The Effect of Social Problem Solving Ability on the Adjustment of Third-Grade Children
The Effect of Social Problem Solving Ability on the Adjustment of Third-Grade Children
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Date
1983
Authors
Keys, Susan Gies
Advisor
Celotta, Beverley
Citation
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Abstract
Many children experience interpersonal problems and
frequently these children lack the necessary skills to
successfully resolve such issues. Social problem-solving
training programs have recently evolved as a means for
developing specific cognitive problem-solving skills. The
primary question investigated in this study was whether or
not problem-solving ability affects adjustment as measured
by teacher ratings. The effect of problem-solving training
on specific problem-solving skills was also assessed.
Children were randomly selected and assigned to either
a problem-solving program or a career awareness control
group. The treatment and control conditions were administered
by 10 elementary school counselors in 10 different
elementary schools. A small group format was used with
eight students per group. One hundred and fifty-seven
subjects, 78 experimental and 79 control, participated in
the study. All students were posttested on a set of 17 dependent
variables. Twelve of these were problem-solving variables
(conflict identification; feeling identification; goal identification;
quantity of alternatives; alternative decision;
quality of chosen alternative; quantity of consequences;
quantity of means-end steps; quality of means-end steps;
persistency; quantity of problem-solving steps; and sequencing
of problem solving steps) and five were adjustment
variables. The adjustment variables correspond to the five
factors of the Health Resources Inventory: gutsy; good
student; rules; peer sociability; and frustration tolerance.
A significant multivariate F (p < .001) for treatment
suggests that problem-solving training had a significant
impact on the set of dependent variables. Additional univariate
analysis of variance results for each dependent
variable reflected a significant difference between experimentals
and controls on seven of the problem-solving variables
and two of the adjustment variables. The multivariate
F tests for sex and interaction were not significant.
These results suggest that social problem-solving
ability can significantly affect the adjustment of third-grade
children. The effect of problem-solving training on
problem-solving skills supports this result. This study
also discusses these two sets of results in relationship to
the findings of prior research and addresses implications
for future research and practice.