Measures of effectiveness in a short-term Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving programme

Abstract

The effects of a classroom-based, short-term Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving programme for 24 7- and 8-year-old children were assessed immediately after a 4-week intervention programme and again after a 4-week follow-up period. A previous study (Erwin & Ruane, Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 7, 305–310, 1993) implementing such a short-term programme relied on sociometric testing to measure the social effectiveness of the training and failed to find any changes in social status. The present study incorporated playground observations and found behavioural improvements immediately after training and after the follow-up period for the experimental group. However, confirming the previous study, no significant differences in sociometric status were found. The results highlight the limitations of sociometry as a measure of the effectiveness of a programme of training in Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-solving.