Poor Social Problem Solving Research Articles

Parental Attachment, Self-Esteem, Social Problem-Solving, Intimate Partner Violence Victimization in Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adults can experience conflicts with their dating partner, leading to intimate partner violence (IPV). In order to understand the vulnerability factors involved in IPV victimization, the current study explored a serial multiple mediation model to determine the links between parental attachment (to the father and mother), self-esteem, and social problem solving (SPS) on the three forms of IPV (psychological, physical and sexual). Based on an online survey, 756 emerging adults (84.8% women, mean age = 23.52) completed self-report questionnaires related to parental attachment, self-esteem, SPS (avoidance and impulsive/carelessness style), and IPV during the past year. The study design was cross-sectional and data were analyzed through partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings did not support serial multiple mediation model, as the indirect effects of the two specific mediation models were not significant. However, the total indirect effects were significant, indicating a cascade effect chain of events between the variables; insecure parental attachment was related to lower self-esteem, which was associated with poor SPS skills (especially impulsive/carelessness style), which in turn was associated with both psychological and physical violence victimization. The implications of the findings for promoting the life skills of emerging adults, such as problem solving or self-esteem, to enable them to handle their relationship conflicts are discussed.

Social Problem Solving and Adolescent Alcohol Use Within the Context of Well-Established Risk Factors for Adolescent Alcohol Use

ABSTRACTSocial problem solving has been associated with alcohol use in adolescents, but has not been examined within the context of well-established risk factors, such as childhood conduct problems, parental history of alcohol use, association with deviant peers, and behavior undercontrol. This study surveyed 120, 18-year-old first-year college students to examine whether poor social problem solving is a risk factor for adolescent alcohol use above and beyond the other well-established risk factors and to examine whether social problem solving is a moderator between behavior undercontrol and alcohol use in adolescents. Hierarchical multiple regressions found that social problem solving was not a significant risk factor above and beyond well-established risk factors for adolescent alcohol use. Furthermore, social problem solving was not a significant moderator between behavior undercontrol and adolescent alcohol use. The results also indicated that association with deviant peers and family income accounted for significant variance in adolescent alcohol use, suggesting association with deviant peers and family income are the risk factors that are most strongly related to adolescent alcohol use.

Factor structure and item level psychometrics of the Social Problem Solving Inventory – Revised: Short Form in traumatic brain injury

Social problem-solving deficits characterise individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and poor social problem solving interferes with daily functioning and productive lifestyles. Therefore, it is of vital importance to use the appropriate instrument to identify deficits in social problem solving for individuals with TBI. This study investigates factor structure and item-level psychometrics of the Social Problem Solving Inventory – Revised: Short Form (SPSI-R:S), for adults with moderate and severe TBI. Secondary analysis of 90 adults with moderate and severe TBI who completed the SPSI-R:S was performed. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), principal components analysis (PCA) and Rasch analysis examined the factor structure and item-level psychometrics of the SPSI-R:S. The EFA showed three dominant factors, with positively worded items represented as the most definite factor. The other two factors are negative problem-solving orientation and skills; and negative problem-solving emotion. Rasch analyses confirmed the three factors are each unidimensional constructs. It was concluded that the total score interpretability of the SPSI-R:S may be challenging due to the multidimensional structure of the total measure. Instead, we propose using three separate SPSI-R:S subscores to measure social problem solving for the TBI population.

Autobiographical memory specificity and social problem solving in females with subclinical eating psychopathology

In comparison to healthy participants, patients with clinical eating disorders have been shown to retrieve fewer specific, and a greater number of general, memories on the autobiographical memory test (AMT). ‘Overgeneral’ memory is associated with poor social problem-solving (SPS). The current study examined if subclinical eating psychopathology is also associated with ‘overgeneral’ AM and poor SPS. High and low scorers on the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-II) were compared on their ability to retrieve specific memories in response to emotional word cues. Participants also completed the means-end SPS task (MEPS). High EDI scorers retrieved significantly fewer specific, and a greater number of categorical, memories than did the low EDI scorers. They also produced fewer, and less effective, means on the MEPS. Performance on the MEPS was positively related to AM specificity and negatively related to the number of categorical memories. These findings remained significant even after controlling for depression.

An experimental exploration of social problem solving and its associated processes in anorexia nervosa

People with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) have well-documented socio-emotional and neurocognitive impairments. As yet, little is known about their ability to solve problems in social situations, although a link with cognitive avoidance has been suggested. This study explored social problem-solving (SPS), using an experimental task. Secondly, the role of cognitive avoidance in SPS was investigated. Individuals with AN (n=31) and healthy controls (HC; n=39) completed the Social Problem Resolution Task which consists of problem scenarios involving awkward everyday social situations. Participants were asked to generate both the optimal solution and their personal solution. Solutions were rated in terms of how socially sensitive and practically effective they were. AN patients produced relatively poorer personal solutions compared to optimal solutions than HC participants and had higher scores on a measure of cognitive avoidance than the HC group. In AN patients, cognitive avoidance was partially associated with poor SPS. These findings suggest that whilst people with AN have no difficulty in generating socially sensitive and effective solutions to problems, but may have difficulty applying this knowledge to themselves.

Social Emotion Recognition, Social Functioning, and Attempted Suicide in Late-Life Depression

: Lack of feeling connected and poor social problem solving have been described in suicide attempters. However, cognitive substrates of this apparent social impairment in suicide attempters remain unknown. One possible deficit, the inability to recognize others' complex emotional states has been observed not only in disorders characterized by prominent social deficits (autism-spectrum disorders and frontotemporal dementia) but also in depression and normal aging. This study assessed the relationship between social emotion recognition, problem solving, social functioning, and attempted suicide in late-life depression. : There were 90 participants: 24 older depressed suicide attempters, 38 nonsuicidal depressed elders, and 28 comparison subjects with no psychiatric history. We compared performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and measures of social networks, social support, social problem solving, and chronic interpersonal difficulties in these three groups. : Suicide attempters committed significantly more errors in social emotion recognition and showed poorer global cognitive performance than elders with no psychiatric history. Attempters had restricted social networks: they were less likely to talk to their children, had fewer close friends, and did not engage in volunteer activities, compared to nonsuicidal depressed elders and those with no psychiatric history. They also reported a pattern of struggle against others and hostility in relationships, felt a lack of social support, perceived social problems as impossible to resolve, and displayed a careless/impulsive approach to problems. : Suicide attempts in depressed elders were associated with poor social problem solving, constricted social networks, and disruptive interpersonal relationships. Impaired social emotion recognition in the suicide attempter group was related.

Too upset to think: The interplay of borderline personality features, negative emotions, and social problem solving in the laboratory.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with poor social problem solving and problems with emotion regulation. In this study, the social problem-solving performance of undergraduates with high (n = 26), mid (n = 32), or low (n = 29) levels of BPD features was assessed with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised and using the means-ends problem-solving procedure before and after a social rejection stressor. The high-BP group, but not the low-BP group, showed a significant reduction in relevant solutions to social problems and more inappropriate solutions following the negative emotion induction. Increases in self-reported negative emotions during the emotion induction mediated the relationship between BP features and reductions in social problem-solving performance. In addition, the high-BP group demonstrated trait deficits in social problem solving on the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised. These findings suggest that future research must examine social problem solving under differing emotional conditions, and that clinical interventions to improve social problem solving among persons with BP features should focus on responses to emotional contexts.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury as a Predictor of Suicidal Behavior in Depressed Adolescents

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury as a Predictor of Suicidal Behavior in Depressed Adolescents

Social problem solving and depressive symptoms over time: a randomized clinical trial of cognitive-behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy, brief supportive psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy.

Depression is associated with poor social problem solving, and psychotherapies that focus on problem-solving skills are efficacious in treating depression. We examined the associations between treatment, social problem solving, and depression in a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of psychotherapy augmentation for chronically depressed patients who failed to fully respond to an initial trial of pharmacotherapy (Kocsis et al., 2009). Participants with chronic depression (n = 491) received cognitive-behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP; McCullough, 2000), which emphasizes interpersonal problem solving, plus medication; brief supportive psychotherapy (BSP) plus medication; or medication alone for 12 weeks. CBASP plus pharmacotherapy was associated with significantly greater improvement in social problem solving than BSP plus pharmacotherapy, and a trend for greater improvement in problem solving than pharmacotherapy alone. In addition, change in social problem solving predicted subsequent change in depressive symptoms over time. However, the magnitude of the associations between changes in social problem solving and subsequent depressive symptoms did not differ across treatment conditions. It does not appear that improved social problem solving is a mechanism that uniquely distinguishes CBASP from other treatment approaches.

Social Problem-Solving and Depressive Symptom Vulnerability: The Importance of Real-Life Problem-Solving Performance

Previous research suggests poor social problem-solving may function as a vulnerability factor for depressive symptoms. However, the ecological validity of previous findings is questionable, with recent research using real-life performance based approaches to ascertain how solutions are implemented in the ‘real world’. The current study employed a longitudinal design to examine the role of real-life problem-solving as a predictor of future depressive symptoms. Participants completed a diary of the interpersonal problems they encountered, and their attempts to solve them. They also completed traditional measures of social problem-solving (SPSI-R and MEPS task). Real-life problem-solving performance predicted depressive symptoms 3 months after the initial testing session, beyond the variance accounted for by traditional measures of social problem-solving. This suggests that the ability to hypothetically problem-solve is distinct from the ability to generate and implement problem-solving strategies in real-life, and that it is the latter which is most important in predicting depressive symptoms.

Predictors of Hopelessness Among Clinically Depressed Youth

Factors that distinguish depressed individuals who become hopeless from those who do not are poorly understood. In this study, predictors of hopelessness were examined in a sample of 439 clinically depressed adolescents participating in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). The total score of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) was used to assess hopelessness at baseline. Multiple regression and logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the extent to which variables were associated with hopelessness and determine which cluster of measures best predicted clinically significantly hopelessness. Hopelessness was associated with greater depression severity, poor social problem-solving, cognitive distortions, and family conflict. View of self, view of the world, internal attributional style, need for social approval, positive problem-solving orientation, and family problems consistently emerged as the best predictors of hopelessness in depressed youth. Cognitive and familial factors predict those depressed youth who have high levels of hopelessness.

Social problem solving in vulnerable adult prisoners: profile and intervention

Poor social problem-solving has been shown to be associated with vulnerability, distress, and suicidality in young prisoners. The objectives of this study were to compare the social problem-solving abilities of vulnerable adult prisoners and those who are coping better with imprisonment, and to examine the effectiveness of a social problem-solving intervention, Stop & Think!, with a sub-group of vulnerable prisoners. Scores on the Social Problem Solving Inventory – Revised (SPSI-R) were compared for adult prisoners on normal location (n = 47) and those on a special landing for vulnerable prisoners (n = 68). Pre- and post-treatment scores on the SPSI-R were compared for 28 vulnerable prisoners who participated in Stop & Think! The data indicate that vulnerable prisoners are poorer social problem-solvers than those who are coping with imprisonment; that Stop & Think! appears acceptable to vulnerable prisoners and the staff who work with them and is practically applicable on a special landing; and that Stop & Think! may effect positive change in social problem-solving abilities.

Alcohol and aggression: Gender differences in their relationships with impulsiveness, sensation seeking and social problem solving

Aims: In this study we investigated the relationships between impulsiveness, sensation seeking, social problem solving, harmful drinking and aggression.Design: Male (n = 39) and female (n = 69) students completed five questionnaires tapping the variables under study. Correlations and regression permitted examination of the relationships among the variables.Findings and conclusions: Impulsiveness was associated with aggression through the mediator of social problem solving in both the men and women. This supports the notion that high levels of impulsiveness may interfere with the acquisition of social problem‐solving skills and deficits in social problem solving increase the risk of aggression. Poor social problem solving was also related to harmful drinking, but in men only. In the present study, no association was found between drinking and aggression either in men or women. It may be that well‐developed social problem‐solving skills reduce the likelihood of aggressive solutions to problems. Further investigation of the possible protective function of good social problem‐solving skills against alcohol‐related aggression is warranted. Sensation seeking was not related to aggression in the present study, nor was there an association between sensation seeking and social problem solving. Sensation seeking correlated with drinking in both males and females, suggesting that alcohol is a sought after experience by sensation‐seekers in this sample.

In This Issue

In This Issue

An investigation of the correlations between aggression, impulsiveness, social problem‐solving, and alcohol use

AbstractImpulsivity has been shown to predict aggression and heavy drinking in males, and poor social problem‐solving has been identified as a potential mediating variable in this relationship. We set out to investigate the inter‐relationships among impulsiveness, social problem‐solving, aggression, and alcohol use in a non‐offender sample of British males (N=70). Of our proposed relationships, only two were significant: higher impulsivity was related to poorer social problem‐solving, and poorer social problem‐solving was related to greater aggression. Combining impulsivity and social problem‐solving indicated that poor social problem‐solving, not impulsivity, was what exerted the influence over aggression in this sample. Impulsivity perhaps presents an obstacle to learning in the early developmental years, and the legacy of poor problem‐solving is what later contributes to aggression. Aggr. Behav. 28:439–445, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

The relationship between social problem-solving and personality in mentally disordered offenders

Poor social problem-solving skills may account for some criminal behaviours in mentally disordered offenders, and social problem-solving may be mediated by personality traits. We examined the relationship between personality and social problem-solving in 52 mentally disordered offenders, (38 mentally ill and 14 personality disordered) detained in a regional secure unit. Since t-tests indicated no differences between the mentally ill and personality disordered groups, they were pooled into a single sample. Correlations indicated that high neuroticism (N) was related to poor social problem-solving, and high scores on the other five-factor traits were related to good social problem-solving. High N, which is a core feature of personality disorders as well as being a common feature of offenders, may signal emotional reactivity which militates against effective social problem-solving. N is, however, negatively correlated with extraversion (E), conscientiousness (C), and agreeableness (A), therefore partial correlations were conducted controlling for N. Once N is discounted, the main trait associated with problem-solving is openness (O), which is positively related to problem-solving, perhaps due to the relationship of O to intelligence and creativity. A positive correlation between E and a more positive problem orientation remains, perhaps because optimism is a defining feature of high E.