A proposal to study the effectiveness of the FRIENDS for Life program

Abstract

The overall purpose of my Masters of Education (Counselling Psychology) project is to present a research proposal designed to replicate past findings showing the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural resilience-building/anxiety prevention program called “FRIENDS for Life” (FFL) within an Alberta school district. Anxiety and anxiety disorders represent the most common and debilitating forms of psychopathology in children (Donovan & Spence, 2000; Wehry, Beesdo-Baum, Hennelly, Connolly, & Strawn, 2015) thus, research efforts have begun to prioritize the development and ongoing effectiveness of anxiety prevention and intervention programs. While two studies performed in Canada indicate that the FFL program is effective in lowering rates of self-reported anxiety in some students (Rose, Miller, & Martinez, 2009; Miller, et al.,2011) this does not inevitably imply its success in other provincial school systems. As a result, the following is a detailed research design with the goal of providing future researchers a framework to evaluate the FFL program within specific community and/or school settings.