Reducing Problem Behavior and Increasing Adaptive Behavior in Bereaved Children Through Stress Inoculation Training

Stress reactions often trigger problem behavior in children that create difficulty in settings that involve interpersonal exchanges. Consequently, the stress experienced by bereaved children frequently results in behaviors that promote additional distress. However, children who are able to revise how they view their own ability to behave in stressful situations can gain a sense of power over their own lives and circumstances. This increased sense of self-efficacy can ultimately improve various aspects of their lives related to self-control and social responsibility.This study examines the effectiveness of Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) in helping bereaved children learn to reduce problem behaviors and to increase adaptive behaviors, as perceived by their parent or primary caregiver. The three questions being studied are: (1) Does Stress Inoculation Training affect the frequency of problem behavior of bereaved children? (2) Does Stress Inoculation Training affect the adaptive behavior of bereaved children? (3) Are there demographic characteristics that are likely to influence the problem behaviors and adaptive behaviors of bereaved children?This study utilized the Posttest-Only Control Group Design to evaluate parent or primary caregiver perception of the behavior of bereaved children assigned to treatment and control conditions. Group participants were provided Stress Inoculation Training within small-group settings to teach them how to identify triggering events and associated cognitions and emotions leading to problem behavior, and to plan and practice alternative responses.Behaviors of participating children were evaluated and reported by parents or primary caregivers by responding to the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, PAR Edition (RBPC) and the AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale-School, Second Edition (ABS-S:2). There are six (6) dependent variables derived from the RBPC and seven (7) dependent variables derived from the ABS-S:2.Data were analyzed by using multiple univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to compare the mean scores of each of the thirteen (13) subscales between SIT treatment groups and control groups. Analyses showed a statistically significant reduction in RBPC Socialized Aggression Scale mean scores compared to scores of control subjects, indicating that this brief Stress Inoculation Training sequence was successful in helping SIT group members reduce aggressive acting out, as perceived by their parent or primary caregiver, compared with the perceptions of the parents or primary caregivers of Control group members.