Therapeutic alliance is associated with treatment outcomes across a diverse range of intervention models and clinical populations. Likewise, the perceived quality of working alliance in adult psychotherapy has been a consistent predictor of engagement, while research with children is limited. This study draws from a sample of 180 children who were…

In this review, a conceptualization of oppositional defiant (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) is presented according to which social learning processes in these disorders are affected by neurocognitive dysfunctions. Neurobiological studies in ODD and CD suggest that the ability to make associations between behaviors and negative and positive…

Children with high levels of aggressive behavior and conduct problems create major management problems in school settings and interfere with the learning environment of their classmates and with their own academic achievement. A contextual social-cognitive model can provide a framework for understanding risk factors involved in the development and…

Assigned aggressive boys (N=76) to one of four cells consisting of anger coping, goal setting, anger coping plus goal setting, and a no treatment cell. Results of follow-up testing showed that the boys who had been in the anger-coping groups had reduced their disruptive and aggressive behavior in the classroom and at home. (LLL)

In psychotherapy, effectiveness of an experimental treatment often is compared to care as usual. However, little if any attention has been paid to the heterogeneity of care as usual. The authors examined the effectiveness of manualized behavior therapy on school-aged disruptive behavior disordered (DBD) children in everyday clinical practice. A…

This article describes the successful application of the Coping Power program by school-based clinicians to address a 10-year-old girl's disruptive behavior symptoms. Coping Power is an empirically supported cognitive-behavioral program for children at risk for serious conduct problems and their parents. The following case study illustrates the…

Compared two Anger Coping group interventions using cognitive-behavioral and social problem-solving training with aggressive boys to control condition. One intervention included teacher consultation component to enhance teachers' behavioral management skills. Treated boys displayed significant improvements in disruptive-aggressive off-task…

Group treatment based on cognitive-behavioral and social problem solving strategies has been found to produce significant improvement in aggressive children. To investigate the association between clients' initial behavioral and subjective characteristics and the degree of improvement displayed on behavioral measures over the treatment period, 76…

Examined longer term preventive effects of school-based intervention with boys referred by classroom teachers as highly aggressive and disruptive. Three years after intervention, boys who had received anger coping (AC) program had lower rates of drug and alcohol involvement and higher levels of self-esteem and social problem-solving skills than…

Provides rationale for and description of school-based anger coping program for aggressive children. Discusses need for school-based, preventive interventions with this population. Outlines conceptual model for this intervention and reviews relevant findings on social cognitive processes. Describes cognitive-behavioral intervention framework and…

Education professionals consistently rank disruptive/aggressive student behavior as persistent and troubling, reporting various types of maladaptive behaviors ranging from talking out in class to assault. Researchers suggest that childhood aggression accounts for a high proportion of the referrals to special education for emotional and behavioral…

Randomly assigned 52 black aggressive, rejected and nonaggressive, rejected children to receive social relations intervention or to be in nonintervention control group. School-based intervention for fourth-grade children focused on positive social skill training and cognitive-behavioral strategies. At posttreatment and one-year follow-up,…

This comprehensive guide presents the Anger Coping Program, an empirically supported group intervention for 8-12 year olds with anger and aggression problems. Controlled clinical research has demonstrated this program to reduce teacher- and parent-directed aggression; improve on-task behavior in the classroom; and enhance participants' verbal…

To reduce aggressive children's behavior problems and to reduce their high risk status for later major difficulties, an Anger Coping intervention based on cognitive behavioral techniques was developed (Lochman, Nelson, and Sims, 1981). Despite promising outcomes, testing showed not all children improved with this program. This study compared the…