ABSTRACT
In the dynamic interplay between person and environment, coping skills are an important factor in adaptational outcomes such as subjective well being, social functioning, and physical and emotional health. Research examining the prevalence of risk factors in children suggests that children's aggressive and oppositional behaviors are starting earlier and escalating in intensity. Coping strategies or effective habituated reactions to stress or challenge are important to all aspects of life, including situations of mild and severe stress. Parenting programs have proven effective in reducing early onset-conduct problems and reducing conduct and comorbid attention problems. Social skills have been defined as socially acceptable learned behaviors that facilitate interactions with others in ways that elicit positive responses and avoid negative responses. Research has demonstrated that coping and social skills are important factors in child development and social-emotional adjustment. Both coping and social skills have been issues of concern for school violence and other youth problems.
