The SCT-based program evaluated in this study taught a problem-solving process
adapted from the work of Spivack and colleagues.24,25 This process entailed the following
steps: identifying the problem being experienced, generating alternative solutions to the
problem, evaluating the various alternative solutions, choosing the solution that is most
likely to be effective without having negative repercussions, and enacting the chosen
solution. The intervention consisted of three 45-minute sessions delivered in the classroom
once a week for three weeks. The intervention was developed and implemented
among sixth graders because stressors become more important during the transition from
elementary to middle school, and the cognitive sophistication of the students has reached
a level at which they begin to understand the consequences and influences of their actions
and behaviors.8 The first session included brainstorming in response to the terms stress
and stressors, explication of the steps PSS, and a participatory discussion about the benefits
of using PSS. Students were helped to remember the steps of PSS by the acronym
SMART: stressor (name it), many ways (think), all good points about each way, (w)rong
points about eachway, and try oneway after thinking manyways. Two activity sheets that
helped the students identify personal stressors and recapitulate the steps of SMART were
given as assignments. In the second session, besides reviewing the learning from the first
session, the health educator worked with students to walk through a detailed, stepwise
application of the SMART to a case scenario that depicted a student who is often late for
school. Students were also asked about their role models, and it was explained how some
of the popular role models among kids their age (such as Michael Jordan) have successfully
applied PSS in their lives