Coping Power-Rural: Iterative Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Preventive Intervention for Rural Upper Elementary and Middle Schools

• Published in: School mental health Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 776 - 792
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Amanda J., Hersh, Jacqueline, Beahm, Lydia, Henderson Smith, Lora, Newman, Courtney, Birchfield, Katelyn, Michael, Kurt, Bradshaw, Catherine P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptation; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Capacity Building; Caregivers; Child and School Psychology; Child Development; Childrens health; Classrooms; Clinical Psychology; Cognitive Processes; Community Health Services; Coping; Curricula; Design; Developmental Psychology; Discovery Processes; Education; Educational Attainment; Educational Equity (Finance); Educational Facilities Improvement; Educational Finance; Educational Research; Elementary Education; Elementary schools; Emotional Problems; Emotional regulation; Evidence Based Practice; Grades (Scholastic); Health services; Internet resources; Interpersonal Competence; Intervention; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; Middle schools; Needs Assessment; Original Paper; Problem solving; Psychology; Rural areas; Rural schools; Students; Teachers; Rural; Prevention; School mental health; Social and emotional learning; Coping Power
• DOI: 10.1007/s12310-024-09632-2
• ISSN: 1866-2625

Background Educators in rural schools are uniquely situated to address youth mental health disparities, yet often face challenges in delivering mental health supports. This paper describes the process of adapting the evidence-based Coping Power program, a small group prevention program for youth with aggressive behavior problems, to be a two-tiered (Tier 1 and Tier 2), transdiagnostic intervention to improve fit and feasibility for rural upper elementary and middle schools. Method Identified challenges with the Coping Power program for rural areas included program length, substantial staffing and resource requirements, lack of universal programming, low caregiver engagement, and co-occurring problems. Initial adaptations included a classroom and small group format implemented by school staff, teacher consultations integrated into coaching and co-facilitation, and a technology-supported caregiver component. Implementer feedback forms, coaching notes, and individual interviews informed the iterative development and feasibility testing process. Results Between 2019 and 2023, thirteen schools across six rural districts implemented the program. Student curriculum revisions included order and relative emphasis of content, classroom and small group overlap, necessary simplification of concepts, improved contextualization to the rural setting, and the addition of student workbooks. Supports for implementers included fully developed lesson plans and slides, a comprehensive implementation manual, video lesson overviews, action-focused training, and a 3-session coaching model to support implementer preparation and sustain motivation. Teacher and caregiver infographic text “nudges” were improved to promote generalization of concepts across settings. Discussion By partnering with school-based implementers, the adapted program holds promise to be more feasible and appealing for rural schools than the original model. This fully developed program is now ready for larger-scale testing in rural schools.