COPE TEENS

https://www.cope2thriveonline.com/

Initiative Description: The COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) Healthy Lifestyles TEEN (Thinking, Emotions, Exercise, and Nutrition) program included 15 manualized sessions that delivered (a) educational information on leading a healthy lifestyle and (b) CBSB, which included practice and role-playing. Content of the educational sessions included (a) creating a healthy lifestyle, (b) strategies to build self-esteem, (c) stress management, (d) goal setting, (e) effective communication, (f) nutrition, and (g) physical activity.

Study results: Adolescents in the COPE program increased their healthy lifestyle choices and reported a decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms from baseline to postintervention follow-up. A subset of 7 overweight adolescents in the COPE program had a decrease in triglycerides and an increase in high-density lipoproteins. In addition, these overweight adolescents reported increases in healthy lifestyle beliefs and nutrition knowledge along with a decrease in depressive symptoms.

Reference: Melnyk, B. M., Jacobson, D., Kelly, S., O’Haver, J., Small, L., & Mays, M. Z. (2009). Improving the mental health, healthy lifestyle choices, and physical health of Hispanic adolescents: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of School Health, 79(12), 575 584. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00451.x

Level of evidence: Very Good