Poster #169 - Promoting Social-Emotional and Behavioral Skills Through Social Problem-Solving: A Randomized Control Trial Intervention

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Prevention and Interventions

Integrative Statement

Students who do not acquire social and emotional skills are at risk for a range of negative outcomes that include behavioral disabilities, lower school achievement and school failure, peer rejection, substance abuse, and school dropout (Downer & Pianta, 2006; Riggs et al., 2006 Quinn & Poirier, 2004). Social problem-solving is a cognitive-behavioral intervention that teaches children to understand others’ intentions, generate multiple solutions to social problems, and choose appropriate responses (Daunic et al., 2006; Smith & Daunic, 2006), thereby positively affecting anger, executive functions, behavioral problems, and social problem-solving skills (Smith et al., 2009). This study presents preliminary, descriptive findings from the first cohort of schools participating in a social problem-solving intervention on students’ social-emotional, behavioral, and problem-solving skills.

Tools for Getting Along (TFGA) (Daunic et al., 2006) is a classroom-based, universally delivered, social problem-solving intervention that is designed to help upper elementary teachers establish a positive, cooperative classroom atmosphere and enable students to become more effective, and proactive problem solvers as they encounter social challenges. Five schools in one school district were randomly assigned to the TFGA condition, and five were assigned to the control condition. Twelve fourth grade teachers received training in the TFGA curriculum, whereas the control group (N = 13) delivered business as usual.

Teacher and student questionnaires were collected at baseline and in the spring from students in the treatment (n = 159) and control (n = 187) conditions. Students completed the Anger Expression Scale for Children, the Social Problem Solving Inventory, and a Problem-Solving Knowledge Questionnaire. Teachers completed the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions and the Clinical Assessment of Behavior. Researchers also conducted classroom observations to assess fidelity to the curriculum. We analyzed preliminary, descriptive results by comparing treatment group differences in the fall and spring.

Descriptive results indicated that student-reported measures were equivalent in the fall. In the spring, students in the treatment group reported significantly higher trait anger and lower anger control than students in the control group. Students in the treatment group reported significantly higher problem-solving knowledge than students in the control group. In the spring, compared to the control group, treatment teachers reported that students had lower internalizing behaviors. There were no other significant differences in teachers’ reports of students’ spring executive functions or behavioral problems.

Results are preliminary, and from the first of two cohorts, representing less than 20% of our full sample size. Results indicated that treatment group students reported higher anger in the spring than control group students. It is possible that this is because one component of the curriculum is teaching students to recognize their anger. Results also suggested that intervention students learned more about problem solving strategies, and had fewer internalizing problems. Future analyses will account for the nested structure of the data (e.g., students within classrooms), and the randomization at the school level. In addition, the spring treatment group differences do not account for students’ baseline skills. Finally, future analyses will incorporate teachers’ fidelity to the TFGA curriculum.

Authors

• Elisa B Garcia, SRI International
  Presenting Author

• Kerry Friedman, SRI International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Carl Sumi, SRI International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michelle Woodbridge, SRI International
  Non-Presenting Author