Inducing adaptive coping self-statements in children with learning disabilities through self-instruction training

This study investigated the efficacy of a coping strategy in reducing math anxiety in children with learning disabilities (LD). The coping strategy was based on cognitive behavior modification (CBM). Twenty children from Grades 4 to 7 participated in the study. Half of them were children with LD and the remaining were normally achieving children. The dependent measures were self-talk data and performance data on math (fraction) problems. Pretest data indicated that normally achieving children produced substantially more positive self-talk than children with learning disabilities. Subsequent to training in the use of the CBM-based coping strategy, children with LD produced a comparable amount of positive self-talk at posttest as found in normally achieving children. Moreover, there was a moderate, positive correlation between increased positive self-talk and math performance among the children with LD. The results clearly indicated that the children with LD had learned to cope with their math anxiety via a CBM-based strategy. More generally, the results of the study suggest that CBM strategies can be effectively applied to the affective domain. This broader implication and the limitations of the study are discussed.