Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention

OVERVIEW

The Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention was developed for children lacking in the everyday social skills needed to solve interpersonal problems. The 24-unit program focuses on problem-solving techniques but also includes components to address self-esteem, assertiveness, communication, stress management, and social values. Sixty-six 7^th-9^th graders were randomly assigned in an evaluation of the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention. The evaluation found that the program was effective in helping children generate more solutions and appropriate responses to social problems. The Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention was also effective in helping children consider the consequences of social actions as well as raising their internal locus of control. Another evaluation showed that students in the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention were more likely to generate many solutions to a problem and to use problem-solving skills to pick a solution to the problem.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th grade students with deficits in social skills

The Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention drew heavily from a similar program developed by Spivack, Platt, & Shure (1976). This program aims to provide tools such as conflict resolution, perspective taking, communication, and recognizing consequences of behavior to children lacking social skills in order to enhance their social interactions. There are 24 units within the program which each address a different component of interpersonal problem solving. The program uses discussion, group exercises, games, demonstrative practice, and role playing to convey information about social problem solving. Sessions last approximately 40 minutes and were attended twice weekly for a total of 20 weeks during the 3^rd and 4^th quarters of the school year (January - May). The training program is designed to span 4-5 months with sessions being held twice weekly.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Tellado, G. S. (1984). An evaluation case: The implementation and evaluation of a problem-solving training program for adolescents. Evaluation and Program Planning, 7, 179-188.

Evaluated population: 66 students in grades 7-9 (ages 11-16) who were identified by counselors as having deficits in social functioning. The students came from a rural Pennsylvania junior high school.

Approach: Students were assessed by guidance counselors on a scale of student behavior. To qualify for the study, students had to show clear social skills deficits. A sample of 66 students was selected and students were then randomly assigned to the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention program treatment condition or the control condition which received no additional intervention. Students in the treatment condition attended the program sessions during their normally scheduled study hall periods. Students were assessed on scales measuring social problem-solving means and ends, generation of alternative solutions, awareness of consequences, self-esteem, and locus of control.

Results: Treatment group children generated fewer irrelevant solutions and more relevant solutions compared with children in the control group, suggesting that control group children were less able to effectively solve social problems. Treatment group children were also able to generate a larger number of alternative solutions to social problems when compared to control group children. The treatment group children were found to be more likely to consider the consequences of social actions than children in the control group.

Sharma, M., Petosa, R., & Heaney, C. A. (1999). Evaluation of a brief intervention based on social cognitive theory to develop problem-solving skills among sixth-grade children. Health Education & Behavior, 26(4), 465-477.

Evaluated population: 260 6^th graders from 10 classrooms in a Midwestern suburban school. The families of the students were mostly white and middle-class.

Approach:

Five of the classrooms in the study were randomly assigned to receive the social cognitive training or to a control group, and the other five classrooms were randomly assigned to receive a knowledge-based comparison intervention or to a control group.

The intervention students participated in weekly 45-minute sessions in the classroom for three weeks. Led by a health educator, the first session involved brainstorming about stress and stressors, explaining the steps of the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, and completing activity sheets. The second session included a review of the first session, an application of the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention to a specific scenario, and examples of famous people using PSS in their lives. The final session included a scenario that the students suggested ways to apply the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention and examples of real life problems the students faced in the past week. The comparison group also participated in three weekly 45-minute classroom sessions. Their knowledge-based sessions included conveying knowledge about common stressors, effects of stress, ways to deal with stress, and the steps of the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention. Both interventions were delivered by the same health educator.

The students completed self-administered questionnaires one week before the intervention and one week after the intervention. Students were assessed on magnitude and frequency of stressors, expectations of theUntitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, self-efficacy for the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, confidence in using the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, self control in applying the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, and ability to identify a stressor and choose a solution through the means the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention provided.

Results: Intervention students showed significant improvements over time in expectations of the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, self-efficacy for the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, and the ability to identify a stressor and choose a solution through the means the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention provided. There were no significant improvements over time for intervention students for situational perception of stressors, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers while applying the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention, and self-control in applying the Untitled Social Cognitive Theory-Based (SCT-based) Intervention.

There was no significant difference between the intervention and comparison groups in problem identification, but significantly more intervention students (44.4%) thought of many solutions to a problem when compared with the comparison group (3.2%). Significantly more intervention students (36.1%) thought of good and bad points for their solutions when compared with the comparison group (0.8%). Compared with the comparison group (0.8%), significantly more intervention students (36%) reported applying PSS to a real-life problem.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Spivack, G., Platt, J. J., & Shure, M. B. (1976). The problem-solving approach to adjustment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Tellado, G. S. (1984). An evaluation case: The implementation and evaluation of a problem-solving training program for adolescents. Evaluation and Program Planning, 7, 179-188.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 11-16, grades 7-9 / Program age ranges in the Guide: mid-childhood, adolescence

Program components school-based

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development; life skills; behavioral problems

KEYWORDS: Middle Childhood (6-11), Adolescence (12-17), Children (3-11), Adolescents (12-17), School-based, Junior High School, Rural, Social/Emotional health and development, Life Skills Training, Self Esteem, Locus of Control, Problem Solving Skills, Behavioral Problems, Social Skills Deficits, White or Caucasian.

Program information last updated 7/1/09