The Cool Kids as a School-Based Universal Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Anxiety: Results of a Pilot Study

Abstract

The efficacy of the Cool Kids program has been consistently demonstrated both within Australia and internationally, but limited data are available on the use of Cool Kids as a universal program. The purpose of the study is to evaluate Cool Kids as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. There were 73 Italian children (35 boys and 36 girls, ages 10–13 years) attending the last year of primary school and the first year of middle school who participated in an active intervention based on a school adaptation of the Cool Kids protocol. Results of t-test analyses highlighted a downward trend of anxiety symptoms, especially in total anxiety, somatic anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety and school phobia at post-treatment assessed by children. Even the score of depression symptoms, measured as a second outcome measure, decreased after the treatment. This study contributes to the evidence base for the Cool Kids program as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. Although these preliminary results show some promise, their replication in future research is necessary given current study limitations.

The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy on Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Thai Middle School Students

“…Therefore, an overall score, which was well-supported across cultures (e.g., Isolan et al, 2011), would be employed. The employment resonated past examinations of CBT therapeutic changes in adolescent anxiety (e.g., Scaini et al, 2022).…”

“…Group members could assist one another in this process through scaffolding (McLeod, 2012 ). With these benefits, the group format was adopted by various CBT-based anxiety intervention programs for adolescents (e.g., Lau et al, 2010 ; Scaini et al, 2022 ) and well supported by empirical evidence (Ginsburg & Drake, 2002 ; Herzig-Anderson et al, 2012 ).…”

Reliability and validity evidence of the School Anxiety Inventory scores in a sample of Spanish children: A new self‐report

“…In this line, preventive and therapeutic programs aimed at the management of anxiety, school refusal (Estévez et al, 2009; Galán‐Luque, 2023; Gonzálvez, Ingles, & García‐Fernández, 2018; Mateu‐Martínez et al, 2013; Scaini et al, 2022), and social skills programs in childhood and adolescence (Ingles, 2011; Ugarte‐Paz et al, 2021) have shown the importance of teaching and acquiring social skills (Huber et al, 2019; Sklad et al, 2012) and strategies for emotion self‐regulation or anxiety reduction (Gallegos et al, 2012) as of early childhood. This would enhance the academic adaptation and personal well‐being of Spanish children in primary education.…”