The effectiveness of proactive coping intervention for students with learning disabilities

Abstract The presence of Learning Disabilities (LD) increases the possibility of psychological distress due to the negative school experiences. Apart from academic difficulties, students with LD are facing social and emotional problems related to their disabilities. If the psychological distress evolves over time without proper management, it may lead to psychosocial maladjustment. Previous research has shown that proactive coping helps minimize stress and maladjustment issues and is a predictor of success in people with LD. In comparison to students without LD, students with LD in Kerala have lower proactive coping and are more maladjusted. Hence, the current study has tailored an intervention to enhance proactive coping for students with LD. The present study followed the quasi-experimental research design to examine the effectiveness of the intervention on students with LD. A total of 200 participants from various schools across Kerala were initially selected using a multistage random sampling method. Subsequently, participants exhibiting the lowest scores in proactive coping were identified, and then 60 of them were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group for the intervention. Proactive Coping Inventory for Adolescents and Adjustment Inventory for School Students were the tools used in this study. The data collected from the experimental and control groups following the intervention were analysed using Mixed analysis of variance and Repeated Measures of ANOVA. The findings of the study showed that the proactive coping intervention has significantly enhanced the proactive coping and social emotional adjustment of students with LD. Using these proactive coping interventions in remedial instruction will enable the students to develop a healthy coping style that benefits their personal growth.