Building Strength through Coping is an evidence-based, parenting education program designed to teach parents of 9- to 12-year-olds effective ways for helping their children cope with stress. Although we use the term “parent” in the pages that follow, the program would be helpful for anyone with responsibility for the care of children in this age range (parents, grandparents, other relatives, foster parents, childcare workers, etc.). Through 6 weekly, small group sessions (typically 6 to 12 parents per group) parents learn how: 1) to cope with stresses in their own lives; 2) to identify signs of stress in their children; 3) to have productive conversations with their children about feelings; and 4) to promote the development of effective child coping strategies. The sessions are engaging for parents of school-aged children. Parents learn to help their children cope with commonly occurring stressful situations through: 1) guided experiential learning activities; 2) small group work; and 3) facilitator-led, large group discussions.
All program materials are available in English and Spanish. The program is designed for families from a range of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds. In a randomized controlled trial with Latina mothers in central Washington State, mothers who received Building Strengths through Coping, compared to controls, showed greater use of positive strategies for helping their children cope with stress and reported greater confidence in helping their children cope. These findings were replicated in a second study where we also examined children’s coping and adjustment (at the end of the program and 3 months later). Children whose mothers had participated in Building Strength through Coping reported greater use of positive strategies for coping with stress and showed greater psychological adjustment. Although data on program effects to date have been collected only with the Spanish-speaking mothers, in the Spring of 2021 we conducted implementations with three separate groups of English-speaking mothers. Mothers in these sessions (conducted online due to Covid-19) found the lessons clear, relevant, helpful, and engaging (see research section for more details on all three studies).
Building Strength through Coping was developed by Washington State University Extension faculty members in collaboration with several Human Development Ph.D. students. Program development and the initial evaluations were funded in part by a grant from the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University.