & Corcoran, M. (1998). School-based intervention to promote coping in rural teens. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 23(4), 187-194. https://journals.lww.com/mcnjournal/Abstract/1998/07000/School_Based_Intervention_to_Promote_Coping_in.5.aspx
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants:
41
Population:
- Age — 14–19 years (Mean=15.8 years)
- Race/Ethnicity — 95.1% Caucasian
- Gender — 56.1% Female and 43.9% Male
- Status — Participants were rural high school students with depressive symptomatology.
Location/Institution: Not specified
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate an intervention [now called Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC)] designed to help high school students with depressive symptomology to effectively cope. Students with depressive symptomatology were randomized into control or intervention groups. Measures include the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS), the Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS), the Life Events Checklist (LEC), and the Student Information Form. Results indicate that the intervention groups demonstrated reduced depressive symptoms in females and a wider range of coping, compared with controls. The RADS scores of female participants in the intervention group decreased significantly on post testing, whereas RADS scores among females in the control group actually increased at the posttesting. There was no significant change in RADS scores of the males over time in either the control or the intervention group. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures, generalizability due to ethnicity and geographic setting, small sample size, and lack of postintervention follow-up.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.
Puskar, K., Sereika, S., & Tusaie-Mumford, K. (2003). Effect of the Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) program on outcomes of depression and coping among rural adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 16(2), 71-80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2003.tb00350.x
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants:
89
Population:
- Age — 14.1–18.3 years (Mean=16 years)
- Race/Ethnicity — 98.9% White
- Gender — 82% Female
- Status — Participants were rural high school students with depressive symptomatology.
Location/Institution: Four rural high schools from the southwestern region of Pennsylvania
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a group-administered, cognitive-behavioral interventions method, Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC), on rural adolescents. Subjects were randomly assigned to TKC and to the control usual care condition. A booster session was randomly administered at 9 months follow-up to intervention subjects. Measures include the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and the Coping Response Inventory-Youth (CRI-Y). Results indicated improvement in depressive symptomatology and certain coping skills. Students in TKC reported a higher use of cognitive problem-solving coping strategies. Limitations include reliance on self-reported measures, generalizability due to ethnicity and geographic settings, and length of postintervention follow-up.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 months (A booster session was administered at 9-month follow-up to approximately half of the intervention subjects who continued to participate in the study, decreasing the length of the postintervention follow-up).
Additional References
No reference materials are currently available for Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC).
Contact Information
- Kathryn Puskar, PhD
- Website: www.pitt.edu/~krp12
- Email: krp12@pitt.edu
- Phone: (412) 624-6933
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: June 2020
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: August 2020
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: August 2020