Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

Children Are People Too (CAP)

OVERVIEW

The Children Are People Too (CAP) program is a school-based psychosocial and educational group program designed to address the problems of children who are exposed to familial substance abuse. Specifically, the program was designed for children of parents with alcoholism. The program is school-based and consists of between 8 and 10 sessions. Each weekly session includes opening and closing exercises and addresses a specific psychosocial concern that children may encounter. A random assignment study of 96 students in grades 3-6 found that the program decreased social isolation, improved peer relations, and reduced interpersonal aggression and disruptive conduct. A similar study of 206 inner city elementary school children found that the CAP program was effective in increasing students’ internal sense of control, feelings of self-worth, and social acceptance of others.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: The program is given in elementary schools and used in third to fifth grade classes. Children are eligible if they have families who are known or suspected of being substance-involved.

The Children Are People Too program is a psychosocial and educational program designed to influence the psychosocial problems that children face with regard to having a parent with alcoholism. The program includes between 8 and 10 weekly in-school sessions lasting 1 hour each. The sessions are highly structure and in each of these one-hour sessions, topics are addressed such as identifying and appropriately managing feelings, parental addiction, and personal safety issues. For the evaluation of the program presented below, the program was modified to focus on all substance abuse and not only alcoholism.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Dore, M. M., Kauffman, E., & Nelson-Zlupko, L. (1996, March 6-8). Designing, implementing, and evaluating a school-based psychoeducational group for children with behavioral problems from families with substance abuse problems. Paper presented at the 8^th Annual Research Conference of the Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health. Tampa, FL.

Evaluated population: The evaluated sample consisted of 96 elementary students in grades 3 through 6 who were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Participants were from three inner-city Philadelphia elementary schools that were selected as being located in areas of high drug trafficking and drug-related crime. Children were selected for the program if they had classroom behavior problems or their families were known or suspected of being substance-involved.

Approach: The evaluation was conducted using the Children Are People Too program; however, it had to be modified to serve children from single-parent families and to focus on familial substance abuse as opposed to simply parental alcoholism. The variation of the program also included topics such as drug-related violence in the family and neighborhood. The researchers modified the program to work with children who had limited verbal skills and other special needs.

In total, data were collected at three points in time: once in the fall before the program began, once before the spring, and in the late spring after the end of the program. Data were collected using standardized instruments. The researchers used the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Questionnaire, the Children’s Loneliness Questionnaire, and the Self-Perception Profile for Children. In addition, data were collected from teachers using the Teachers Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist and from group leaders. Data were also collected from teachers on how well they believed participants had grasped key program concepts.

Results: Program results showed that the only significant child-reported difference was on the Children’s Loneliness Questionnaire where participants in the treatment group had significantly lower scores than the control group (p=.02). Self perception and locus of control were not affected. With regard to teacher reports, children in the program group had lower interpersonal aggression, disruptive conduce, and better classroom behavior. The researchers conclude that the program was effective at decreasing social isolation and decreasing inappropriate classroom behavior and other social difficulties.

Dore, M. M., Nelson-Zlupko, L., & Kaufmann, E. (1999). “Friends in Need”: Designing and implementing a psychoeducational group for school children from drug-involved families. Social Work, 44(2), 179-190.

Evaluated Population: 206 children (129 male, 77 female) in grades 3-5 attending Philadelphia inner-city schools. Teachers selected students who they thought were particularly likely to be affected by family or neighborhood drug problems. Participants were 70% African-American, 29% Caucasian, and 1% other ethnicities.

Approach: 50 children were selected from 2 elementary schools each fall and randomly assigned to treatment in either the fall or spring semester. Those assigned to treatment in the spring semester served as the control group for those receiving treatment in the fall semester. Children in the treatment condition attended 8 weekly group sessions which lasted an hour and a half each. Children in the control group received normal school curriculum and no alternative treatment. Students were assessed in early fall, at the end of the fall semester, and also at the end of the spring semester on measures of teacher-reported classroom behavior and self-reported social isolation, locus of control, self-worth, and comprehension of concepts.

Results: Only one impact achieved statistical significance. Specifically, children in the experimental group were less likely than controls to physically attack another person, as reported by the teacher. Several non-significant findings also emerged. Children in the study were found to have a greater sense of internal locus of control, more accepting of others and had increased feelings of self-worth compared with those in the control group. There were no differences between the treatment and control groups on measures of loneliness and social isolation. The authors note that the treatment is brief, given the difficult circumstances of the subject children.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: Third to fifth grade students / Program age ranges in the Guide: mid-childhood

Program components: school-based

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development; behavioral problems

Program information last updated 7/24/07