SNAP® For Schools: Impact on Internalizing Symptoms

Abstract

Stop Now And Plan (SNAP®) is an empirically supported cognitive behavioural program for children identified as presenting with externalizing problems. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the implementation of the SNAP® for Schools program as a universal prevention program for children not identified as presenting with internalizing or externalizing problems, specifically, whether the program would lead to reductions in emotion dysregulation, anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety sensitivity. It was hypothesized that the SNAP® for Schools program would reduce emotion dysregulation and internalizing constructs in non-identified, school-aged children. The sample consisted of elementary school children in Grades 3 and 4. Participating children completed a battery of symptom measures one week pre- (n = 65) and post-SNAP® (n = 57) as well as one month after (n = 54) completing SNAP® in their classrooms. For children who scored in the upper 10% on the measure total and/or subscale scores, reductions in emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity were observed. Findings contribute to a better understanding of the effectiveness of SNAP® for reducing emotion dysregulation and internalizing symptoms in children with elevated internalizing symptoms and emotion dysregulation. Limitations and future directions are discussed.Keywords: Stop Now and Plan®; universal prevention program; internalizing symptoms; emotion dysregulation; cognitive behaviour therapy