Social-cognitive problem solving in children: Assessing the knowledge and application of skills

Abstract

The present study focused on theoretical and practical apects of group assessment of social-cognitive problem solving in 9- to 12-year-old children. Measurement formats emphasizing skill, knowledge, and application were used to examine how children organize their problem-solving thinking under obstacle and nonobstacle conditions. Analyses replicated across three independent cohorts of children delineated several reliable cross-situational quantitative and qualitative indices of problem solving. Introduction of an obstacles procedure into the assessment format evoked a situation-specific pattern of response in which outcome efficacy, alternative thinking, and planning skills were interrelated in a stable manner. While no sex differences were found across cohorts, some grade-level differences were noted. For example, strength of relationship of nonobstacle to obstacle scores varied between upper elementary and middle school grades. Problem Analysis and Action, Specificity of Planning, and qualitative Consequences scores reliably differentiated behaviorally and emotionally disturbed children from other subgroups in middle school. The findings are discussed with special emphasis on implications from a developmental psychopathology perspective. Situation specificity, the role of obstacles in problem-solving assessment, caveats concerning social problem-solving training and transition of children to middle school, and areas for subsequent research are considered.