Evaluation of a brief intervention based on social cognitive theory to develop problem-solving skills among sixth-grade children

This study evaluated an intervention based on social cognitive theory (SCT) intended to develop problem-solving skills (PSS) in sixth graders. Psychom etrically tested measures were developed for (1) constructs of SCT (situati onal perception of stressors, expectations of PSS, self-efficacy for PSS, s elf-efficacy in overcoming barriers, and self control when applying PSS), ( 2) PSS, and (3) application of PSS to real-life problems. Five classrooms ( n = 133) were randomly assigned to the SCT-based intervention and five clas srooms (n = 127) to an equivalent knowledge-based intervention. Using a par tial nested design, statistically significant improvements for expectations of PSS, self-efficacy for PSS, and PSS were found in the SCT-based interve ntion. At posttest, 36% of the students in the SCT-based intervention repor ted applying PSS to real-life problems as compared with 1% in the knowledge -based group. This pilot study suggested that an SCT-based intervention was more efficacious in developing PSS than a knowledge-based intervention.