Dissemination of the Coping Power program: importance of intensity of counselor training

This study examined an important but rarely investigated aspect of the dissemination process: the intensity of training provided to practitioners. Counselors in 57 schools were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: Coping Power-training plus feedback (CP-TF), Coping Power-basic training (CP-BT), or a comparison condition. CP-TF counselors produced reductions in children's externalizing behavior problems and improvements in children's social and academic skills in comparison to results for target children in both the comparison and the CP-BT conditions. Training intensity was critical for successful dissemination, although the implementation mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear, as condition effects were not significant for completion of session objectives but were significant for the quality of counselors' engagement with children.