This study is a report of an evaluation of the effectiveness of a school based coping skills program on a sample of 83 adolescents (14–17 years) recruited from a secondary school in metropolitan Melbourne. All participants completed the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993a) on three occasions: prior to program implementation, 1 week after program completion and 6 months after program completion. The results indicated a significant increase in the coping style, “reference to others”, with males increasing their use of this coping style more than females upon completion of the program. The findings are discussed in terms of the benefits increased use of seeking support from others has on male adolescents and of the importance of using programs as part of a comprehensive approach to health promotion within schools.
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