Measures Of Social Problem Solving Research Articles

Social Processing Correlates of Nonverbal Social Perception in Schizophrenia

This study examines the relationship of nonverbal social perception to other areas of social functioning in schizophrenia. One model of interpersonal problem-solving skills presents a sequence of receiving, processing, and sending skills. Social perception skills best fit the first stage in this model: receiving skills. As expected, schizophrenic subjects (N = 29) were less skillful than normal subjects (N = 15) on measures of social problem solving, understanding of social sequences, and social judgment. In addition, performance on these tasks was significantly related to nonverbal social perception, but only for the schizophrenic group. Thus, deficits in nonverbal social perception are related to other measures of social functioning in schizophrenia. Implications of these findings for understanding and treating social deficits in schizophrenia are discussed.

Conceptual and methodological issues in social problem-solving assessment

Several promising instruments are currently available to researchers and clinicians who require a reliable and valid measure of social problem-solving abilities. However, all of these measures have shortcomings and none has definitive, unequivocal support for its construct validity at the present time. The conceptual and methodological issues that are most directly related to the validity of social problem-solving measures were discussed. The strengths and weaknesses of the major current instruments were examined with respect to these issues. Empirical evidence related to convergent and discriminant validity was also reviewed. Recommendations were made for the improvement of these measures as well as the future development of new and better measures of social problem-solving processes and outcomes.

Social problem solving among popular and unpopular children.

The present study investigated two issues related to children's social status and problem solving: the content of problem-solving measures and judgments of the quality of responses to social problems. Three types of social problem situations were studied: peer entry/initiation, maintaining social interaction, and management of conflict. The quality of children's strategies for solving these problems was rated on two dimensions: effectiveness and social competence. Liked-most children obtained significantly more effective and socially competent ratings than liked-least children for only one of the social problem situations--management of conflict. Significant differences between liked-most and liked-least children were also found between the quality of their best effective and best socially competent solution and their worst socially competent solutions. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric adequacy of social problem-solving measures and the resultant problems in interpretation.

Depression and social problem solving.

Twenty depressed patients with major depressive disorder, 20 nondepressed matched control subjects, and 17 patients with anxiety disorders were compared in different measures of social problem solving. Problem solving was assessed with the Means-Ends Problem-Solving Test (Study 1), the solution of personal problems, and a problem-solving questionnaire (Study 2). Results showed that, as predicted, depressed subjects suffered from a deficit in problem solving in all three measures. The majority of these deficits were also displayed by the clinical control group rather than being specific to a diagnosis of depression. However, depressed subjects produced less effective solutions than did normal and clinical control subjects. The results suggest that depressed and anxious patients may have difficulties at different stages of the problem-solving process.

Social problem-solving in depressed, conduct-disordered, and normal adolescents

Although past theory and research implicate social problem-solving deficits in both depression and aggressive disorders, research examining carefully diagnosed groups of adolescent depressed and conduct-disordered groups had not previously been conducted. In the current study three groups of adolescents (major depression, conduct-disordered, and normal) were studied using two social problem-solving measures. Both the Means-Ends Problem-Solving task (MEPS) and the Social Situations Analysis measure (SSA) failed to show social problem-solving problem deficits in the depressed group relative to their normal age peers, but did provide corroborative evidence for social problem-solving deficits in the conduct-disordered sample. Relative to the other two groups, the conduct-disordered adolescents were found to generate fewer means to a social end, to anticipate fewer obstacles in the pursuit of solutions to interpersonal situations, and to generate fewer assertive behavioral solutions to difficult social situations. The results are discussed in relation to other work with depressed and aggressive youth, and directions for future research are given.

Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders: II. Intervention.

Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders: II. Intervention.

The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: the role of social support and social problem-solving skills.

This study investigated the relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children, with particular emphasis on the potential main and stress-buffering effects of social support and social problem-solving skills. Third through fifth graders (N = 361) completed social support and social problem-solving measures. Their parents provided ratings of stress in the child's environment and ratings of the child's behavioral adjustment. Teachers provided ratings of the children's behavioral and academic adjustment. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed significant stress-buffering effects for social support and problem-solving skills on teacher-rated behavior problems, that is, higher levels of social support and problem-solving skills moderated the relation between stressful life events and behavior problems. A similar stress-buffering effect was found for problem-solving skills on grade-point average and parent-rated behavior problems. In terms of children's competent behaviors, analyses supported a main effect model of social support and problem-solving. Possible processes accounting for the main and stress-buffering effects are discussed.

Age and gender differences in solutions to hypothetical social problems

One hundred and twenty preschoolers and 77 kindergartners individually were administered a measure of social problem-solving. This measure consisted of five stories in which a protogonist sought to acquire an object from a same- or different-age or same- or different-sex target. Age differences in the numbers and types of strategies were few. However, kindergarteners showed greater flexibility in strategy sequencing. Prosocial strategies were more often directed to older targets; agonistic strategies were more often directed to younger targets. Girls suggested more prosocial strategies when girls sought an object from bay targets. Given the results it is suggested that flexibility is social problem-solving and attention to target characteristics should be included in future social problem solving training programs.