Means-End Problem Solving Procedure Research Articles

Narrative Group Therapy for Alcohol Dependent Patients

A group therapy method was developed based on the results of previous research using narrative psychological approaches. Our primary technique was narrative restructuring. Alcohol addicted patients treated at our department were instructed to restructure their autobiography in a way that their linguistic expressions become more similar to those of recovering patients’. We presumed that it would have positive therapeutic effects, which could be measured with the Hopelessness Scale (HS) and the Means-Ends Problem Solving Procedure (MEPS). We recorded the tests before and after the group therapy sessions and the changes in results were compared (t-test) to those of control persons, who participated in other types of group therapy. We found significant difference between the case and control groups. Our therapeutic method reduced hopelessness and increased problem solving ability more effectively than other group therapies.

Social problem solving, autobiographical memory, trauma, and depression in women with borderline personality disorder and a history of suicide attempts

The primary aim of this study was to compare the retrieval of autobiographical memory and the social problem-solving performance of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and a history of suicide attempts, with and without concurrent diagnoses of depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to that of controls. Additionally, the relationships between autobiographical memory, social problem-solving skills, and various clinical characteristics were examined in the BPD group. Individuals with BPD who had made at least two suicide attempts were compared to controls with regard to specificity of autobiographical memory and social problem-solving skills. Autobiographical memory specificity and social problem-solving skills were further studied in the BPD group by comparing depressed participants to non-depressed participants; and autobiographical memory specificity was also studied by comparing participants with and without PTSD. A total of 47 women with a diagnosis of BPD and 30 controls completed the Autobiographical Memory Test, assessing memory specificity, and the means-end problem solving-procedure, measuring social problem-solving skills. The prevalence of suicidal/self-injurious behaviour, and the exposure to violence, was also assessed in the BPD group. Compared to controls, participants with BPD showed reduced specificity of autobiographical memory, irrespective of either concurrent depression, previous depression, or concurrent PTSD. The depressed BPD group displayed poor problem-solving skills. Further, an association between unspecific memory and poor problem-solving was displayed in the BPD group. Our results confirmed that reduced specificity of autobiographical memory is an important characteristic of BPD individuals with a history of suicide attempt, independent of depression, or PTSD. Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory was further related to poor social problem-solving capacity in the BPD group.

Suicidality and the state-trait debate on problem solving deficits: A re-examination with incarcerated young offenders

This research examines the relationships between means-end problem solving and suicidality in a group of Scottish incarcerated young offenders. The paper examines the issue concerning whether trait or state problem-solving deficits are more inextricably linked to suicidality. Using the Means-End Problem-Solving Procedure [MEPS] with 61 inmates, results suggested a more complex interaction between problem-solving deficits, affective state, and suicidality than previously suggested. The current study suggests that although problem-solving is not a trait phenomenon, it may be a state corollary of suicidality. The current study also provides evidence to suggest that psychological distress is both a trait and state indicator of parasuicidal behaviour - in particular concerning depression, which was more pronounced among inmates with a parasuicidal history than found in the comparison group.

Depression, problem-solving ability, and problem-solving appraisals.

Behavioral analytic methods were used to create a college student version of the Means Ends Problem Solving Procedure (MEPS). This instrument then was administered with measures of perceived problem-solving ability to depressed and nondepressed students to determine whether differences exist in both problem-solving ability and problem-solving appraisal. Analyses revealed that depressed subjects had more negative expectations and lower appraisals of their problem-solving ability. However, the groups did not differ in terms of the actual quality of their behavioral solutions to interpersonal, intrapersonal, and emotional problem situations. The results are interpreted as support for the role of cognitive factors in depression and problem-solving across a range of problem-solving situations.

L'aptitude à résoudre les problèmes interpersonnels chez les personnes âgées en fonction du niveau des sentiments dépressifs

RÉSUMÉAfin de dégager les aspects écologiques de la dépression chez les personnes âgées déprimées et non-déprimées, on a comparé l'aptitude à résourdre les problèmes interpersonnels sur des personnes âgées déprimées et des personnes âgées non-déprimées. Les évaluations effectuées sur quarante sujets n'ont révélé aucune différence d'aptitude au niveau des épreuves de la pensée optionnelle et de l'épreuve de la perception des conséquences entre les sujets déprimés et non-déprimés. Toutefois, les résultats démontrent certains liens entre les capacités de solution de problèmes interpersonnels et les variables démographiques. La présente étude constitue une contribution partielle à l'éclairage des problèmes spécifiques chez les sujets âgés déprimés.

Means-Ends Thinking in Public School Maladjusted Adolescents

Means-end thinking, or the ability to orient oneself to and conceptualize the means of moving towards a goal, develops or is crystalized during adolescence and is deemed necessary for adequate social adjustment. The present study used the Means-Ends Problem-Solving (MEPS) Procedure, a structured projective device to: 1) determine if this instrument could effectively discriminate between two groups of public school adolescents who differed in their level of social adjustment; and, 2) explore if the MEPS procedure could be an effective testing instrument for use in the diagnosis of behaviorally disordered (BD) public school adolescents. Thirty behaviorally disordered adolescent students and thirty adolescents who were not behavioral disordered (NBD) were administered the MEPS. Students were matched for age, sex, and grade level. The two groups did not differ on IQ scores or parents' levels of education. A 2(Group) x 4(MEPS Categories) ANOVA with repeated measures on the MEPS variable was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that the NBD students produced significantly more Relevant Means than did the behaviorially disordered students while the BD students produced significantly more No-Means responses. However, no significant differences were found between the groups on either the Irrelevant Means or No-Response categories. The two groups did differ significantly on the overall Relevancy Score indicating that the NBD students responded to the stories more frequently with Relevant Means than did the BD students. The MEPS procedure was effective in discriminating the means-end thinking of public school adolescents who differ in their levels of social adjustment. Some support is given for the use of the MEPS as a diagnostic instrument with adolescents who are deficient in their social adjustment.

Problem solving as a function of race and incarceration.

Summary The study employed a 2 (race = black, white) × 2 (environment = incarcerated, nonincarcerated) quasi-experimental design to test Ss' interpersonal problem-solving abilities and field-dependence/independence. One hundred males completed the Means-End Problem Solving Procedure, Problem Solving Inventory, and Embedded Figures Test. Analysis of covariance with age, intelligence, and socioeconomic status as covariants showed that environment made little difference in Ss' problem-solving ability or in perceptions of problem-solving strategies. Blacks generated fewer total alternative means to interpersonal problems, primarily because of the greater quantity of irrelevant means generated by White Ss. There were no significant racial differences on relevant means, indicating no difference in the quantity of high quality means generated. Blacks perceived themselves as using a more systematic approach to solving problems, while Whites perceived themselves as less impulsive. Blacks were found to be more fiel...