Social Problem-solving Skills Research Articles

Assessment of children's social problem-solving skills in hypothetical and actual conflict situations

This study compared the social problem-solving skills of 57 maladjusted and 57 well adjusted first and second graders in a series of hypothetical and actual provocations. All children were asked how they would react to four video-taped provocations involving same-age peers. They were also exposed to three provocations simulated by a peer-confederate; their verbal and nonverbal behaviors were videotaped. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that, overall, maladjusted subjects displayed less assertiveness and more verbal and nonverbal aggressive responses to the actual provocations. Conversely, hypothetical situations yielded few between-group differences with respect to verbal strategies. The validity of hypothetical situations is questioned; the importance of actual situations for assessment and intervention purposes is stressed.

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Stressful Life Events, Social Support, and Social Problem-Solving Skills: Contributions to Children's Behavioral and Academic Adjustment

We investigated the contributions of stressful life events and resources (social support and social problem-solving skills) to predicting changes in children's adjustment. At Time 1, 361 third through fifth graders completed measures of social support and social problem-solving skills. Their parents completed a stressful life events scale and a child behavior rating measure. The children's teachers provided ratings of behavioral and academic adjustment. 2-year follow-up data (Time 2) were obtained for approximately half of the sample on the same measures. Time 1 stressful life events and resources showed some significant but modest zero-order correlations with the Time 2 adjustment indices. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed prospective effects for Time 1 social support on later teacher-rated competencies and grade-point average. In addition, increases over time in social support and social problem-solving skills (a composite score) were significantly related to improvement in behavioral and academic adjustment, whereas stressful life events were not predictive of adjustment.

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Stressful Life Events, Social Support, and Social Problem-Solving Skills: Contributions to Children's Behavioral and Academic Adjustment

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Stressful Life Events, Social Support, and Social Problem-Solving Skills: Contributions to Children's Behavioral and Academic Adjustment

The role of interpersonal context in the assessment of social problem-solving skills

Social problem solving (SPS) has often been conceptualized as a set of interrelated skills that can be applied generically to a variety of situations. This study examined differences in young adolescents' SPS skills as a function of the interpersonal features inherent in the problem situation, namely whether the partner was a friend or an acquaintance. It also assessed the differential association between SPS skills in each of these contexts and teacher ratings of students' social competence. Results indicated higher quality responses to a hypothetical peer conflict situation with a friend relative to an acquaintance. Furthermore, the SPS skills exhibited in the friendship condition were significantly correlated with teacher judgments of student competence, whereas the skills displayed in the acquaintance condition were unrelated to competence ratings. These findings suggest the importance of considering interpersonal features of the situation when conducting SPS skill assessments.

Evaluation of a revised fourth grade social problem solving curriculum: Empathy as a moderator of adjustive gain

Two classrooms of fourth grade suburban children (n=37) were trained using a 20-lesson revised Social Problem Solving (SPS) curriculum and compared to two no-training comparison classrooms (n=45). Results indicated a significant increase in the number of alternative solutions to interpersonal difficulties generated by E versus C children on a group social problem solving measure. Adjustive gains for E versus C children were reported by teachers and children on indices of school adjustment. These findings supported the efficacy of the shortened curriculum in increasing problem solving skills and facilitating positive adjustive change.The link between gain in SPS skills and adjustive change was examined in two ways. Delta scores compared changes in SPS skills and changes in teacher/child adjustive ratings yield no significant relationships. Hierarchical regression analyses, incorporating a moderator variable (empathy), indicated a significant relationship among pre level of empathy, gain in SPS skills and teacher rated adjustive change. These findings supported the hypothesis that key moderating variables may play a role in the training and employment of SPS skills and that strategies designed to examine these variables need to be employed.

Automatic versus reflective social problem solving in relation to children's sociometric status.

Children's automatic and reflective social problem-solving skills were compared by requiring them to generate solutions to hypothetical social problems immediately after hearing them or after being required to wait 20 s before answering. The implications of the findings for aggressive and rejected children's social problem-solving deficiencies are discussed

Social problem-solving in dual diagnosis patients

Social problem-solving skills among dual-diagnosis patients were compared to two control groups: psychiatric patients without substance abuse problems and community volunteers. A standardized, behavioral role-play test consisting of four scenarios representing interpersonal problems yielded two reliable dependent variables: (a) specificity, or elaboration, of the problem-solving response and (b) overall effectiveness of the response. Analyses of covariance (using a measure of intellectual function as the covariate) indicated that both dual-diagnosis patients and psychiatric controls were significantly poorer problem-solvers than were community controls. The overall pattern of the results indicated that deficits observed in a dual-diagnosis sample are not necessarily compounded due to the presence of the coexisting disorders. Implications of these findings, strengths and limitations of this study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Effects of Problem-Solving Therapy on Outcomes of Parent Training for Single-Parent Families

The present study investigated whether the effectiveness of parent training for single-parent families could be enhanced with the addition of problem-solving treatment addressing non-child problems. Eleven mothers with conduct-disordered children between 4 and 9 years of age were randomly assigned to either Intensive Parent Training (IPT) or Parent Training plus training in social problem-solving skills targeted for problems other than child management (PTPS). Mothers in both treatment conditions reported significant reductions in externalizing child behavior problems post-treatment and at 4-month follow-up. Mothers in the PRPS condition reported significantly greater decreases in externalizing child behavior problems at follow-up than mothers in the IPT condition. These results suggest that single-parent families benefit more from parent training when non-childrearing difficulties are also addressed in treatment.

A Comparison of Children With and Without Learning Disabilities on Social Problem-Solving Skill, School Behavior, and Family Background

The study compared 86 children with learning disabilities (LD) with 86 matched children without learning disabilities (NLD) on three domains of variables: social problem-solving skill, teacher-rated school behavior and competence, and family background. The children with LD and the NLD group differed on variables in all three domains. More specifically, the children with LD were able to generate fewer alternatives for solving social problem situations, showed less tolerance for frustration and less adaptive assertiveness, and had more overall classroom behavior problems and less personal and social competence in a variety of areas as rated by teachers. Children having LD also showed more family background difficulties (e.g., lack of educational stimulation at home, economic difficulties). The findings suggest the need for greater attention to social and behavioral remediation for children with LD and greater involvement of their families, in addition to the cognitive and academic remediation emphasized in existing curricula for children with LD.

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

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

Psychotherapy for Adults Within a Problem-Solving Framework: Focus on Depression

Programs designed to help people cope more effectively with stressful life situations via training in social problem-solving skills have increased over the past decade. This article focuses specifically on problem-solving therapy for unipolar depression and provides a brief description of treatment guidelines for conducting psychotherapy with adult depressives. This therapy approach entails systematic training in the following five problem-solving processes: problem orientation, problem definition and formulation, generation of alternatives, decision making, and solution implementation and verification. Additionally, various clinical considerations concerning this treatment model are highlighted.

Social problem-solving skills of young physically abused children

The ability of physically abused children to resolve hypothetical social problems was compared to the social problem-solving skills of a comparison group of nonabused children. Analyses indicated that the abused children generated a more narrow range of solutions and were more likely to perserverate on negative solutions. Implications for intervention and future research are made.

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.

The Relation between Stressful Life Events and Adjustment in Elementary School Children: The Role of Social Support and Social Problem-Solving Skills

The Relation between Stressful Life Events and Adjustment in Elementary School Children: The Role of Social Support and Social Problem-Solving Skills

Social Cognitive Influences on Early Adolescents' Decisions to Copy Software in Hypothetical Situations

The relationship between sociomoral reasoning and social problem-solving (SPS) skills in the prediction of decisional choice was investigated. The criterion behavior involved hypothetical decisions of whether or not students, 53 seventh graders, would violate a school rule prohibiting the copying of computer software. Using written interviews, decisional choices were evoked in three different contexts: an ambiguous situation, a situation with clear rules, and an interpersonal dilemma. Significant positive correlations were found between sociomoral reasoning, a quantitative measure of problem sensitivity, and a qualitative measure of problem sensitivity. Each of these three measures was found to be predictive of decisional choice, but only in the ambiguous context. A Roy-Bargmann stepdown analysis showed that the sensitivity measures explained variance in decisional choice beyond that accounted for in knowledge of computer ethics and sociomoral reasoning.

Effects of a negative social experience on the emotional and social-cognitive responses of aggressive-rejected children.

Social problem-solving skills of aggressive-rejected children are usually assessed through hypothetical situations in a neutral setting where little or no reference is made to the emotional aspects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the social problem-solving skills of 57 aggressive-rejected (Group 1) and 57 prosocial-popular (Group 2) children of both sexes in Grades 1 and 2 by using as problem situations what happened in standardized provocations involving them with a trained peer-accomplice. An individual interview, aimed at disclosing emotions felt during the provocations, intentions attributed to the accomplice and possible reactions if confronted again with the same provocations, was conducted immediately after the session for half the subjects of each group. The other subjects were interviewed after a 10-min. delay. Analysis showed that Group 1 subjects would be less verbally assertive than Group 2 subjects if confronted again with the same provocations. The first graders from Group 1 also attributed fewer positive intents to the author of the provocations than Group 2 classmates. Second graders of both groups attributed more negative and fewer positive intents to the peer-accomplice when the interview immediately followed the provocations than when it was delayed. Similarly, second grade boys interviewed right away were more prone to use physical and verbal retaliation if the provocations were to happen again. These results highlight the influence of emotions on the social reasoning skills of aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-nonrejected children.

Social competence in the schools: Toward an integrative developmental model for intervention

The promotion of social problem-solving skills in school-age children has been only partially successful in improving their social adjustment. The design and evaluation of training programs has been hindered by the inadequacies of most current models of social competence and its relation to social cognition. In this paper, we delineate the necessary components of a coherent model and review the shortcomings of previous approaches. We then describe a model of the development of a specific form of social competence—namely, interpersonal negotiation strategies (INS)—and its social-cognitive underpinnings. The INS model embodies several conceptual advances compared to previous models linking social cognition to social behavior: It integrates functional (information-processing) and structural (cognitive-developmental) approaches, specifies a linkage between social cognition and action within a particular domain of social interaction, and provides for developmental, individual, and contextual variations in the expression of behavior in that domain. The implications of the INS model for social problem-solving training in the schools are reviewed, together with an example of the implementation of the model in a specific educational context. The INS model may help provide a more coherent basis for the school-based delivery of developmentally appropriate interventions designed to foster children's social skills.

A Social Skills Development Model: Coping Strategies for Children with Chronic Illness

The problems of children with chronic illness generally extend beyond immediate medical concerns Some of these children experience concomitant psychosocial problems This article describes a family-focused social skills development model which has been used in the children's mental health field to improve children's social interaction, impulse control, and social problem-solving skills In this model, skill training can be focused directly on the child, the family, or both, depending on the resources available, the individual family situation, and whether the child is receiving inpatient or outpatient services Possible preventative and remedial applications of this social skills development model for children and families with chronic illness are discussed.

Self-esteem, control beliefs, and cognitive problem-solving skill as risk factors in the development of subsequent dysphoria

Low self-esteem, external control beliefs, and low social problem-solving skill have all been found to correlate with concurrent depressive symptoms, suggesting that they may function as risk factors for the development of future depression. But there have been very few investigations of whether these variables actually place persons at risk for future depression. This research was a 21/2-month prospective investigation of whether measures of these constructs could predict the development of dysphoria and to what extent these factors operated by moderating stressful life events. After initial symptom levels were controlled, personal control beliefs predicted subsequent dysphoria by moderating the effects of subsequent negative life events such that internal subjects were unaffected by life stress. Self-esteem, however, did not predict follow-up dysphoria. Persons with low cognitive problem-solving scores were more likely to experience subsequent symptoms regardless of stress level. In addition, coping styles involving high levels of advice seeking were also associated with increased subsequent dysphoria.

A research review and alternative hypothesis explaining the link between learning disability and delinquency.

Current hypotheses explaining the link between learning disability and delinquency are reviewed and evaluated. Research from diverse fields is integrated and an alternative hypothesis is proposed to explain the link between learning disability and delinquency. The alternative hypothesis postulates that ineffective social cognitive problem-solving skills increase risk for delinquency in learning disabled youth. Future research is suggested.