School-based Stress Management Training for Adolescents: Longitudinal Results from an Experimental Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a school-based universal preventive stress management training program for early and middle adolescents in comparison with a no-treatment control group. The study examined the intervention effects of age (early versus middle adolescents) and gender on perceived stress, interpersonal coping, and self-efficacy prior, immediately after as well as 3 months after the intervention. Three hundred and twenty adolescents (ages 10–14 years) participated in the study. Whereas both experimental conditions did not differ substantially in baseline scores, the experimental group scored higher on perceived self-efficacy compared to the control group at the follow-up assessment. Additionally, the experimental group showed less perceived stress and more adaptive coping at the post and follow-up assessment. Age-dependent intervention effects suggested that early adolescents primarily benefited from the treatment. Although the effects must be replicated using a randomized design, the current findings reveal that the program does strengthen important protective factors for the psychosocial development of adolescents.