Using group cognitive behavioural therapy intervention in school settings with pupils who have externalizing behavioural difficulties: An unexpected result

There has been a growing interest in the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in school settings by educational psychologists in England. This small-scale study set out to explore the effectiveness of a school-based, eight-session CBT intervention for 12-13-year-old children with externalizing behavioural difficulties. Twelve pupils were referred by a school's pastoral manager as having externalizing behavioural difficulties. Pupils were matched in pairs and then randomly assigned to two groups. One group received cognitive-behavioural intervention, while the other continued with normal school support (control group). Participants in both groups and their teachers completed a pre and post-intervention assessment taken from the Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC-2). Pupil self-ratings showed a large differential effect size (Cohen's d = 0.818) between the CBT group and the control group (F (1,8) = 7.080, p = 0.029). This indicates a positive change for pupils' self-perceptions of their behaviour. However, an unexpected result was found for teacher ratings, which positively changed for all pupils in the study and no differential effect was noted with all pupils reported to be better behaved at the end of the study. Our hypothesis is thus that there is a systemic effect of a targeted intervention by reducing the cumulative effect of low-level challenges that teachers experience. © 2012 Copyright 2012 SEBDA.