social problem solving

71+ Free Social Problem-Solving Scenarios

Do you have kiddos who struggle with their social problem-solving skills? Teach your students the simple process of how to solve a problem along with having them review how well their solution worked or didn’t work.

Why Teach Problem Solving Skills?

Learning to problem solve is an essential skill that is used not only throughout childhood but also into adulthood. Social problem solving is the ability to change or adapt to undesirable situations that arise throughout our day.

On a daily basis, a child will encounter social problems that they will need to solve.

Anything from:

• arguing with another student
• to hurting a friend’s feelings
• to having a difficult conversation
• working with others

Start with Small Problems

Many of the “problems” children encounter are often small problems which the child may be over-reacting to, such as wanting a different coloring crayon or wanting to be first in line, however, these small problems are still very real to the child.

Practicing problem-solving with these small problems can be a great learning opportunity. Children can practice problem-solving with a small problem which can help them learn how to handle bigger problems in the future.

Problem Solving Importance

Social problem-solving skills are critical to a child’s social interactions, personal and professional relationships. A child’s ability to handle change, cope with stress, and handle challenges improves with a child’s ability to successfully solve social problems.

The ultimate goal is that the child will be able to solve social problems all on their own, but until they can independently solve a problem they will need to learn how to communicate and self-advocate to positively solve their problems.  

Steps to Problem Solving

Children can be taught how to problem solve through a guided process of breaking down the problem and using simple steps to solve the problem.

Learning specific steps to problem-solving can allow children to remember how to solve a problem when they become overwhelmed or stressed.

Although learning to solve a problem independently can take some time and practice it is well worth the investment to have a child who can eventually solve most social situations in a positive manner on their own.

What we learnt about solving problems is don't freak out, if one thing doesn't work , try something else out. And work together as a team. #melthammathsweek #MELTHAMPUPILVOICE @problemsolveit pic.twitter.com/iVm1Im4Aue — yr6melthamce (@yr6melthamce) February 4, 2019

Problem Solving Form

Teach your students the 4 steps to becoming a social problem-solver.

• Identify the problem. For instance, start by having your student identify the social problem.
• Create three solutions. Also, have your student come up with three different solutions that they could use to solve the problem that they identified.
• Identify the consequences. Then, identify the consequence for each individual solution.
• Pick the best solution.  Lastly, have your student identify which of their three solutions is the best choice Then have your student put into words why they think that solution is the best solution.

Problem Solving Review Form

After your students go through the social problem-solver have them use the social problem-solving review form.

• What happened.  For instance, after your student tried their solution have them explain what happened next.
• Review the results. Also, have your student identify whether or not their solution got them the results they wanted.
• Use this solution again. Furthermore, have your student identify whether or not they would use this solution again in the future to solve the same or similar problem.
• What would you do differently? Finally, have your student explain what they would do differently if they didn’t get the results they wanted or if they wouldn’t use that solution again in the future.

71+ Social Problem Scenarios + 6 Blank Scenarios

Use the 71 social problem-solving scenarios to have your students get great experience practicing how to solve a social problem.

Also, included are 6 blank scenarios. Then laminate them so you can use them over and over again. Therefore, create social problems that the student experiences and needs help solving.

Wordless Video teaching Problem Solving

Watch this super cute wordless animation with your students and have them discuss the problem they see and how to best solve the problem.

Use this as a fun practice example to get your students started towards learning how to problem-solve.

Demonstrate Through Modeling

Model and discuss empathy.

First and foremost, children need to understand how another person might be feeling in a given situation in order to become a good social problem solver. The student needs to learn how to “stand in someone else’s shoes” for a little bit.

One way you can work on this skill is during the reading time you can focus on how a particular character in the story might be feeling.

Ask questions, such as:

• “How do they feel right now?”
• “How would you feel in that same situation?”
• “Why do you think they feel that way?”

Model Problem-Solving Skills as the Teacher

When you are faced with a problem you can solve the problem by thinking aloud for the students to hear how you solve a problem.

You can state the problem, then come up with possible solutions, then identify the possible consequences to each solution, then pick and explain why a solution is the best option.

For example, you could say, “I was hoping to take the class outside for a stress walk around the track before the reading test, but the problem is that it is raining outside. I could still take you outside, but then you will get wet, or we could walk the halls, but then we’d have to be really quiet because there are other classes learning, or we could just skip the walk and take the reading test, but then you might not do as well on the test. I think based on all of those solutions the best solution will be to walk the hallway, but you guys will have to promise to be quiet so that we don’t disrupt other classes.

Modeling the problem-solving process can be very helpful for the students to watch, observe, and later implement themselves.

Teach Communication

Have students communicate how they are feeling.

Teaching your students to share their emotions in a respectful way can improve their ability to problem-solve.

Have students use an “I” sentence frame, such as, “I feel _____ (insert feeling word) when _____ (identify what made you feel that way).”

For example, “I felt sad when Jackson broke my favorite pencil” or “I was mad when I wasn’t picked to be first in line.”

This way students can communicate how they are feeling using honest and open communication. Teaching students to appropriately communicate their emotions can help solve some social problems from the beginning.

Encourage Independency

Encourage your student to problem solve.

If your student is struggling to problem solve independently encourage them to do so using open-ended questions.

• “How could you fix this problem?”
• “What would be a fair solution?”
• “What would happen if you used that solution?”

Let the Student try to Problem Solve Independently

Give your students the space to try and solve their own problems using the guided strategies. Try not to come running to their rescue for every little problem.

Some problems are small and a great opportunity for the student to learn and practice. If an adult does all of the problem solving for a student then what are they really learning?

Give your students the time and space they need to practice solving small problems on their own. Of course, if it is a bigger or more serious problem then have an adult help guide the problem-solving process.

Tell an Adult

Remind your students that there are still some problems that are too big for them to solve on their own and that it is okay to get help from an adult to solve big problems.

For example, if the student doesn’t feel safe, someone is being hurt physically or emotionally, or if they tried to solve a problem independently but it didn’t work and they need help. Let them know that it’s okay to tell an adult.

Teach How to Disagree and How to Make Up

Discuss how to disagree respectfully.

Remind your student that they won’t always agree with their teacher, friends, classmate, or parents and that’s okay. Even the people we like might have different opinions, interests, and likes than we do.

However, even if we disagree with someone we should still treat them with respect. Treating someone with respect means to not call them names, ignore them, yell or hit them. It means that you do try to create solutions that both parties can agree with and to apologize when we hurt others’ feelings.

Role-Play How to Make Up

Practice in everyday life how to make up after a social problem .

Students are really having to stretch their brains today. It's @NSPCC #NumberDay and @problemsolveit are challenging Y9 and 10 to solve the escape room boxes. It's not as easy as it looks! The promise of a few sweet treats for the winners seems to be helping though! pic.twitter.com/AxRRJnJIv2 — CongletonHS (@CongletonHS) February 2, 2018

Be sure to get your free social problem solver today below! I hope you and your students love this freebie.

Have your students use task card scenarios to help them identify how they and others might feel in different social scenarios. Be sure to discuss the problem, identify possible solutions, identify the consequences of those possible solutions, and then based on those consequences pick the best solution.

Make social problem-solving a game by telling the students that they are social detectives and that it is their job to use what they know about social rules to help them identify the possible and best solutions.

Start practicing today with 71+ free social problem social task cards! Do your students need more practice?

Be sure to check out my other freebie for 31 wordless animated videos to teach problem-solving and so much more.

Make Problem Solving Easier with this Freebie!

Download yours today to get started.

Get More Problem Solving Time Saving Materials

Next, be sure to check out the following time-saving materials to continue to teach your students how to solve their social problems in addition to this freebie.

Weekly Social Pragmatics Homework

• Weekly problem-solving.   Send home a  weekly homework page  that includes a problem-solving scenario plus an idiom and a conversational practice scenario.

Restorative Justice Problem Solving Flip Book

• Restorative justice graphic visual.  Use this graphic visual to help your student  restore a social relationship  after a social problem.

Self-Advocating Role-Play Scenarios

• Self-advocating in high school.  Teach your high schoolers the process to  self-advocate  for what they need.

5th-12th Grade Life Skills Problem Solving

• Life skills problem-solving.  In addition, this  life skills differentiated bundle  includes a problem-solving lesson plan.

I recommend you read Problem Solving Wheel: Help Kids Solve Their Own Problems , 61+ Free Fillable SLP Planner Pages 2020-2021 , 430+ Free Multisyllabic Words List Activity Bundle , or 432+ Free IEP Goal Bank to Save You Time posts because they include freebies as well and who doesn’t want more freebies!

Got questions? Leave a comment. Let’s chat!

Monday 30th of January 2023

Hello! I have entered my name and email twice (yesterday & today) to receive to 71+ Free Social Problem-Solving Senarios, but I have not received anything yet. Not even an email back to mine in order to subcribe. Thanks for your help! Tracy

Melissa Berg

Tuesday 31st of January 2023

Hi Tracy, Thanks so much for reaching out! Sorry about that. We went ahead and sent you an email with the PDF attached. Wishing you all my best, Melissa

Problem Solving Skills

Tuesday 30th of August 2022

I truly love your site. Excellent colors, theme and writing. Thanks for sharing.

Laura Ricca

Monday 11th of April 2022

Tuesday 12th of April 2022

Hi Laura, I'm glad you found this resource helpful. Melissa

Modified Mental Health and Suicide Prevention - Speech Therapy Store

Monday 11th of May 2020

[…] 71+ FREE SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SCENARIOS […]

Problem Solving Wheel: Help Kids Solve Their Own Problems - Speech Therapy Store

Monday 4th of May 2020

[…] 71+ Free Social Problem Solving Task Cards Scenarios […]

• INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Social Problem Solving

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Interpersonal Skills:

• A - Z List of Interpersonal Skills
• Interpersonal Skills Self-Assessment
• Communication Skills
• Emotional Intelligence
• Conflict Resolution and Mediation Skills
• Customer Service Skills
• Team-Working, Groups and Meetings
• Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
• Effective Decision Making
• Decision-Making Framework
• Introduction to Problem Solving
• Identifying and Structuring Problems
• Investigating Ideas and Solutions
• Implementing a Solution and Feedback
• Creative Problem-Solving

Social Problem-Solving

• Negotiation and Persuasion Skills
• Personal and Romantic Relationship Skills

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day.

You'll get our 5 free 'One Minute Life Skills' and our weekly newsletter.

We'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The SkillsYouNeed Guide to Interpersonal Skills

Social problem-solving might also be called ‘ problem-solving in real life ’. In other words, it is a rather academic way of describing the systems and processes that we use to solve the problems that we encounter in our everyday lives.

The word ‘ social ’ does not mean that it only applies to problems that we solve with other people, or, indeed, those that we feel are caused by others. The word is simply used to indicate the ‘ real life ’ nature of the problems, and the way that we approach them.

Social problem-solving is generally considered to apply to four different types of problems:

• Impersonal problems, for example, shortage of money;
• Personal problems, for example, emotional or health problems;
• Interpersonal problems, such as disagreements with other people; and
• Community and wider societal problems, such as litter or crime rate.

A Model of Social Problem-Solving

One of the main models used in academic studies of social problem-solving was put forward by a group led by Thomas D’Zurilla.

This model includes three basic concepts or elements:

Problem-solving

This is defined as the process used by an individual, pair or group to find an effective solution for a particular problem. It is a self-directed process, meaning simply that the individual or group does not have anyone telling them what to do. Parts of this process include generating lots of possible solutions and selecting the best from among them.

A problem is defined as any situation or task that needs some kind of a response if it is to be managed effectively, but to which no obvious response is available. The demands may be external, from the environment, or internal.

A solution is a response or coping mechanism which is specific to the problem or situation. It is the outcome of the problem-solving process.

Once a solution has been identified, it must then be implemented. D’Zurilla’s model distinguishes between problem-solving (the process that identifies a solution) and solution implementation (the process of putting that solution into practice), and notes that the skills required for the two are not necessarily the same. It also distinguishes between two parts of the problem-solving process: problem orientation and actual problem-solving.

Problem Orientation

Problem orientation is the way that people approach problems, and how they set them into the context of their existing knowledge and ways of looking at the world.

Each of us will see problems in a different way, depending on our experience and skills, and this orientation is key to working out which skills we will need to use to solve the problem.

An Example of Orientation

Most people, on seeing a spout of water coming from a loose joint between a tap and a pipe, will probably reach first for a cloth to put round the joint to catch the water, and then a phone, employing their research skills to find a plumber.

A plumber, however, or someone with some experience of plumbing, is more likely to reach for tools to mend the joint and fix the leak. It’s all a question of orientation.

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving includes four key skills:

• Defining the problem,
• Coming up with alternative solutions,
• Making a decision about which solution to use, and
• Implementing that solution.

Based on this split between orientation and problem-solving, D’Zurilla and colleagues defined two scales to measure both abilities.

They defined two orientation dimensions, positive and negative, and three problem-solving styles, rational, impulsive/careless and avoidance.

They noted that people who were good at orientation were not necessarily good at problem-solving and vice versa, although the two might also go together.

It will probably be obvious from these descriptions that the researchers viewed positive orientation and rational problem-solving as functional behaviours, and defined all the others as dysfunctional, leading to psychological distress.

The skills required for positive problem orientation are:

Being able to see problems as ‘challenges’, or opportunities to gain something, rather than insurmountable difficulties at which it is only possible to fail.

For more about this, see our page on The Importance of Mindset ;

Believing that problems are solvable. While this, too, may be considered an aspect of mindset, it is also important to use techniques of Positive Thinking ;

Believing that you personally are able to solve problems successfully, which is at least in part an aspect of self-confidence.

See our page on Building Confidence for more;

Understanding that solving problems successfully will take time and effort, which may require a certain amount of resilience ; and

Motivating yourself to solve problems immediately, rather than putting them off.

See our pages on Self-Motivation and Time Management for more.

Those who find it harder to develop positive problem orientation tend to view problems as insurmountable obstacles, or a threat to their well-being, doubt their own abilities to solve problems, and become frustrated or upset when they encounter problems.

The skills required for rational problem-solving include:

The ability to gather information and facts, through research. There is more about this on our page on defining and identifying problems ;

The ability to set suitable problem-solving goals. You may find our page on personal goal-setting helpful;

The application of rational thinking to generate possible solutions. You may find some of the ideas on our Creative Thinking page helpful, as well as those on investigating ideas and solutions ;

Good decision-making skills to decide which solution is best. See our page on Decision-Making for more; and

Implementation skills, which include the ability to plan, organise and do. You may find our pages on Action Planning , Project Management and Solution Implementation helpful.

There is more about the rational problem-solving process on our page on Problem-Solving .

Potential Difficulties

Those who struggle to manage rational problem-solving tend to either:

• Rush things without thinking them through properly (the impulsive/careless approach), or
• Avoid them through procrastination, ignoring the problem, or trying to persuade someone else to solve the problem (the avoidance mode).

This ‘ avoidance ’ is not the same as actively and appropriately delegating to someone with the necessary skills (see our page on Delegation Skills for more).

Instead, it is simple ‘buck-passing’, usually characterised by a lack of selection of anyone with the appropriate skills, and/or an attempt to avoid responsibility for the problem.

An Academic Term for a Human Process?

You may be thinking that social problem-solving, and the model described here, sounds like an academic attempt to define very normal human processes. This is probably not an unreasonable summary.

However, breaking a complex process down in this way not only helps academics to study it, but also helps us to develop our skills in a more targeted way. By considering each element of the process separately, we can focus on those that we find most difficult: maximum ‘bang for your buck’, as it were.

Continue to: Decision Making Creative Problem-Solving

See also: What is Empathy? Social Skills

1.2 Defining a Social Problem

Figure 1.2 Sociologist Anna Leon-Guerrero. We use her definition of a social problem.

When you think about the current issues facing our society and our planet, you might name war, addiction, climate change, houselessness, or the global pandemic as social problems. You would be right, sort of. Sociologists need to be more specific than that. Because they are trying to explain what social problems are or how to fix them, they need a much more precise definition. Sociology professor and author Anna Leon-Guerrero (figure 1.2) defines a social problem as “a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world.”(2018:4).

More concretely, it is not just that one person gets sick from COVID-19. The social problem is that our healthcare systems are overwhelmed with sick patients. People are experiencing different rates of exposure to COVID-19. Their health outcomes differ because of their race, class, and gender. Because social problems affect people across the social and physical worlds, the solutions to social problems must be collectively created. It is not enough for one person to get well, although that may really matter to you. Instead, we must act collectively, as groups, governments, or systems to identify and implement solutions. Our health is personal, but getting well depends on all of us.

To talk effectively about social problems, we must understand their characteristics. In this text, we will explore five important dimensions of a social problem :

• A social problem goes beyond the experience of an individual.
• A social problem results from a conflict in values.
• A social problem arises when groups of people experience inequality.
• A social problem is socially constructed but real in its consequences.
• A social problem must be addressed interdependently, using both individual agency and collective action.

In the following section, we examine each of these five characteristics. Where these characteristics exist, social problems follow. Each component provides an additional layer of explanation about why any human problem is a social problem.

1.2.1 Social Problems: Beyond Individual Experience

Individuals have problems. Social problems, though, go beyond the experience of one individual. They are experienced by groups, nations, or people around the world. An individual experiences job loss, but the wider social problem may be rising unemployment rates. An individual may experience a divorce, but the wider social problem may be changing expectations around marriage and long-term partnerships. Solving a social problem is a collective task, outside of the capability of one individual or group.

Figure 1.3 Sociologist C. Wright Mills, pictured on the left wrote about the Sociological Imagination

In his book The Sociological Imagination , American sociologist C. Wright Mills helps us understand the difference between individual problems and social problems, and connects the two concepts (figure 1.3). Mills (1959) uses the term personal troubles to describe troubles that happen both within and to an individual. He contrasts these personal troubles with social problems, which he calls public issues . Public issues transcend the experience of one individual, impacting groups of people over time.

To illustrate, a recent college graduate may be several hundred thousand dollars in debt because of student loans. They may have trouble paying for living expenses because of this debt. This would be a personal trouble. If we look for larger social patterns, however, we see that as of 2021 about 1 in 8 Americans have student loan debt, owing about 1.6 trillion dollars (Federal Reserve Bank of New York 2021). The volume of this debt, the related laws, policies, and practices, and the harm that is being caused stretch far beyond the experience of a few individuals, resulting in student loan debt becoming a public issue.

In addition to differentiating personal troubles and public issues, Mills also connects them using the sociological imagination , a quality of mind that connects individual experience and wider social forces. He writes, “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. This is its task and its promise” (Mills 1959:6).

In other words, when we use our own sociological imaginations, we connect our own lives with the experiences of other people. We consider how our own past actions and the historical actions of others may have contributed to our current reality. We use our sociological imaginations to consider what the outcomes of our actions or of social policies might be. When you use your sociological imagination, complicated social problems begin to make sense. When Mills linked personal troubles and public issues, he emphasized that individuals are acted upon by wider social forces.

Figure 1.4 A society consists of more than individual people, just like a forest consists of more than just individual trees: The forest around Cougar Hot Springs, Oregon—More than just individual trees. Tokyo, Japan—More than individual people.

Building on Mills’s concepts, current sociologists highlight the complex relationships of the social world. In the 2019 Society for the Study of Social Problems Presidential Address, Society president Nancy Mezey explores the topic of climate change as a social problem. Understanding and solving climate change requires a deep understanding of the relationship of people and systems. She emphasizes that “society is not just a collection of unrelated individuals, but rather a collection of people who live in relationship with each other” (Mezey 2020: 606). To make this point, she uses the work of sociologist Allan Johnson. In his book The Forest and the Trees, Johnson compares the physical world to our social world:

In one sense, a forest is simply a collection of individual trees, but it is more than that. It is also a collection of trees that exist in particular relation to one another, and you cannot tell what that relation is by looking at the individual trees. Take a thousand trees and scatter them across the Great Plains of North America and all you have is a thousand trees. But take those same trees and put them close together, and now you have a forest. The same individual trees in one case constitute a forest and in another are just a lot of trees. The “empty space” that separates individual trees from one another is not a characteristic of any one tree or the characteristics of all the individual trees somehow added together. It is something more than that, and it is crucial to understand the relationships among trees that make a forest what it is. Paying attention to that “something more” — whether it is a family or a society or the entire world – and how people are related to it lies at the heart of what it means to practice sociology . (Johnson 2014: 11-12, emphasis added)

Using this comparison, Mezey reminds us human society is made up of interdependent individuals, groups, institutions, and systems, similar to the living ecosystem of the forest. This similarity is illustrated in figure 1.4. The reach of a social problem can also be planet-wide. As the response to COVID-19 demonstrates, migrations between countries, vaccination policies and implementations for any nation, and the responses of health systems in local areas can all impact whether any individual is likely to get COVID-19 or to recover from it. A social problem, then, is one that involves a wider scope of groups, institutions, nations, or global populations.

1.2.2 Social Problems: A Conflict in Values

Social problems can also be defined as issues in which social values conflict. A value is an ideal or principle that determines what is correct, desirable, or morally proper. A society may share common values. For example, a society may value universal education, the ideal that all children should learn to read and write or, at minimum, be in school until they are 18. A different society may value practical experience, focusing on teaching children skills related to farming, hunting, or raising children. When core values are shared, there is no basis for conflict.

Social problems may begin to arise if people cannot agree on values. For example, some groups may value business growth and expansion. They oppose restrictions on pollution or emissions because following these regulations would cost money. In contrast, other groups might value sustaining the environment. They support regulations that limit industrial pollution, even when they cost more money. This conflict in values provides a rich soil from which a social problem may grow.

1.2.3 Social Problems: Inequality

A social problem can arise if there is a conflict between a widely shared value and a society’s success in meeting expectations around that value. For example, to sustain life, people need sufficient water, food, and shelter. To work well, a society values human life and creates infrastructure so that all members have water, food, and shelter. However, even at this most basic level, people experience significant inequality in their access to these resources.

Figure 1.5 In this chart, we see that women experience more food insecurity than men, in every region of the world. In Africa, more than half of all people experience hunger. This rate of food insecurity has also increased around the world between 2015 and 2020. How do you think COVID-19 might have impacted world hunger? Figure 1.5 Image Description

For example, the United Nations reports that one in three people worldwide do not have access to adequate food. That number is rising (United Nations 2020). As we can see in the chart in figure 1.5, women are more likely than men to experience hunger in all regions of the world. The related report also notes that 22 percent of all children worldwide are stunted because they do not have enough to eat (FAO 2021).

In another example at the local level, the Oregon Food Bank explicitly defines hunger as a social problem. They write, “Hunger isn’t just an individual experience; it’s a symptom of barriers to employment, housing, health care and more—and a result of unfair systems that continue to keep these barriers in place” (Oregon Food Bank 2021). In exploring who is hungry in Oregon, they note that communities of color experience greater housing instability and therefore greater food insecurity than White families (Oregon Food Bank 2019). Unequal access and unequal outcomes are both common in our world and fundamental to social problems.

1.2.4 Social Problems: A Social Construction with Real Consequences

Figure 1.6: This 10 minute video on social construction explores what it means to jointly create our social reality. What else do you see that is socially constructed? Note to Reviewers: This 10 minute video on social construction is under construction. The final version will be included with the final version of the book. At the same time, we welcome comments on this draft.

Sociologists delight in statistics, those numbers that measure rates, patterns, and trends. You might think that a social problem exists when things get measurably worse—unemployment rises, food prices increase, deaths from AIDS skyrocket, or gender-related hate crimes explode. Changes in the numbers, or objective measures, provide only part of the story. Sometimes these changes go unnoticed in the wider society and don’t result in conflict or action. Other times a local community takes action, but another local community with similar statistics does not.

To explain this difference, we turn to the fundamental sociological concept of social construction , the idea that we create meaning through interaction with others. This concept asserts that while material objects and biological processes exist, it is the meaning that we give to them that creates our shared social reality. The video in figure 1.6 provides more examples of this concept.

The term social construction was used in 1966 by sociologists Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann. They wrote a book called The Social Construction of Reality . In it, they argued that society is created by humans and human interaction. These interactions are often habits. They use the term habitualization to describe how “any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern, which can then be … performed again in the future in the same manner and with the same economical effort” (Berger and Luckmann 1966). Not only do we construct our own society but we also accept it as it is because others have created it before us. Society is, in fact, habit .

For example, a school building exists as a school and not as a generic building because you and others agree that it is a school. If your school is older than you are, it was created by the agreement of others before you. In a sense, it exists by consensus, both prior and current. This is an example of the process of institutionalization, the act of implanting a convention or social expectation into society. By employing the convention of naming a building as a school , the institution, while socially constructed, is made real and assigned specific expectations as to how it will be used.

Another way of looking at the social construction of reality is through an idea developed by American sociologist W. I. Thomas. The Thomas theorem states, “If [people] define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas and Thomas 1928). In other words, people’s behavior can be determined by their subjective construction of reality rather than by objective reality. For example, a teenager who is repeatedly given a label—rebellious, emo, goth—often lives up to the term even though it initially wasn’t a part of their character.

Figure 1.7 What do you think the person in the photo, gesturing “Thumbs up” is trying to say? Depending on his country, he may be saying great , on e, or five . Even our gestures are socially constructed.

Sociologists who study how we interact also recognize that language and body language reflect our values. One has only to learn a foreign language to know that not every English word can be easily translated into another language. The same is true for gestures. What does the gesture in figure 1.7 mean? While Americans might recognize a thumbs-up as meaning great , in Germany it would mean one , and in Japan, it would mean five . Thus, our construction of reality is influenced by our symbolic interactions. When we apply this idea of the social construction of reality to social problems, then, we say that a social problem only exists when people say they have one.

Figure 1.8 In this picture of social protest, the protester is holding a sign “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, Yes means Yes and No means No” Over time our ideas about bodily autonomy, consent, and gender based violence are changing.

Let’s look at the crime of rape to understand this concept more clearly. Initially, rape was defined as a property crime. This view of women’s bodies is profoundly disturbing to us today but was common in seventeenth-century English law. Legally, women were considered the property of their fathers or their husbands. Therefore, rape was legally understood as decreasing the value of their property. Taking this model further, married women could not be raped by their husbands because consent was implied as part of the marriage contract.

When feminists in the 1970s challenged this legal definition, laws related to rape began to change. Rape, which included marital rape, became defined as a crime of violence and social control against an individual person (Rose 1977). In a more recent study, researchers examined how rape was defined in a college community between 1955 and 1990. Early descriptions of rape in school and community newspapers painted the picture that White women students were safe on campus. If they ventured beyond campus to predominantly Black neighborhoods, they risked being raped. Rape was considered a crime committed by a racialized other, a Black or Brown stranger rather than a member of a White student community. This perspective saw police as responsible for keeping women safe (Abu-Odeh, Khan, and Nathanson 2020).

With the work of feminist activists, the concept of rape and the response to rape changed. In the 1970s and 1980s, women’s centers and health professionals defined rape as an act of sexual violence that supported the structural power of men and an issue that threatened women’s health. The person who experienced rape began to be called a survivor rather than a victim . Men who raped or committed other kinds of sexual harassment could be identified as part of the campus community rather than being defined as a stranger or an outsider. The changes in the social construction of rape allowed for more effective community responses in preventing rape, prosecuting rape, and supporting the healing of rape survivors (Abu-Odeh, Khan, and Nathanson 2020).

Feminist activists continue this work. Black activist Tarana Burke founded the #MeToo movement in 2006 so that survivors of sexual violence could tell their stories. These stories highlight how common sexual violence is for women, men, and nonbinary people. It expands our conversation about rape to a wider discussion around the causes and consequences of sexual violence. If you would like to learn more about #MeToo from Burke herself, please watch this TED Talk, “ Me Too Is a Movement, Not a Moment .” Actor Alyssa Milano drew attention to this movement when she tweeted #MeToo in 2017. This movement has resulted in some changes in the law (Beitsch 2018) and in stronger prosecution of perpetrators of sexual violence, in some cases (Carlsen et al. 2018).

In this constructionist view, the definition of rape, the actors in the crime, and the responsibility for fixing the problem changed over time, with significant consequences to the people involved. Even concepts like consent, active agreement to sexual activity (see figure 1.8), are taught and learned. A Cup of Tea and Consent [YouTube] teaches the concept (some explicit language). We will see the usefulness of the social construction of a social problem as we explore each social problem raised in this book.

1.2.5 Social Problems: Interdependent Solutions of Individual Agency and Collective Action

All life is interelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., activist, sociologist, and minister

Figure 1.9 Video: Martin Luther King Jr. A Christmas Speech: . Martin Luther King Jr. asserts that we are all interrelated, another word for interdependence in his Christmas Speech from 1967. While watching the whole speech is optional, you may want to view from minutes 7:10-7:12 to listen to the quote that begins this section.

Our diversity can be a source of innovative solutions to social problems. At the same time, the ways in which we are different divide us. We see bullying, hate crimes, war, gender based violence, and other patterns of treating each other differently based on our social location. At the same time, many of us go to school, raise families, live in neighborhoods, and die of old age. How is it that we are able to maintain our sense of community?

We begin to answer this question by reminding ourselves that the sociological imagination helps us see that there are wider social forces at play in our individual lives. Interdependence is the concept that people rely on each other to survive and thrive (Schwalbe 2018). Martin Luther King Jr. asserts that we are all interrelated, another word for interdependence, in his Christmas Speech from 1967 in figure 1.9. While watching the whole speech is optional, you may want to view from minutes 7:10-7:12 to listen to the quote that begins this section.

Interdependence is everywhere, but specific examples of social, economic, and physical interdependence may help us see it more clearly. With social interdependence, we rely on other people to cooperate to support our life. We give the same cooperation to others in turn. For example, when you consider your own life, you might notice how many people helped you become the person you are. When you were very young, you relied on a parent or caregivers to feed you, to clothe you, to keep you warm, and maybe to read you bedtime stories. As we widen this picture, we see that your caregivers relied on store owners and doctors, farmers and truckers, business people, and friends to support the work of caring for you. You may not have had a happy life, yet you lived long enough to read these words. This book was brought to you by authors, editors, artists, videographers, designers, musicians, librarians, and other students like you. These relationships demonstrate our social interdependence.

In addition to social interdependence, we experience economic interdependence. As we shop for groceries this week, we see empty shelves and rising food prices. COVID-19 is disrupting the global supply chain. Farmers growing oranges in Mexico can’t find laborers to pick the fruit. U.S. car manufacturers can’t get electronic chips manufactured in China. Even when people in Vietnam sew T-shirts or factory workers in Korea build TVs, the ships that carry these products from one country to another wait for dock workers to unload them. Our experiences with COVID-19 underline the truth of our economic interdependence.

We express this economic interdependence in relationships that describe the power of workers and the power of business owners. In 2017, Francis Fox Piven, the president of the American Sociological Association, defined interdependent power, arguing that while wealth and privilege create power, workers, tenants, and voters also have the power of participation. We see interdependent power today in the Great Resignation, with people deciding to resign from their jobs rather than return to work. We see it in restaurants reducing hours or closing down because they can’t find workers to wait tables and bus dishes. We see this in frontline workers becoming even more critical in providing basic services to a quarantined public. We live in a globally interdependent economy.

Finally, and maybe foundationally, we are physically interdependent. I remember being on a boat in a glacial lake in Alaska. The tour guide, a biologist, was asking the people on the tour about how many oceans there were in the world. All of us were desperately trying to remember fifth-grade geography, and counting the various oceans we remembered. Atlantic, Pacific, Indian . . . wait did the Arctic and Antarctic count as oceans? Maybe five? Maybe six? Maybe seven? At each answer, the biologist shook her head, “No.” We were stumped.

Figure 1.10 The Pacific Ocean at Lincoln City, Oregon, or maybe just one view of our planet’s one ocean.

She revealed that scientists who study the ocean now say that we have just one ocean (even though the ocean in figure 1.10 happens to be the Pacific Ocean, a few blocks from my house). It contains all the ocean water across our entire planet. Debris from a tsunami in Japan washed up on beaches from the tip of Alaska to the Baja peninsula and Hawaii. Rivers contribute up to 80 percent of the plastics pollution found in the ocean. We see that the COVID-19 virus travels with people around the world as infections move from place to place. As we cross the globe on our feet, bikes, camels, trains, cars, and airplanes, our diseases travel with us. We are physically interdependent.

Figure 1.11 When do we comply with the social norms of mask-wearing and elbow bumping?

Each of these ways of considering our interdependence matters when it comes to studying social problems and creating change. Because our actions affect one another, any social problem or solution ripples through our social world. For example, social scientists are examining mask-wearing during COVID-19.

In the video “ The Importance of Social Norms” (episode 8 on the website) , researcher Dr. Vera te Velde from the University of Queensland explores mask-wearing behavior around the world. She wanted to find out what would make mask wearing a social norm. Social norms are the rules or expectations that determine and regulate appropriate behavior within a culture, group, or society.

Dr. de Velde finds that when people trust each other and their government, they are much more likely to wear masks. Trust and shared agreement around social norms encourage consistent behavior. In other words, when we notice our interdependence and trust that others will follow social norms, we are more likely to follow them too. Sociologist Michael Schwalbe, in The Sociologically Examined Life, calls this mindfulness of interdependence. When we are aware, or mindful, of how our actions impact others, we are noticing our interdependence. We then often act for the good of all.

The interdependent nature of social problems also requires interdependent solutions. For this, we look at individual agency and collective action. The discipline of sociology always asks why? , but the sociologists who study social problems are particularly committed to taking action. They try to understand why a problem occurs to inform policy decisions, create community coalitions, or support healthy families. In the best cases, they seek to know their own biases and work to remediate them, so their research is used to create change. This challenge is explicitly stated by SSSP President Mezey:

The theme for the 2019 SSSP [Society for the Study of Social Problems] meeting is a call to sociologists and social scientists in general to draw deeply and widely on sociological roots to illuminate the social in all social problems with an eye to solving those problems. The theme calls us to speak broadly and widely, so that our discipline becomes a central voice in larger public discourses. I am calling on you, the reader, through this presidential address to focus on what is perhaps the largest social problem: climate change. Indeed, because we have been focusing on individual rather than social solutions regarding climate change—we are now facing grave and imminent danger. (Mezey 2020:606)

Society president Mezey tells us that studying problems is not enough. We must focus on the most critical social problem—climate change, to support all of us in taking action.

Addressing social problems requires individuals to act. Social agency is the capacity of an individual to actively and independently choose and to affect change. In other words, any individual can choose to vote, to protest, to parent well, or to be authentic about who they are in the world. Each act of positive social agency matters to that person and their community, even if the small waves of change are hard to see in the wider world.

Collective action refers to the actions taken by a collection or group of people, acting based on a collective decision. whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective (Sekiwu and Okan 2022). These kinds of actions people take are creative responses to local issues. We typically think of collective action as a protest march or a social movement. Collective action can also be setting up the Salmon River Grange as the distribution center for food, clothes, and pizza for survivors of the Echo Mountain Fire. It could also be reinvigorating an Indigenous language or connecting businesses and nonprofits so you can provide digital literacy skills training. People, communities, and organizations imagine the future they want to see, and take organized action to make it happen.

To confront the social problems of our world, we need a both/and approach to their resolution. We act with individual agency to create a life that is healthy and nurturing and we act collectively to address interdependent issues.

1.2.6 Licenses and Attributions for Defining a Social Problem

1.2.6.1 open content, shared previously.

“Social Construction of Reality” is adapted from “ Social Construction of Reality ” by Tonja R. Conerly, Kathleen Holmes, Asha Lal Tamang, Introduction to Sociology 3e , Openstax , which is licensed under CC BY 4.0 . Modifications: Summarized some content and applied it specifically to social problems. License Terms: Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-introduction

Figure 1.3. “ Sociologist C Wright Mills ” by Institute for Policy Studies is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .

Figure 1.4a. Photo by Deric is licensed under the Unsplash License .

Figure 1.4b. Photo by Chris Chan is licensed under the Unsplash License .

Figure 1.7. Photo by Aziz Acharki is licensed under the Unsplash License .

Figure 1.8. Photo by Raquel García is licensed under the Unsplash License .

Figure 1.11. Photo by Maxime is licensed under the Unsplash License .

1.2.6.2 All Rights Reserved Content

Figure 1.2. “ Anna Leon-Guerrero ” © Pacific Lutheran University is included under fair use.

Figure 1.9 “ Martin Luther King, Jr., Christmas Sermon ” by Mapping Minds is licensed under the Standard YouTube License .

1.2.6.3 Open Content, Original

“Defining a Social Problem” by Kimberly Puttman is licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 1.5. “Chart of World Hunger” by Kim Puttman and Michaela Willi Hooper, Open Oregon Educational Resources is licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 1.6. “ Social Construction Video (Draft) ” by Liz Pearce, Kim Puttman and Colin Stapp, Open Oregon Educational Resources is licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 1.10. Photo by Kimberly Puttman is licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Image Description for Figure 1.5:

Globally, and in every region, the prevalence of food insecurity is higher among women than men

A line chart shows moderate or severe food insecurity for both women and men in different regions of the world from 2015 to 2020. The lines are often close, but women are always more food insecure than men. Throughout the world, food insecurity has risen for both women and men (from around 20% in 2015 to over 30% for women in 2020). The two lines diverge the most for Latin America and the Caribbean, where food insecurity went from approximately 25% in 2015 to over 40% in 2020. Food insecurity rates for both men and women are highest in Africa (almost 60% for both men and women in 2020) and lowest in North America (between 10 and 15% in 2020).

Data source: State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021, prepared by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO.

This simplified version created by Michaela Willi Hooper and Kimberly Puttman and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

[Return to Figure 1.5]

Social Problems Copyright © by Kim Puttman. All Rights Reserved.

Share This Book

Using Psychology to Address Social Problems

Dr. wolff and dr. glassgold speak on psychology's problem solving ability..

Posted October 24, 2020

Psychology affects every aspect of our lives. How can we use this on an individual, communal, and structural level to address social problems?

Joshua R. Wolff , Ph.D. (he/him) is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology (Psy.D. Program) at Adler University in Chicago, IL. Dr. Wolff co-chairs the APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity) Subcommittee on Higher Education Accreditation & Policy. Dr. Wolff’s research and publications center on the experiences of LGBTQ+ students in religious university settings, higher education policy, and social determinants of health.

Judith Glassgold, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and an expert in applying psychology to problems of public policy, focused on mental health. She is a consultant to national civil rights organizations on legislative efforts to improve mental health at the federal, state, and local levels. She is a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.

Jamie Aten: How would you personally define psychological training pathways?

Joshua Wolff and Judith Glassgold : Professional psychology spans multiple settings and serves very diverse groups of people. Thus, psychological training must also be diverse and give students the training they need for multiple career pathways. Professional psychology needs to expand opportunities for students to go beyond traditional health settings. This means that we need to think broadly about where our students get 'real world' experience — not just in traditional settings (e.g., hospitals, university research labs), but in settings and domains that haven’t been as well explored or may still be underutilized.

Examples that come to mind include forensic settings (jails, prisons), community non-profit organizations, government agencies, K-12 schools, workplace, military and veterans, and early childhood centers. Training also needs to span teaching our students how to communicate beyond academic and medical settings, but also with mainstream media, politicians, and the public.

JA: What are some ways these expanded opportunities can help us live more resiliently?

JW and JG : Psychology affects every aspect of our lives — the ways we make decisions, our motivation , how we feel, how we connect to other people, what types of job responsibilities we enjoy, etc. Thus, psychologists can be useful and improve a person’s quality of life in almost any setting.

We need to think about this on an individual level (e.g., how do we help the person who comes to my office for mental health treatment?), on a community level (e.g., how do we encourage everyone in my city or state to prevent the spread of COVID-19 ?) and structural level (what policies encourage or reduce health and wellbeing?). This means that psychological research needs to think in innovative ways to address social problems that build resiliency in a broad range of settings.

We also need to be better at quickly sharing the results of our research so that the data is useful to the people and communities that might benefit from it the most.

JA: What are some ways people can influence psychological policy?

JW and JG : We find it exciting that there are lots of ways to influence policy! For example, this can be at the institutional level where you advocate for changes to your curriculum or learning. I have seen students get engaged by running for their Student Government Association and making a big impact in their college or graduate school program. This can also be at the systems and structural level — this might include sending an elected official an email about a topic you care about, attending a town hall, joining efforts within professional associations, meeting in person with elected officials or their staff, seeking employment in government or media, and running for office.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach – thus, advocacy is diverse, and everyone can engage in different ways. One tip though is ‘don’t go it alone’ (i.e., find other people who share your interests and want to influence policy together).

JA: Any advice for how we might use this knowledge to support a friend or loved one struggling with a difficult life situation?

JW and JG : There are several recent studies that demonstrate that many individuals are struggling, especially those grieving the loss of friends and families, individuals from ethnic minority communities, and essential workers, College and graduate students are experiencing a lot more stress and worry right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic as important life transitions are disrupted. This includes financial stress, worry about loved ones, and social isolation due to remote learning. Thus, I try to remind individuals that it is ‘normal’ to feel discouraged, down, or different right now. I want to keep reminding them that they are not alone in feeling this way because so many of us are in the same boat together.

One option is to stay connected through virtual resources that focus on wellness. Many health insurance companies, state and local governments, clinics, and non-profits are now offering free or low-cost mental health and substance use care for virtual, and telehealth sessions. Now is a great time to speak with a mental health professional to get extra support if that is something you have been thinking about or may need (though always check with your insurance first, since plans and coverage can vary widely!).

JA: What are you currently working on that you might like to share about?

JW : I recently co-authored a report on the impact of COVID-19 on psychology training and education. We sampled a diverse group of leaders within Divisions, affiliates, and a committee of the American Psychological Association (APA). I’m really proud of the Report because people shared some very important concerns, and also identified ways that we can advocate and better support students. You can obtain a free copy of the Report here .

JG : My academic institution committed itself to focusing on social justice during the 2020-2021 academic year. I have made my course relevant to the stresses and issues that we are currently facing in society. For example, my mental health policy class includes material relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic and health equity. I focus on the important research on social determinants of health that can build resilience , slow the pandemic through proactive behavior change, reduce discrimination , and increase equitable policies. Graduate students seem engaged in making a positive difference in areas as diverse as increasing resources for people with neurodiversity , reducing institutional violence, support for immigrants, children’s mental health during the pandemic, and equitable school policies.

Glassgold, J.M. ,& Wolff, J.R (2020). Expanding Psychology Training Pathways for Public Policy Preparedness Across the Professional Lifespan. American Psychologist, 75(7), 933-944. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000696

Jamie Aten , Ph.D. , is the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

© 2024 Insights – Integrative Psychotherapy Group

What is Social Problem-Solving and Why Is it Important?

• Post date November 29, 2021

We all face social problems. You can be a well-adjusted person and, without fail, you will still come across situations that seem problematic or challenging.

The neighbor above plays loud music late into the evening, keeping you awake.

The boss requests you to take on a project in which you have little to no experience, causing you a high level of anxiety.

You overdraw your bank account after forgetting to account for a new bill.

How we approach these, and other social situations can significantly affect our experiences with others, our world, and our general happiness.

What is Social Problem-Solving?

When you hear “social problem-solving,” do you instantly think about issues you have with others? Do your emotionally distant partner, an overprotective parent, or a supervisor who disagrees with everything you do come to mind?

Certainly, some social problems are people problems. However, many social problems are simply issues we come across in our everyday lives.

To start let’s break down social problems into four simple categories and examples

•  Impersonal Problems: You get a flat tire on your way to work.
•  Personal Problems: Your depression is affecting your performance at work.
•  Interpersonal Problems: Your friend frequently cancels plans on you with little to no notice.
• Community/Societal Problems: The city you live in has increasing levels of poverty and homelessness.

These problems require real-world problem-solving skills. For instance, how would you handle the flat tire? You might call for a tow, stand next to the car trying to flag someone down, or you might get out and change the tire yourself.

Or, you might do something entirely different. We all approach social problems based on our past experiences, wellness, resources, confidence, and support system.

Why is Social Problem-Solving Important?

Think about a problem you had in which you felt you made the wrong decision.

For example, maybe a solution you came up with at work failed to be effective, or you decided not to address a friend who has been distant and now they are angry with you. Making the wrong decision can make you feel shame or hurt, while making the right one can boost feelings of confidence and competence.

But it goes deeper than that. Practical problem-solving skills increase our situational coping, reduce emotional distress, and improve our relationships with others.

Conversely, maladaptive problem-solving skills such as making careless decisions or avoiding decision-making altogether can lead to interpersonal difficulties in relationships, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation.

How Can I Improve My Social Problem-Solving?

Having the skills to approach social problems is critical. There are four crucial steps to social problem-solving.

• Being able to define the problem.
• Finding solutions.
• Choosing a solution.
• Implementing your solution.

Sounds easy enough, right? It can be, but you also need the right mindset. People with positive social problem-solving skills exhibit the following behaviors:

•  View problems as challenges or opportunities.  It is not always easy to see the positive in a negative situation, but try to see it as an opportunity for growth.
• Belief in themselves.  Having self-confidence is crucial. Try to surround yourself with a support system that also believes in your abilities.
• Believe there are solutions to problems.  The alternative is giving up. You deserve better.
•  Understanding that helpful solutions sometimes take time.  Most issues cannot be fixed overnight, and therefore it may take a certain level of resilience on your part to get through the situation.
• Implement solutions promptly.  Putting off decisions can only make the problem worse, and it rarely, if ever, solves the issue.

This sounds relatively easy, but our past experiences heavily influence our ability to approach problems and implement solutions. Maybe you are not even sure what the problem is, making it feel impossible to understand and come up with helpful solutions. Therapy can help you work through the decision-making steps, identify any roadblocks and address them in a supportive environment.

If you’re struggling with social problem-solving, Integrative Psychotherapy Group is here to help. Please read more about anxiety therapy and call our office to learn more.

Contact Us About Social Problems

Email Address*

Phone Number*

Message / Concerns

Related Posts

Recovering From Pandemic Anxiety: Why It May Not Have Just Magically Disappeared with the Vaccine

• Post date May 10, 2021

The Serious Effects of Long-Term Bullying

• Post date January 25, 2021

Join Pilot Waitlist

Home » Blog » General » Effective Social Problem Solving: Free Worksheets and Resources

Effective Social Problem Solving: Free Worksheets and Resources

As a Speech Language Pathologist and Social Emotional Learning expert, I understand the importance of developing social problem solving skills in individuals of all ages. These skills not only help us navigate through various social situations, but also contribute to our overall emotional well-being. In this blog post, I will provide you with free worksheets and resources that can assist you in enhancing your social problem solving abilities.

Understanding Social Problem Solving

Social problem solving can be defined as the process of identifying, analyzing, and resolving social conflicts or challenges. It involves a set of cognitive and emotional skills that enable individuals to effectively navigate through social interactions and find appropriate solutions to problems. The key components of effective social problem solving include:

• Identifying the problem: Recognizing and understanding the social issue or conflict at hand.
• Generating possible solutions: Brainstorming and coming up with different options to address the problem.
• Evaluating and selecting the best solution: Assessing the pros and cons of each solution and choosing the most appropriate one.
• Implementing the chosen solution: Putting the selected solution into action.
• Reflecting on the outcome: Evaluating the effectiveness of the chosen solution and learning from the experience.

Developing social problem solving skills has numerous benefits. It enhances our ability to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts peacefully, and build positive relationships with others. It also promotes critical thinking, decision-making, and self-regulation skills.

Free Worksheets for Social Problem Solving

Worksheets are valuable tools in the development of social problem solving skills. They provide structured activities that guide individuals through the problem-solving process and encourage reflection and self-awareness. Here are some free social problem solving worksheets that you can utilize:

• Worksheet 1: Identifying the problem: This worksheet helps individuals identify and define the social problem they are facing. It prompts them to describe the situation, their feelings, and the impact of the problem on themselves and others.
• Worksheet 2: Generating possible solutions: This worksheet encourages individuals to brainstorm and list different solutions to the identified problem. It prompts them to think creatively and consider various perspectives.
• Worksheet 3: Evaluating and selecting the best solution: This worksheet guides individuals in evaluating the pros and cons of each solution generated in the previous step. It helps them weigh the potential outcomes and select the most suitable solution.
• Worksheet 4: Implementing the chosen solution: This worksheet assists individuals in planning and implementing the selected solution. It prompts them to outline the steps they need to take and consider any potential obstacles.
• Worksheet 5: Reflecting on the outcome: This worksheet encourages individuals to reflect on the effectiveness of the chosen solution. It prompts them to evaluate the outcome, identify any lessons learned, and consider alternative approaches for future situations.

Additional Resources for Social Problem Solving

In addition to worksheets, there are various other resources available to support the development of social problem solving skills. These include:

• Websites offering free social problem solving resources: There are several websites that provide free worksheets, activities, and games to enhance social problem solving skills. Some notable websites include EverydaySpeech, Social Thinking, and Teach Starter.
• Books and articles on social problem solving: Many books and articles have been written on the topic of social problem solving. These resources offer in-depth information, strategies, and real-life examples to help individuals improve their skills. Some recommended books include “Social Problem Solving: Theory, Research, and Training” by Norman A. Sprinthall and “The Social Skills Guidebook: Manage Shyness, Improve Your Conversations, and Make Friends, Without Giving Up Who You Are” by Chris MacLeod.
• Online courses and workshops: Online courses and workshops provide structured learning experiences that delve into the various aspects of social problem solving. These resources often include interactive activities, case studies, and expert guidance. EverydaySpeech offers a range of online courses and workshops on social emotional learning, including social problem solving.

Tips for Effective Use of Worksheets and Resources

To make the most of the worksheets and resources available, consider the following tips:

• Setting clear goals and objectives: Clearly define what you hope to achieve through the use of the worksheets and resources. Set specific goals and objectives that align with your needs and desired outcomes.
• Incorporating worksheets into daily routines: Integrate the worksheets into your daily routines and activities. This will help make social problem solving a regular practice and reinforce the skills learned.
• Providing guidance and support during worksheet activities: Offer guidance and support as individuals work through the worksheets. Encourage open discussions, provide feedback, and help individuals reflect on their experiences and learning.

Social problem solving skills are essential for navigating through various social situations and promoting positive relationships. By utilizing free worksheets and resources, you can enhance your social problem solving abilities and improve your overall emotional well-being. Start your EverydaySpeech free trial today to access a wide range of social emotional learning resources, including social problem solving worksheets and online courses. Remember, developing these skills is a lifelong journey, so keep exploring and learning!

Related Blog Posts:

Pragmatic language: enhancing social skills for meaningful interactions.

Pragmatic Language: Enhancing Social Skills for Meaningful Interactions Pragmatic Language: Enhancing Social Skills for Meaningful Interactions Introduction: Social skills play a crucial role in our daily interactions. They enable us to navigate social situations,...

Preparing for Success: Enhancing Social Communication in Grade 12

Preparing for Success: Enhancing Social Communication in Grade 12 Key Takeaways Strong social communication skills are crucial for academic success and building meaningful relationships in Grade 12. Social communication includes verbal and non-verbal communication,...

Preparing for Success: Enhancing Social Communication in Grade 12 Preparing for Success: Enhancing Social Communication in Grade 12 As students enter Grade 12, they are on the cusp of adulthood and preparing for the next chapter of their lives. While academic success...

FREE MATERIALS

Better doesn’t have to be harder, social skills lessons students actually enjoy.

Be the best educator you can be with no extra prep time needed. Sign up to get access to free samples from the best Social Skills and Social-Emotional educational platform.

Get Started Instantly for Free

Complete guided therapy.

The subscription associated with this email has been cancelled and is no longer active. To reactivate your subscription, please log in.

If you would like to make changes to your account, please log in using the button below and navigate to the settings page. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it using the button below.

Unfortunately it looks like we’re not able to create your subscription at this time. Please contact support to have the issue resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience. Error: Web signup - customer email already exists

Welcome back! The subscription associated with this email was previously cancelled, but don’t fret! We make it easy to reactivate your subscription and pick up right where you left off. Note that subscription reactivations aren't eligible for free trials, but your purchase is protected by a 30 day money back guarantee. Let us know anytime within 30 days if you aren’t satisfied and we'll send you a full refund, no questions asked. Please press ‘Continue’ to enter your payment details and reactivate your subscription

Notice About Our SEL Curriculum

Our SEL Curriculum is currently in a soft product launch stage and is only available by Site License. A Site License is currently defined as a school-building minimum or a minimum cost of $3,000 for the first year of use. Individual SEL Curriculum licenses are not currently available based on the current version of this product.

By clicking continue below, you understand that access to our SEL curriculum is currently limited to the terms above.

Social Skills Training for Adults: 10 Best Activities + PDF

Struggles with social skills in adulthood can cause avoidance of social situations and interfere with building long-lasting relationships.

Providing social skills training to clients with anxiety, fear of public speaking, and similar issues could ensure more optimal functioning.

This article provides strategies and training options for the development of various social skills. Several resources to help target specific struggles related to the development of social skills in adults are also included, and the approaches can be tailored to improve social responses in specific domains.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

Social skills training for adults explained, social skills coaching: 2 best activities, role-playing exercises: 4 scripts & examples, top 2 resources & worksheets, 4 insightful videos & podcasts, positivepsychology.com’s helpful tools, a take-home message.

Social skills training includes interventions and instructional methods that help an individual improve and understand social behavior. The goal of social skills training is to teach people about verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are involved in typical social interactions (“Social,” n.d.).

Social skills training is usually initiated when adults have not learned or been taught appropriate interpersonal skills or have trouble reading subtle cues in social interactions. These instances can also be associated with disorders that impede social development, such as autism.

Therapists who practice social skills training first focus on breaking down more complex social behaviors into smaller portions. Next, they develop an individualized program for patients, depending on what social skills they need to work on, and gradually introduce those skills to their patients, building up their confidence through gradual exposure.

For instance, a person who has trouble making eye contact because of anxiety in social situations might be given strategies to maintain eye contact by the therapist. Eye contact is the foundation for most social interaction, and interventions will often start with improving the individual’s ability to maintain eye contact.

During therapy, other challenging areas will be identified such as starting or maintaining a conversation or asking questions. Each session will focus on different activities that typically involve role-play and sometimes will take place in a group setting to simulate different social experiences.

Once confidence has been built up during therapy or social skills group settings, these social skills can be brought into daily life.

Useful assessments: Tests, checklists, questionnaires, & scales

Before engaging your clients in social skills interventions or any type of therapeutic intervention, it is important to determine if social skills therapy is a good approach to help them with their current situation.

The Is Social Skills Training Right for Me? checklist is a self-assessment opportunity for clients to determine if social skills therapy is appropriate for their specific situation or if another approach will be more beneficial.

However, self-assessment activities can sometimes be unreliable, as the individual might not fully understand the treatment models that are available to them. Additionally, if a client has issues with social skills, they may not be aware of their deficiencies in social situations.

In these situations, therapists should ask clients about the issues they are having and encourage them to engage in self-questioning during sessions.

9 Questions to ask your clients

Prior to starting social skills training or activities, the therapist and client should narrow down which areas need help. A therapist can do this by asking the client a series of questions, including:

• Where do you think you are struggling?
• Are there any social situations that make you feel anxious, upset, or nervous?
• Do you avoid any specific social situations or actions?
• Have you ever had anyone comment on your social behavior? What have they said?
• What do you think will help you improve the skills you are struggling with?

Clients can also ask themselves some questions to determine if the social skills therapy process is right for them.

These questions can include:

• What aspects of my life am I struggling with?
• Are there specific social situations or skills that I struggle with?
• Do I have trouble keeping or maintaining relationships with friends, family members, and coworkers?
• Am I avoiding specific social situations out of fear?

Getting clients to ask these questions will help determine if this process will benefit them. Having clients “buy in” to the process is important, to ensure that the approach is right for them and increase the likelihood that they will be engaged to complete activities with a reasonable degree of efficacy.

It is estimated that adults make eye contact 30–60% of the time in general conversation, increasing to 60–70% of the time when trying to form a more intimate relationship (Cognitive Development Learning Centre, 2019).

Giving people who are struggling socially the tools to make more eye contact is usually the first step in social skills training exercises.

The Strategies for Maintaining Eye Contact  worksheet provides some practical strategies and tips to practice making eye contact.

Download 3 Free Positive Psychology Exercises (PDF)

Enhance wellbeing with these free, science-based exercises that draw on the latest insights from positive psychology.

Download 3 Free Positive Psychology Tools Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

Often, one of the most prominent struggles for people lacking social skills is starting a conversation, especially with people they are not familiar with.

Fleming (2013) details a helpful method for people who struggle with starting conversations. The ARE method can be used to initiate a conversation and gain an understanding of the person’s interests to facilitate a strong relationship.

• Anchor: Connect the conversation to your mutually shared reality (e.g., common interests) or the setting in which you encountered the individual.
• Reveal: Provide some personal context to help deepen the connection between you and the other person.
• Encourage: After giving them some context, provide the other person with positive reinforcement to encourage them to share.

This worksheet Starting a Conversation – The ARE Method guides participants through each step in the ARE process. It also provides examples of how the ARE method can be incorporated into a typical conversation and used as a workable strategy in social skills training activities.

A Guide to Small Talk: Conversation Starters and Replies  provides an outline of conversation ideas to help start any conversation, no matter the setting.

After developing the ability to start a conversation, being able to project assertiveness and understand one’s limits is essential in ensuring clear communication.

These worksheets on Different Ways to Say ‘No’ Politely and Using ‘I’ Statements in Conversation  facilitate assertive communication and give clients the confidence to set personal limits.

A lack of opportunity to learn coping strategies and difficulty with emotional regulation have been associated with anxiety and low problem-solving abilities (Anderson & Kazantzis, 2008).

An individual’s lack of ability to problem solve in social situations significantly affects their ability to come up with reasonable solutions to typical social problems, which in turn, causes them to avoid more difficult social situations.

Practicing social problem solving is a key component of social skills training. This worksheet on Social Problem Solving allows your clients to define the problems they are facing and rate the potential solutions from low to high efficacy.

Based on the rating, therapists can instruct clients to practice their social reasoning during sessions. Practicing these skills builds clients’ confidence and increases the likelihood that they will access these solutions under pressure.

Similarly, the Imagining Solutions to Social Problems worksheet implements a related process, but challenges participants to engage in a visualization activity. While engaging in visualization, participants have the opportunity to imagine what they would say or do, and reflect on what they have learned and why the solution they chose was best for that particular problem.

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

Supplementing modeling and practical activities with interactive audio-visual aids, such as podcasts and videos, is an essential practice in ensuring that patients seeking social skills training are getting multiple perspectives to develop their social intelligence.

Below, we have provided resources to help your clients with different social skills and situations.

An introvert’s guide to social freedom – Kaspars Breidaks

This TEDx talk focuses on providing guidelines for self-identified introverts. In this video, Breidaks frames introversion as an opportunity, rather than a weakness.

Based on his experiences moving from a small town to a big city and eventually starting improv comedy, he developed a workshop to help integrate principles of improvisation into social skills training.

His workshops focus on creating connections through eye contact and breaking through shyness by training the small talk muscle. Because of his experience, he recommends you say yes to yourself before saying yes to others. Breidaks theorizes that only by developing our awareness of our own true emotions and thoughts can we become more comfortable interacting with others.

This video is helpful if your patients need workable tips to improve their interactions with strangers and is an excellent complement to some of our worksheets on developing skills for small talk.

10 Ways to have a better conversation – Celeste Headlee

This TEDx talk is focused on tactics to have more effective conversations. In her TED talk, Headlee emphasizes the importance of honesty, clarity, and listening to others as well as yourself.

Headlee shares her ideas about how to talk and listen to others, specifically focusing on sustaining clear, coherent conversation and the importance of clear, direct communication.

She argues that technology has interfered with the development of interpersonal skills, stating that conversation is an art that is fundamentally underrated and should be emphasized more, especially among young children.

The main point Headlee tries to get across is to avoid multitasking and pontificating during conversation. Individuals who are struggling with active listening and keeping a conversation going would benefit from the tips she offers in this video, as she uses a lot of the same principles when interviewing her radio guests to ensure that she is getting the most out of their appearances.

She specifically emphasizes the importance of being continually present while talking and listening to someone, which is strongly emphasized in social skills training.

How Can I Say This – Beth Buelow

Each episode also provides techniques or approaches to help listeners become more confident when dealing with different social situations. The podcast also takes listener questions about dealing with social situations and issues.

If your clients are struggling with introducing themselves to new people, they may benefit from the episodes on talking to strangers and how to have difficult conversations.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts .

Social Skills Coaching – Patrick King

King focuses on using emotional intelligence and understanding human interaction to help break down emotional barriers, improve listeners’ confidence, and equip people with the tools they need for success.

Although King’s expertise is centered on romantic relationships, this podcast provides strategies to improve one’s emotional awareness and engage in better communication.

People engaging in social skills training would benefit from the episode on social sensitivity, which examines the social dynamics of the brain. It also explains why our brains are programmed to respond more to specific traits (e.g., warmth, dominance) and why people with those traits are often elevated to higher positions within the social hierarchy.

Available on  Apple Podcasts .

17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners

Expand your arsenal and impact with these 17 Positive Psychology Exercises [PDF] , scientifically designed to promote human flourishing, meaning, and wellbeing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

There are several resources available on our website to complement the social skills training that you are providing to your clients.

Our Emotional Intelligence Masterclass© trains helping professionals in methodology that helps increase their client’s emotional intelligence.

The client workbook has several exercises that practitioners can give their clients to develop an awareness of their emotions and, subsequently, understand how those emotions might contribute to interactions with others.

Our Positive Psychology Toolkit© provides over 400 exercises and tools, and the Social Network Investment exercise, included in the Toolkit, focuses on reflecting on a client’s current social network. By further looking into the amount of time and investment devoted to the members of their social network, clients can further identify who is supportive of their endeavors and who negatively affects experiences.

With this knowledge, relationships can be analyzed before devoting even more time and investment that might not facilitate positive emotions.

People who struggle with initiating conversation might also have trouble talking about their emotions. Our exercise on Asking for Support , also in the Toolkit, can provide assistance to someone having trouble communicating their emotions.

It also provides strategies to practice asking for help when needed. This exercise also gives you the opportunity to identify any personal barriers that are impending your ability to seek help from others.

You might be interested in this sister article, Social Skills Training for Kids , which provides top resources for teachers. To enhance your knowledge, our Social Skills Books for Adults & Kids  is a must-read selection of top books.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

Improving social skills is an important skill to develop for anyone trying to facilitate professional and personal connections.

However, sometimes clients might not even realize they need targeted interventions to help with their social skills, and they might approach a therapist with other challenges around anxiety entering new situations.

For that reason, we hope this article provided valuable options for the development of social skills, with useful activities and social skills worksheets to be incorporated into your sessions.

We encourage you and your clients to explore these exercises together and engage in goal-setting tools to target areas that will benefit their daily lives, relationships, and communication.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Anderson, G., & Kazantzis, N. (2008). Social problem-solving skills for adults with mild intellectual disability: A multiple case study. Behaviour Change , 25 (2), 97–108.
• Cognitive Development Learning Centre. (2019). Training eye contact in communication . Retrieved May 4, 2021, from https://cognitive.com.sg/training-eye-contact-in-communication/
• Fleming, C. (2013). It’s the way you say it: Becoming articulate, well-spoken and clear (2nd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.
• Social skills training. (n.d.). In  Encyclopedia of mental disorder. Retrieved May 4, 2021, from http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Social-skills-training.html

Share this article:

Article feedback

What our readers think.

Hello, I am trying to open the link to the ARE-method but am unable to.

Please try to access the worksheet here .

If you experience further issues with accessing the link, please let me know!

Warm regards, Julia | Community Manager

Sounds so good for my young adult. Do you know of any in person sessions, workshops, which would benefit him being in person.

I would like to know what the best book to get for my husband for him to learn social skills conversations. Thank You

check out our article “ 12 Must-Read Social Skills Books for Adults & Kids “.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards, Julia | Community Manager

Are there any online classes for people suffering with anxiety, Aspergers and a lack of social skills? This is a great article, but there are no therapists who teach social skills. These are skills that come from parents. Like me, when you have no parent or friends to teach you, what do you do? Please make an online course. I would pay to watch a course and even buy materials.

Thank you for your thoughtful comment and interest in an online course addressing anxiety, Aspergers, and social skills. I understand how challenging it can be to find the right resources, especially when traditional sources of support may not be readily available.

While we don’t currently offer an online course, we are happy to recommend a helpful resource that cater to individuals experiencing similar difficulties: Psychology Today has a great directory you can use to find therapists in your local area. Usually, the therapists provide a summary in their profile with their areas of expertise and types of issues they are used to working with.

I hope this helps.

Hello, I just found out about this website today and this is the exact type of service I need. I unfortunately cannot find any one like this that is near me or accept my insurance. And I need this fast since my quality of life is so bad, I have severe social anxiety, and never had friends or a relationship.

Hi there a lot of the links don’t work in this article? How can I access the resources?

Thanks for your question! We are working on updating all the broken links in our articles, as they can be outdated. Which specific resource are you looking for?

Maybe I can help 🙂

Kind regards, -Caroline | Community Manager

Living socially isolated, getting told I have autism ad the age of 33, I found out that I have a lot to learn about being social with people. Now knowing what my “ problem” is also gave me the drive to improve my people skills. Fearing I willing never fully understand feelings ( not even my own) all help is welcome. And this was a very helpful article. Living in a world with tips and tricks to look normal will never be easy. But you sure help me .. thank you..

AMAZING work.. .as always. Thank you !

Thank you Gabriella social skills have been a real issue for me for my whole life. There are so many helpful avenues to explore thanks this article.

Steven Cronson My brothers didn’t consider me an Aspie and made a pact to ignore me , block me I hadn’t even learned many social skills my brother a psychiatrist tried by giving me ptsd and gad a Divorce to try to get me to end my life. My wife proudly fought back and figured out how better to understand me. And I fought the awful had medicine Lexapro that I consider the devil in a pill that made me flat and losing my superpower focusing ability. I hope a producer latched on to my fascinating story of greed, over good, attack on my very life and a brother doctor that should never been one. My dad a psychiatrist made me a DDS to be respected and listened to but not even work and married off in a fake but better life. They accused me an Aspie blind to empathy. B

I’m sorry to read about your challenges with your family. It’s good that you have what sounds like a supportive ally in your wife. And indeed, medications don’t work for everyone — or it may be the case that a different medication may suit you better. Definitely raise these concerns with a trusted psychiatrist if you feel medication could help you.

As you note, it’s a harmful myth that those on the autism spectrum don’t feel empathy. And this myth unfairly stigmatises members of this community. I’m sorry to read about these accusations from your family.

On another note, if you’d like to work on your social skills, consider reaching out to support groups for those with Aspergers in your area, or seeking the support of a therapist with expertise in this area. Psychology Today has a great directory you can use to find therapists in your local area. Usually, the therapists provide a summary in their profile with their areas of expertise and types of issues they are used to working with.

I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best.

– Nicole | Community manager

Let us know your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related articles

EMDR Training & 6 Best Certification Programs

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has gained significant recognition for its effectiveness in treating trauma-related conditions and other mental health issues (Oren & [...]

Learning Disabilities: 9 Types, Symptoms & Tests

Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Sylvester Stalone, Thomas Edison, and Keanu Reeves. What do all of these individuals have in common? They have all been diagnosed [...]

Best Courses for Counselors to Grow & Develop Your Skills

Counselors come from a great variety of backgrounds often with roots in a range of helping professions. Every counselor needs to keep abreast of the [...]

Read other articles by their category

• Body & Brain (55)
• Coaching & Application (59)
• Compassion (26)
• Counseling (51)
• Emotional Intelligence (24)
• Gratitude (18)
• Grief & Bereavement (21)
• Happiness & SWB (40)
• Meaning & Values (27)
• Meditation (21)
• Mindfulness (44)
• Motivation & Goals (46)
• Optimism & Mindset (35)
• Positive CBT (30)
• Positive Communication (23)
• Positive Education (48)
• Positive Emotions (32)
• Positive Leadership (20)
• Positive Parenting (16)
• Positive Psychology (34)
• Positive Workplace (37)
• Productivity (18)
• Relationships (46)
• Resilience & Coping (40)
• Self Awareness (22)
• Self Esteem (38)
• Strengths & Virtues (33)
• Stress & Burnout Prevention (38)
• Theory & Books (46)
• Therapy Exercises (37)
• Types of Therapy (64)

3 Positive Psychology Tools (PDF)

Social problem solving: Theory, research, and training.

• January 2004
• This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.

Discover the world's research

• 25+ million members
• 160+ million publication pages
• 2.3+ billion citations

No full-text available

To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

• Khalida Muntasher

• Jayanti Shinge

• J AFFECT DISORDERS

• John G. Keilp

• Zoltan Nagy

• Think Skills Creativ

• Purity Ngina
• John Kabutha Mugo

• Elcin Ray-Yol

• Zobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi

• COGNITIVE THER RES
• Edward C. Chang

• Eda ÜNLÜ SAĞDIÇ
• Oğuzhan ÇOLAKKADIOĞLU

• Marissa A. Novotny
• Rocky Haynes

• Sahana Murthy
• Kasik László

• J AM ACAD CHILD PSY
• Benjamin Chan

• BMC PSYCHIATRY
• Benjamin W C Chan
• Christina Kirikian

• Humera Afaq
• Adnan Özbey
• Nafiseh Khodadadi

• عبدالمطلب عبدالقادر عبدالمطلب
• سعود عبدالعزيز الغانم

• عبدالرحمن بن عبدالله الجاسر
• Susan Branje
• Susan Hayes

• Barbara Dritschel

• Hasan Ünver
• Educ Inform Tech

• Maisha Syeda
• Rachelle Graham

• Shaokun Chen
• Int J Environ Res Publ Health
• Chuanhua Gu
• Xiaoqing Ma

• Progr Palliat Care

• Mjed Aloklah

• Citra Abriani Maharani

• Linda Pīpkalēja

• Uwe Schlegel

• Ying Chuen Chan

• James Peugh

• Recruit researchers
• Join for free
• Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up

Social Problem Solving as a Predictor of Well-being in Adolescents and Young Adults

• Published: 02 October 2009
• Volume 95 , pages 393–406, ( 2010 )

Cite this article

• Andrew M. H. Siu 1 &
• Daniel T. L. Shek 2  

2195 Accesses

44 Citations

Explore all metrics

Social problem solving is the cognitive-affective-behavioral process by which people attempt to resolve real-life problems in a social environment, and is of key importance in the management of emotions and well-being. This paper reviews a series of studies on social problem solving conducted by the authors. First, we developed and validated the Chinese version of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory Revised (C-SPSI-R) which demonstrated very good psychometric properties. Second, we identified the scope of stressful social situations faced by young adults and their self-efficacy in facing such situations ( N  = 179). Young adults were generally confident about their basic social skills but found it much more stressful to relate to family members, handle conflicts, handle negative behaviors from others, self-disclose to others, and to express love. Third, in two separate studies, we found that social problem solving was closely linked to measures of depression ( n  = 200), anxiety ( n  = 235), and family well-being ( N  = 1462). Measures of anxiety and depression were found to be significantly related to aspects of social problem solving in expected directions and expected strength. In another study, higher parental social problem solving behavior and lower avoidance behavior were found to be related to indicators of family well-being, including better overall family functioning, and fewer parent–adolescent conflicts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Social Psychology Models of Mental Function and Behavior

Development and Psychometric Properties of a Social Problem Solving Test for Adolescents

Introduction to the Volume

Albano, A. M., Marten, P. A., Holt, C. S., & Heimberg, R. G. (1995). Cognitive-behavioral group treatment for social phobia in adolescents: A preliminary study. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 183 , 649–656.

Article   Google Scholar  

Allison, R. E. (1997).The concept of harmony in Chuang Tzu. In S. H. Liu & R. E. Allison (Eds.), Harmony and strife: Contemporary perspectives, east and west (pp. 169–186). The Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.

Bonner, R. L., & Rich, A. R. (1988). Negative life stress, social problem-solving self-appraisal, and hopelessness: Implications for suicide research. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 12 , 549–556.

Chang, E. C., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1996). Relations between problem orientation and optimism, pessimism, and trait affectivity. Behavior Research and Therapy, 34 , 185–194.

Google Scholar  

Clum, G. A., Yang, B., Febbraro, G. A., & Canfield, D. L. (1996). An investigation of the validity of the SPSI and SPSI-R in differentiating high-suicidal from depressed, low-suicidal college students. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 18 , 119–132.

Corrigan, P. W., Schade, M. L., & Liberman, R. P. (1992). Social skills training. In R. P. Liberman (Ed.), Handbook of psychiatric rehabilitation . New York: Macmillan.

Csoti, M. (1999). People skills for young adults . London: Jessica Kingsley.

D’Zurilla, T. J. (1986). Problem-solving therapy: A social competence approach to clinical intervention . New York: Springer.

D’Zurilla, T. J., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (1995). Conceptual and methodological issues in social problem-solving assessment. Behavior Therapy, 26 , 409–432.

D’Zurilla, T. J., & Nezu, A. M. (1990). Development and preliminary evaluation of the social problem-solving inventory. Psychological Assessment, 2 , 156–163.

D’Zurilla, T. J., Nezu, A. M., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (1996). Manual for the social problem-solving inventory––revised (SPSI-R) . Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.

D’Zurilla, T. J., & Sheedy, C. F. (1991). Relation between social problem-solving ability and subsequent level of psychological stress in college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61 , 841–846.

Dubow, E. F., & Tisak, J. (1989). The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: The role of social support and social problem-solving skills. Child Development, 60 , 1412–1423.

Dubow, E. F., Tisak, J., Causey, D., & Hryshko, A. (1991). A two-year longitudinal study of stressful life events, social support, and social problem-solving skills: Contributions to children’s behavioral and academic adjustment. Child Development, 62 , 583–599.

Feeney, J. A., & Noller, P. (1996). Adult attachment . Newcastle, UK: Sage.

Felce, D., & Perry, J. (1995). Quality of life: Its definition and measurement. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 16 , 51–74.

Foster, S. L., & Robin, A. L. (1989). Parent-adolescent conflict. In E. J. Mash (Ed.), Treatment of childhood disorders (pp. 493–528). New York: Guilford Press.

Frey, K. S., Hirschstein, M. K., & Guzzo, B. A. (2000). Second step: Preventing aggression by promoting social competence. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8 , 102–112.

Frye, A. A., & Goodman, S. H. (2000). Which social problem solving components buffer depression in adolescent girls? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24 , 637–650.

Goldberg, A. J. S. (1998). Family problem solving: A resource and potential target for intervention in families of children with Down’s syndrome. Dissertation Abstracts International Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 59 (4-B), 1913.

Goodman, S. H., Gravitt, G. W., & Kaslow, N. J. (1995). Social problem solving: A moderator of the relation between negative life stress and depression symptoms in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23 , 473–485.

Graber, J. A. E., Brooks-Gunn, J. E., & Petersen, A. C. E. (1996). Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Guevremont, D. C., & Foster, S. L. (1993). Impact of social problem-solving training on aggressive boys: Skill acquisition, behavior change, and generalization. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21 , 13–27.

Jaffe, W. B., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (2003). Adolescent problem solving, parent problem solving, and externalizing behavior in adolescents. Behavior Therapy, 34 , 295–311.

Kang, S. H., & Lee, J. Y. (1992). Stress-buffering effects of social support and social problem solving skills in the adjustment of children. Korean Journal of Child Studies, 13 , 175–188.

Kennedy, M. G., Felner, R. D., Cauce, A., & Primavera, J. (1988). Social problem solving and adjustment in adolescence: The influence of moral reasoning level, scoring alternatives, and family climate. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 17 , 73–83.

Kirkbride, P. S., Tang, S. F., & Westwood, R. I. (1991). Chinese conflict preferences and negotiating behaviour: Cultural and psychological influences. Organization Studies, 12 , 365–386.

Logan, G. D. (1989). Automaticity and cognitive control. In J. A. Bargh & J. S. Uleman (Eds.), Unintended thought (pp. 52–74). New York: Guilford Press.

Maydeu-Olivares, A., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1995). A factor analysis of the social problem-solving inventory using polychoric correlations. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 11 , 98–107.

Maydeu-Olivares, A., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1996). A factor-analytic study of the social problem-solving inventory: An integration of theory and data. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20 , 115–133.

Moore, K. A., Evans, V. J., Brooks, G., & Roth, J. (2001). What are good child outcomes? In A. Thornton (Ed.), The well-being of children and families: Research and data needs (pp. 59–84). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Nezu, A. M. (1986a). Negative life stress and anxiety: Problem solving as a moderator variable. Psychological Reports, 58 , 279–283.

Nezu, A. M. (1986b). Social problem solving as a moderating variable between negative life stress and depressive symptoms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 10 , 489–498.

Robin, A. L., & Foster, S. L. (1984). Problem-solving communication training: A behavioral-family systems approach to parent-adolescent conflict. Advances in Child Behavioral Analysis and Therapy, 3 , 195–240.

Shek, D. T. L. (1997). Family environment and adolescent psychological well-being, school adjustment, and problem behavior: A pioneer study in a Chinese context. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 158 , 113–128.

Shek, D. T. L. (1998). A longitudinal study of the relations of parent-adolescent conflict to adolescent psychological well-being. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 159 , 53–67.

Shek, D. T. L. (2002). Assessment of family functioning Chinese adolescents: The Chinese family assessment instrument. In N. N. Singh, T. Ollendick, & A. N. Singh (Eds.), International perspectives on child and adolescent mental health (pp. 297–316). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.

Shek, D. T. L., & Chan, L. K. (1998). Perceptions of a happy family amongst Chinese adolescents and their parents. Journal of Youth Studies, 1 , 178–189.

Shenkar, O., & Ronen, S. (1987). The cultural context of negotiations: The implications of Chinese interpersonal norms. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 23 , 263–275.

Shure, M. (1997). Interpersonal cognitive problem solving: Primary prevention of early high-risk behaviors in the preschool and primary years. In G. Albee & T. Gullotta (Eds.), Primary prevention works (pp. 167–188). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Siu, A. M. H. (2003). Interpersonal competence, family functioning, and parent-adolescent conflicts. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 63 (10-A), 3733.

Siu, A. M. H., & Shek, D. T. L. (2005a). The Chinese version of the social problem-solving inventory: Some initial results on reliability and validity. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61 , 347–360.

Siu, A. M. H., & Shek, D. T. L. (2005b). Psychometric properties of the Chinese family assessment instrument in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Adolescence, 40 , 817–830.

Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). Intercultural conflict styles: A face-negotiation theory. In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), Theories in intercultural communication (pp. 215–235). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage).

Wallander, J. L., Schmitt, M., & Koot, H. M. (2001). Quality of life measurement in children and adolescents: Issues, instruments and applications. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57 , 571–585.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

Andrew M. H. Siu

Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

Daniel T. L. Shek

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew M. H. Siu .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Siu, A.M.H., Shek, D.T.L. Social Problem Solving as a Predictor of Well-being in Adolescents and Young Adults. Soc Indic Res 95 , 393–406 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9527-5

Download citation

Accepted : 05 April 2009

Published : 02 October 2009

Issue Date : February 2010

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9527-5

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Social problem solving
• Family functioning
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Creating Environments Conducive to Social Interaction
• Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making
• Developing a Positive Climate with Trust and Respect
• Developing Self-Esteem, Confidence, Resiliency, and Mindset
• Developing Ability to Consider Different Perspectives
• Developing Tools and Techniques Useful in Social Problem-Solving
• Leadership Problem-Solving Model
• A Problem-Solving Model for Improving Student Achievement
• Six-Step Problem-Solving Model
• Hurson’s Productive Thinking Model: Solving Problems Creatively
• The Power of Storytelling and Play
• Creative Documentation & Assessment
• Materials for Use in Creating “Third Party” Solution Scenarios
• Resources for Connecting Schools to Communities
• Resources for Enabling Students

This is the home page for socialproblemsolving.com!

Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field.

For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click here .

Loading metrics

Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

In the here and now: Future thinking and social problem-solving in depression

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected] (SN); [email protected] (BD)

Affiliation Department of Psychology, De Montfort University, Leicester, England

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland

• Saima Noreen, 
• Barbara Dritschel

• Published: June 30, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661
• Reader Comments

This research investigates whether thinking about the consequences of a problem being resolved can improve social problem-solving in clinical depression. We also explore whether impaired social problem solving is related to inhibitory control. Thirty-six depressed and 43 non-depressed participants were presented with six social problems and were asked to generate consequences for the problems being resolved or remaining unresolved. Participants were then asked to solve the problems and recall all the consequences initially generated. Participants also completed the Emotional Stroop and Flanker tasks. We found that whilst depressed participants were impaired at social problem-solving after generating unresolved consequences, they were successful at generating solutions for problems for which they previously generated resolved consequences. Depressed participants were also impaired on the Stroop task, providing support for an impaired inhibitory control account of social problem-solving. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning social problem-solving in depression and may contribute to the development of new therapeutic interventions to improve social-problem solving in depression.

Citation: Noreen S, Dritschel B (2022) In the here and now: Future thinking and social problem-solving in depression. PLoS ONE 17(6): e0270661. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661

Editor: Anna Manelis, University of Pittsburgh, UNITED STATES

Received: December 20, 2021; Accepted: June 14, 2022; Published: June 30, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Noreen, Dritschel. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The data underlying the results presented in the study are available from the following URL DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/SDNH7 .

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: No authors have competing interests.

Introduction

Social problem-solving reflects the process through which people generate effective solutions to problems experienced in everyday life [ 1 , 2 ]. Given that we frequently encounter social or interpersonal problems in everyday life, such as disagreements with friends, workplace disputes and marital conflicts, the ability to solve these problems effectively is not only important for our relationships with others, but also our psychological health and mental well-being [ 3 , 4 ]. Furthermore, the ability to maintain good social relationships is also important for our psychological well-being.

Deficits in social problem-solving are a central feature of depression [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Priester and Chun [ 7 ] for example, found that depressed individuals exhibit a negative orientation towards a social problem compared to non-depressed healthy individuals. Furthermore, Watkins and Baracaia [ 8 ] and Goddard, Dritschel & Burton [ 3 ] found that depressed individuals generated fewer relevant steps during problem-solving and their proposed solutions were less effective than their non-depressed counterparts.

Research also suggests that rumination, which involves individuals focusing their thoughts and behaviour on their depressive symptoms and the consequences of these symptoms [ 9 ] may be a key mechanism underlying poor social problem-solving in depression. The importance of rumination in depressive disorders has been well established [ 10 ] with rumination linked to depression maintenance, negative cognitions and enhanced accessibility of negative memories [ 11 – 13 ].

Research has also found that rumination impairs social problem-solving, with ruminative thinking having a detrimental impact on both problem orientation and problem-solving skill. Lyubomirsky et al. [ 14 ] had dysphoric and non-dysphoric participants complete the Means-End Problem-solving Task (MEPS, [ 15 ]). In the MEPS, participants are presented with a hypothetical social problem and a positive resolution to the problem. Participants are asked to generate a number of steps to reach the proposed solution. Lyubomirsky et al. [ 14 ] found that dysphoric individuals induced to ruminate generated fewer steps and produced fewer effective solutions on the MEPS compared to dysphoric individuals who distracted themselves from their mood and their non-dysphoric counterparts. Furthermore, they also found that dysphoric individuals who ruminated appraised their problems as overwhelming and unresolvable, thus reflecting a negative problem orientation.

It is also possible, however, that poor problem-solving contributes to the maintenance of rumination in depression. As rumination involves recurrent thinking, it can be conceptualised as an attempt to problem solve and resolve unfulfilled goals [ 16 , 17 ]. Indeed, research has found that the content of rumination in depression often focuses on trying to solve personal problems [ 14 ]. Furthermore, ruminative thinking continues to persist until a goal is attained or discarded. These findings suggest that a vicious cycle can ensue. There is considerable evidence that rumination impairs effective problem-solving [ 12 , 14 ], increasing the likelihood of the problem being unresolved. In turn, the lack of resolution continues to trigger and maintain further rumination [ 18 ].

Another important feature of depressive thinking is hopelessness, which is defined as the extent to which an individual is pessimistic about the future [ 4 , 19 – 21 ]. Research has found that depressed individuals generate fewer positive future events [ 22 ] which may impair social problem-solving. Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ], for example, had participants engage in future thinking by presenting them with a hypothetical social problem and asking them to generate the consequences of the social problem being resolved or remaining unresolved. Participants were presented with some of the solutions and were asked to solve the problem in order to achieve the resolution described. Participants were also asked to recall all of the consequences generated. The study found that participants reporting higher levels of depression and rumination were less effective at generating solutions. Furthermore, they also found that those reporting higher levels of rumination produced fewer effective solutions for social problems that they had previously generated unresolved consequences for. Individuals scoring high in rumination also recalled more of the unresolved consequences in a subsequent memory test. Taken together, these findings suggest that negative future thinking impairs the generation of effective solutions for individuals with high rumination tendencies.

One explanation for these findings may relate to the type of thinking evoked when participants were asked to think of the consequences of the problem being resolved or unresolved. According to the concreteness theory [ 24 ], there are two types of thinking; abstract and concrete. Abstract thinking is operationalised as ‘indistinct, equivocal, unclear and aggregated’ and reflects broad overarching general memories, whilst concrete thinking is ‘distinct, situational, specific and clear’ and reflects more specific individualised memories. As rumination is characterised by increased abstract thinking and reduced concrete thinking, it is possible that encouraging high ruminating individuals to think about the consequences of a problem remaining unresolved leads to greater abstract thinking, which subsequently impairs problem-solving. This is consistent with research by Watkins & Moulds [ 25 ] who found that abstract thinking, typical of rumination, impaired social problem-solving in depression. Similarly, Goddard, Dritschel & Burton [ 3 ] found that reduced social problem-solving performance in a clinically depressed sample was associated with the retrieval of spontaneous abstract categoric memories during problem-solving.

It is also possible, however, that encouraging participants to think about the consequences of a problem being resolved would encourage more concrete thinking and improve social problem-solving. Indeed, Watkins & Moulds [ 25 ] found that by encouraging participants to self-focus more concretely (i.e., focusing on the self in more concrete terms, such as, focusing on your experience of the way you feel inside) improved social problem-solving in depression. Given that Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ], did not have a baseline measure of problem-solving (one where no consequences were generated) it is unclear whether generating the consequences of a problem being resolved in individuals high in rumination may actually improve social problem-solving.

This is an important issue given that ineffective problem-solving has been linked to both the aetiology and maintenance of depression, which has led to the development of depression treatments that target social problem-solving [ 26 , 27 ]. These treatments have demonstrated some clinical improvements in social problem-solving [ 28 , 29 ], and have been found to alleviate some of the symptoms of depression [ 30 – 32 ]. However, these strategies do not address ruminative thinking directly associated with information related to social problem-solving. Therefore, it is possible that the task developed by Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ] may be an effective tool to improve social problem-solving in high ruminating individuals.

It is also possible that Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel’s [ 23 ] findings may be due to impaired inhibitory control. For example, people scoring high in rumination may be unable to inhibit the negative consequences they generated earlier. Difficulties inhibiting previously generated negative consequences may subsequently affect their ability to think clearly about the steps needed to solve a problem, thus resulting in impaired social problem-solving. It has been well established that inhibition is necessary to prevent irrelevant information from entering memory and instead focusing on relevant material [ 33 ]. Indeed, research has found that individuals scoring high on measures of rumination and depression demonstrate greater difficulty in inhibiting irrelevant information [ 34 , 35 ]. Joormann [ 36 ], for example, found that dysphoric participants were impaired in their ability to inhibit negative material in comparison to non-depressed controls. There were no group differences, however, for positive material. Taken together, these findings suggest that both depression and rumination are associated with poor inhibitory control.

Whilst there have been a number of studies implicating the role of rumination in impairing social problem-solving, the role of inhibiting irrelevant information has not yet been examined. Thus, a key underlying process that could potentially contribute to the relationship between depression, rumination and impaired social problem-solving is currently unknown.

The aim of the present research is to provide further insight into the mechanisms that contribute to poor social problem-solving in depression. Specifically, we investigate whether thinking about the consequences of a problem being resolved can improve social problem-solving in a clinically depressed sample relative to non-depressed controls. We also examine whether thinking about the consequences of a problem being unresolved impairs social problem-solving in a clinically depressed sample significantly more than non-depressed controls. Furthermore, we also explore whether impaired social problem-solving is related to impaired inhibitory control.

To this end, participants took part in three sessions. In the first session, participants were screened for depression using the MINI-Plus. In the second session, depressed and non-depressed participants were presented with 8 vignettes that consisted of a series of interpersonal problems using a modified version [ 23 ] of the Means-End Problem-solving Task (MEPS; [ 15 ]). Participants were asked to generate four consequences of the problem being resolved for three of the vignettes and four consequences for the problem being unresolved for another three of the vignettes. Subsequently, participants were given six of the vignettes (including two that had not previously been presented, which acted as a baseline measure of problem-solving) with their resolutions and were asked to describe the steps they would take to solve the problem in order to achieve the resolution described. Following a ten-minute distraction task, participants were presented with all of the original six vignettes and were asked to recall all of the consequences that they had previously generated.

In the third session, participants were given the Flanker task [ 37 ] and the Emotional Stroop task (adapted from Strand, Oram & Hammar, [ 38 ]) to assess inhibitory control for both emotional and non-emotional stimuli. Comparing the performance on these two tasks would allow us to assess whether poor inhibitory control is greater for emotional stimuli. For social problem-solving we predicted that depressed individuals would perform poorer than non-depressed individuals in the baseline condition and also when they generate unresolved consequences. We also predicted that depressed individuals would recall more unresolved than resolved consequences, compared to non-depressed participants. For the Emotional Stroop and Flanker Tasks, we predicted that depressed participants would show inhibitory impairments on these tasks, compared to non-depressed participants. Finally, we also predicted that there would be a relationship between social-problem solving and inhibitory control, with poorer social problem-solving abilities related to impaired inhibitory control.

Participants

One hundred and thirteen participants (51M & 62F; age M = 23.41; SD = 3.46) took part in the initial screening session. Participants were university students that were recruited using posters advertising the study at Goldsmiths, University of London and were reimbursed for their participation (£5 per session). Participants completed the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus (MINI-Plus; [ 39 ]) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; [ 40 ]) in order to identify the depressed and non-depressed control groups. To be included in the depressed group, participants had to meet the criteria for current depression according to the MINI-Plus and have a minimum BDI-II score of 15. Eligibility for the controls required having no current or past Axis One disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders and substance use disorders) based on the MINI-Plus criteria and having a BDI-II score of 5 or below. These inclusion criteria resulted in a sample of 86 participants (41 White British; 23 British Asian (Pakistani, Indian or Bengali) and 22 Black British (African or Caribbean). A further 7 participants had to be excluded as they failed to complete all three study sessions. This resulted in 43 non-depressed control participants (17M, 26F; Mean age = 21.95; SD = 3.80) and 36 depressed participants (12M, 24F; Mean age = 21.06; SD = 4.41) in the final sample. For the currently depressed participants nine also met the criteria for dysthymic disorder, 11 met the criteria for panic disorder, 9 for social phobia, 2 for anorexia, 1 bulimia and 9 had mixed depression and anxiety. Seventeen reported taking antidepressant medications in the past and 12 had a history of past depression. The MINI-Plus was administered by a trained researcher. A second trained rater scored 25% of the interviews and there was 100% agreement regarding diagnostic status. The study was approved by the Psychology Ethics Committee, Goldsmiths, University of London. All participants provided written consent before taking part in the study.

The Beck Depression Inventory-II [ 40 ]. The BDI-II consists of 21 items that assess both psychological and physiological symptoms of depression. Participants rate the degree to which they experience each symptom over the past two weeks on a 4- point scale. The BDI-II scale has excellent psychometric properties with good internal consistency, re-test reliability and concurrent validity with other measures of depression [ 41 ]. In the present study BDI-II was found to be highly reliable (21 items; α = .97).

The Rumination Response Scale (RRS; [ 42 ]). The RRS scale consists of 22 items that assess how participants typically respond to sad or dysphoric mood. Each item is rated on a 4- point scale (with 1 = Almost never to 4 = Almost always ). Scores range from 22–88, with higher scores indicating greater rumination. RRS has good construct validity and internal consistency [ 43 ]. In the present study RRS was found to be highly reliable (22 items; α = .95).

The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; [ 44 ]). STAI is comprised of two questionnaires each containing 20-items that assess dispositional and situational anxiety, respectively. Each item is rated on a 4- point scale (with, 1 = not at all to 4 = very much ). Scores range from 20–80 on each questionnaire, with higher scores indicating increased anxiety. Research has found that STAI has good construct and concurrent validity [ 44 , 45 ]. The STAI also has good internal consistency with dispositional anxiety ranging from α = .92- α = .94 and situational anxiety ranging from α = .88 - α = .93 [ 44 , 46 ]. In the present study both state and trait measures were found to be highly reliable (20 items each scale; α = .96, α = .97, respectively).

Emotional Stroop task

The Emotional Stroop task (adapted from Strand, Oram & Hammar [ 38 ]) was used to investigate emotional inhibition and attention. The task consists of lexical and visual facial stimuli in the form of an emotional word (i.e., positive or negative) being superimposed on an emotional face (i.e., happy or sad). The task is to identify the emotional valence of the word and ignore the emotion displayed on the face. Half of the trials were congruent and the other half were incongruent. Congruent trials were defined as emotional words whose semantic meaning corresponded to the emotion of the face that it was superimposed on (i.e., the word ‘depressed’ superimposed on a sad face). Incongruent trials were defined as emotional words whose semantic meaning differed from the emotion expressed on the face that it was superimposed on (i.e., the word ‘elated’ superimposed on a sad face, or the word ‘miserable’ superimposed on a happy face).

The stimulus material consisted of 10 photographic colour images of faces (5 male & 5 female; Strand, Oram & Hammer, [ 38 ]) unknown to the participants. The images were developed at the University of St Andrews [ 47 ] with the emotional expressions and valence based on the Facial Acting Coding system developed by Ekman and colleagues [ 48 ]. Forty emotional (20 positive and 20 negative) words were superimposed in black font across the nose. All of the faces were used in the experimental session, with each face appearing with 2 positive and 2 negative words. Each word was presented twice, once with a happy face and once with a sad face. Thus, in a block of 80 trials, participants saw each of the 10 faces 8 times, and each of the 40 words twice, with half of the words superimposed on happy faces and the other half superimposed on the sad faces. The block of 80 stimuli was repeated in random order two times. The second block contained the same emotional words and faces as the first block but differed in terms of the word-face combinations. In total participants were given 160 trials.

In the task participants had to report the emotional valence of the word irrespective of the valence of the facial expression. Participants were asked to press the left arrow “<” when the word was positive and right arrow “>” when the word was negative. Prior to the experimental blocks, participants completed a practice block. This was similar to the main block but differed in terms of the faces and words that were presented. The practice block consisted of emotional words (20 positive and 20 negative) being superimposed on emotionally neutral faces. The practice block consisted of 40 trials with each emotional word-face combination presented once. To determine if there were any group differences, stroop responses were scored. In the task both correct and incorrect responses were recorded and error rates for incongruent trials were analysed. Furthermore, participant’s reaction times for correct responses were also analysed. Mean reaction times for congruent and incongruent trials were calculated. In the present study, the split half reliability for the Emotional Stroop task was found to be good (α = .42).

Flanker task [ 37 ]

In the flanker task, participants were presented with a string of 5 letters (e.g., CCHCC) and were asked to focus their attention solely on the middle letter. Participants were instructed to press the left arrow if the target letter was H or K (straight-lined stimulus) and the right arrow if the target letter was C or S (curvy-lined stimulus). The remaining letters were one of the remaining three possible letters (H, K, C or S) and were either the same type of stimuli (e.g., HHKHH; compatible) or were a different type (CCKCC; incompatible). For the task, participants must exercise inhibitory control by ignoring the irrelevant stimuli (i.e., the outlaying four letters) and instead focus on the central stimulus.

Each trial consisted of a 1000ms fixation cross followed by the presentation of the 5-letter string. Participants were given unlimited time to respond, but were told to respond as quickly and accurately as possible. Accuracy and response times were recorded. Participants were given 2 blocks of 48 experimental trials to complete. After one block, participants were given a short 2-min break. The order of the blocks was fully counterbalanced across participants. In order to learn the response keys, participants were initially given 12 practice trials to complete. The practice trials were similar to the experimental trials but participants were given accuracy feedback (i.e., correct or incorrect response) after each trial. In the present study, the split half reliability for the Flanker task was found to be adequate (α = .42).

Means End Problem-Solving (MEPS; [ 15 ]).

We constructed a modified version of the MEPS using eight hypothetical scenarios (adapted from Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel, [ 23 ]). The scenarios consisted of hypothetical interpersonal problems that could be encountered by a student population, such as, your supervisor finding fault with your work or your housemates not doing their chores etc. The scenarios were matched on word count, openness, difficulty in solving the hypothetical problem and the number of consequences generated (see Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ] for more information).

Each scenario consisted of a problem and a positive resolution. During the consequence generation phase, participants were only presented with the problem and asked to generate possible consequences for the problem either being resolved or remaining unresolved. During the problem-solving phase, participants were presented with both the problem and the positive resolution and were asked to describe the steps they would take to solve the problem and reach the proposed resolution.

The number of relevant means taken to reach the proposed solution and the effectiveness of the solutions was scored by an independent coder blind to the participant’s group status. The number of relevant means was defined as the number of relevant (and detailed) steps taken to reach the proposed solution. Effectiveness was rated using a 7- point scale with 1 being not at all effective and 7 being extremely effective. Solutions to problems were considered to be effective if they maximized positive and minimized negative consequences [ 49 ]. A second coder, also blind to participant’s group status was employed to validate findings. This coder rated 30% of the proposed solutions. Inter-rater reliability was calculated through a Pearson correlation coefficient (relevant means, r = . 92 , p < .001; effectiveness, r = . 95 , p < .001). In the present study, the split half reliability for MEPs was found to be good (α = .70).

The study consisted of three sessions. In the first session, participants completed the MINI-Plus, BDI II, RRS and STAI. In the second session, participants were presented with six of the eight hypothetical problems. For each problem they were given 4 minutes to generate 4 possible consequences of the problem either being resolved or remaining unresolved. Consequences were defined as “the possible long or short-term outcomes IF the scenario was [or was not] resolved” . Participants were asked to make sure they did not attempt to solve the scenario but only list the consequences of it being resolved or remaining unresolved. For half the hypothetical scenarios, participants generated consequences for the problem being resolved and for the remaining scenarios participants generated consequences for the problem remaining unresolved. The order of scenarios was counterbalanced so that no two ‘resolved’ or ‘not resolved’ scenarios appeared together.

Participants then completed the problem-solving task which consisted of solving six of the eight problem scenarios. These consisted of 4 scenarios that participants had generated consequences for (2 resolved and 2 unresolved) and the remaining two scenarios that participants did not generate any consequences for (a baseline measure of problem-solving).

The allocation of the scenarios to the consequence generation (resolved and unresolved) and the problem-solving phase were fully counterbalanced across participants.

For each problem-scenario, participants were presented with the problem and the positive resolution and were asked to complete the missing part of the story. Participants were given four minutes to generate a solution. Participants were subsequently given a 10-minute distraction task which involved completing some math problems. Finally, participants were given a recall test for the consequences generated earlier. Participants were presented with the 6 hypothetical scenarios presented in the recall generation phase. For each scenario, participants were given four minutes to recall all of the consequences that they had generated previously (prior to the problem-solving phase). Participants were asked to recall all of the consequences as accurately as possible. Participants were asked to recall the consequences for the baseline condition followed by the unresolved consequences and then the resolved consequences.

In a third session, participants completed the executive tasks (the Emotional Stroop task and the Flanker task). The order of the executive tasks was counterbalanced. Furthermore, the order of the administration of sessions 2 & 3 were fully counterbalanced across all participants.

Group characteristics

The depressed group scored significantly higher than the non-depressed group on the BDI, t(36.39) = 17.33, p < .001, RRS, t(70.02) = 9.13, p < .001, and state, t(73.20) = 9.86, p < .001 and trait anxiety scales t(60.34) = 12.90, p < .001. There were no differences, however, between the depressed and non-depressed groups in terms of age, t(69.62) = .96, p = .34. See Table 1 .

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661.t001

Social problem-solving ability: Relevant means

The mean number of relevant means (i.e., steps) taken to reach the proposed solution was assessed using a 2 (group: depressed vs. non-depressed) x 3 (condition: resolved vs. not resolved consequences vs. baseline) ANOVA. We found significant main effects of group, F (1, 77) = 33.66, p < .001, η 2 p = .30, and condition, F (2, 77) = 50.27, p < .001, η 2 p = .40. These were qualified by a group by condition interaction, F (2, 77) = 22.68, p < .001, η 2 p = .23, with the depressed group taking fewer steps than the non-depressed group in the baseline condition, t (61.36) = 3.32, p = .002, d = .76 and in the unresolved condition, t (67.54) = 7.04, p < .001, d = 1.60. There were no differences, however, in the relevant means between the depressed and non-depressed groups in the resolved condition, t (58.19) = 2.03, p = .047, d = .47.

Interestingly, we also found that the non-depressed group did not differ in the relevant means between the baseline condition and the resolved, t (42) = 1.25, p = .22, d = .24, and unresolved conditions, t (42) = 1.63, p = .11, d = .24. The non-depressed group, did, however, take significantly more steps in the resolved than unresolved conditions, t (42) = 2.36, p = .02, d = .46. The depressed group took significantly more steps in the resolved than baseline, t (35) = 3.47, p = .001, d = .57, and unresolved conditions, t (35) = 10.50, p < .001, d = 1.76. Depressed participants, however, took fewer steps in the unresolved than the baseline condition, t (35) = 6.29, p < .001, d = 1.12. We also investigated the effects of gender on social problem-solving, memory accuracy and on the Emotional Stroop and Flanker tasks. We did not find any significant main or interaction effects of gender on any of these variables, all p>.05.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of the proposed solutions was assessed using a 2 (group: depressed vs. non-depressed) x 3 (condition: resolved vs. not resolved consequences vs. baseline) ANOVA. Our analysis found main effects of group, F (1, 77) = 11.35, p < .001, η 2 p = .13, and condition, F (2, 77) = 13.72, p < .001, η 2 p = .15. A significant group by condition interaction was also found, F (2, 77) = 3.96, p = .02, η 2 p = .05, with the depressed group less effective at generating solutions than the non-depressed group in the baseline, t (72.05) = 2.53, p = .01, d = .58 and the unresolved conditions, t (76.73) = 4.01, p < .001, d = .90. There were no differences, however in the effectiveness of solutions generated by the depressed and non-depressed groups in the resolved condition, t (72.73) = 1.0, p = .31, d = .23.

Subsequent analysis also found that the non-depressed group showed no significant differences in the effectiveness of solutions generated between the baseline and resolved, t (42) = .11, p = .91, d = .02, and unresolved conditions, t (42) = 1.58, p = .12, d = .30. There were also no differences in the effectiveness of solutions generated between resolved and unresolved conditions, t (42) = 1.32, p = .20, d = .26. The depressed group, however, were more effective at generating solutions in the resolved than baseline, t (35) = 2.49, p = .02, d = .39 and unresolved conditions, t (35) = 6.47, p < .001, d = 1.18. The depressed group was also more effective at generating solutions in the baseline than the unresolved condition, t (35) = 4.35, p < .01, d = .65. See Table 2 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661.t002

Memory accuracy for consequences

In order to assess recall accuracy for the consequences generated, a 2 (group: depressed vs. control) x 3 (condition: resolved vs. unresolved consequences vs. baseline) mixed design ANOVA was conducted. There were no main effects of either group, F (1, 77) = .94, p = .36, η 2 p = .01 or condition, F (1.84, 141.65) = 1.64, p = .20, η 2 p = .02. However, a significant group by condition interaction was found, F (1.84, 141.65) = 22.89, p < .001, η 2 p = .23, which revealed that whilst the depressed group recalled significantly fewer resolved consequences than the non-depressed group, t (65.55) = 5.12, p < .001, d = 1.17. they recalled significantly more unresolved consequences, t (76.28) = 3.66, p < .001, d = .82. There was no difference, however, between depressed and non-depressed groups in their recall of baseline consequences, t (76.19) = .17, p = .87, d = .04.

Subsequent analyses also revealed that the depressed group recalled significantly more unresolved than resolved consequences, t (35) = 6.79, p < .001, d = 1.25, and baseline consequences, t (35) = 2.41, p = .02, d = .54. The depressed group, however, recalled significantly fewer resolved than baseline consequences, t (35) = 4.22, p < .01, d = .76. Conversely, the non-depressed group recalled significantly fewer unresolved than baseline consequences, t (42) = 2.21, p = .03, d = .36, but recalled significantly more resolved than unresolved consequences, t (42) = 2.84, p = .007, d = .74. There was no difference, however, between the non-depressed groups recall of resolved and baseline consequences, t (42) = 1.70, p = .10, d = .40. See Table 2 .

A 2 (group: depressed vs. control) x 2 (valence: positive vs. negative) x 2 (distractor: happy vs. sad face) mixed design ANOVA on accuracy was conducted. The results revealed main effects of valence, F (1, 77) = 27.60, p < .001, η 2 p = .26, distractor, F (1, 77) = 5.07, p = .03, η 2 p = .06, and group, F (1, 77) = 11.08, p = .001, η 2 p = .13. These main effects were qualified by a 3-way valence by distractor by group interaction, F (1, 77) = 5.26, p = .03, η 2 p = .06, with the depressed group recalling significantly fewer positive words superimposed on negative faces than the non-depressed group, t (50.97) = 3.48, p = .001, d = .80. There were no differences, however, between depressed and non-depressed groups in their recall for positive words superimposed on positive faces, t (40.65) = 2.07, p = .045, d = .48, negative words superimposed on negative faces, t (72.38) = .36, p = .72, d = .08 or negative words superimposed on positive faces, t (58.12) = 1.07, p = .29, d = .25.

Reaction time

A 2 (group: depressed vs. control) x 2 (valence: positive vs. negative) x 2 (distractor: happy vs. sad face) mixed design ANOVA found a main effect of group, F (1, 77) = 24.0, p < .001, η 2 p = .24, with the non-depressed group significantly faster at responding than the depressed group. We also found a significant valence by distractor by group interaction, F (1, 77) = 5.18, p = .03, η 2 p = .06, with the non-depressed group significantly faster at responding to positive words superimposed on positive faces, t (61.43) = 3.44, p = .001, d = .79, positive words superimposed on negative faces, t (71.42) = 3.14, p < .01, d = .71, and for negative words superimposed on positive faces, t (68.64) = 4.65, p < .001, d = 1.06 than the depressed group. There were no significant differences in reaction times between depressed and non-depressed groups for negative words superimposed on negative faces, t (75.17) = 1.25, p = .21, d = .28. We also did not find a significant effect of valence, F (1, 77) = 3.43, p = .07, η 2 p = .04, and distractor, F (1,77) = .42, p = .52, η 2 p = .01. See Table 3 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661.t003

Flanker task

A 2 (group: depressed vs. control) x 2 (congruency: congruent vs. incongruent) mixed design ANOVA found a main effect of congruency, F (1, 77) = 16.35, p < .001, η 2 p = .18, with participants, overall, more accurate on congruent than incongruent trials. However, we did not find a significant main effect of group, F (1, 77) = .13, p = .72, η 2 p = .002, nor a group by congruency interaction, F (1, 77) = .39, p = .53, η 2 p = .005.

Reaction time.

A 2 (group: depressed vs. control) x 2 (congruency: congruent vs. incongruent) mixed design ANOVA found a main effect of congruency, F (1, 77) = 4.47, p = .04, η 2 p = .06. Overall participants were faster at responding to congruent than incongruent trials. However, we did not find either a significant main effect of group, F (1, 77) = .32, p = .57, η 2 p = .004, or a group by congruency interaction, F (1, 77) = .007, p = .93, η 2 p = .0.

The relationship between depression, rumination and social problem-solving

In order to determine whether there was a relationship between depression, rumination and social problem-solving, we conducted Pearson correlations. Our analysis failed to find significant correlations between depression, rumination and problem-solving abilities for the non-depressed control group; all tests p > .05. However, the correlations between depression, rumination, and the social problem-solving measures of relevant means (i.e., steps) and effectiveness for the depressed group were significant. These are presented in Table 4 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661.t004

Regression analyses for relevant-means

Given that we found significant correlations between depression, rumination and social problem-solving ability in the depressed group, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to determine whether rumination and depression predicted performance on the problem-solving task.

The analysis found that in the baseline condition (i.e., when no consequences were generated) depression predicted the number of relevant means, Beta = .55, t(35) = 2.78, p = . 009, with a significant model explaining approx. 26% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 7.16, p = .003, R 2 = . 30, R 2 Adjusted = .26). Rumination, however, failed to predict the number of relevant means, Beta = .01, t(35) = .03, p = .98. In the resolved condition, depression was also found to predict the number of relevant means, Beta = .56, t(35) = 2.92, p = . 006, with a significant model explaining approx. 32% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 9.11, p = .001, R 2 = . 36, R 2 Adjusted = .32). Rumination, however, again failed to predict the number of relevant means, Beta = .05, t(35) = .27, p = .79. In the unresolved condition, we found that both depression and rumination predicted the number of relevant means, (depression, Beta = .49, t(35) = 4.08, p< . 001; rumination, Beta = .46, t(35) = 3.83, p = .001). A significant model found that both depression and rumination explained approx. 74% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 49.57, p< .001, R 2 = . 75, R 2 Adjusted = .74).

Regression analyses for effectiveness of solutions

Regression analysis revealed that for the baseline condition, depression predicted the effectiveness of the proposed solutions, Beta = .49, t(35) = 2.77, p = . 01, with a significant model explaining approx. 43% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 13.95, p< .001, R 2 = . 46, R 2 Adjusted = .43). Rumination, however, failed to predict the effectiveness of solutions, Beta = .24, t(35) = 1.38, p = .18. For the resolved condition, it was found that both depression and rumination predicted the effectiveness of solutions (depression, Beta = .44, t(35) = 2.67, p = . 01; rumination, Beta = .35, t(35) = 2.12, p = .04). A significant model found depression and rumination explained approx. 50% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 18.16, p< .001, R 2 = .52, R 2 Adjusted = .50). For the unresolved condition, it was found that both depression and rumination predicted the effectiveness of the proposed solutions (depression, Beta = .47, t(35) = 3.20, p< . 01; rumination, Beta = .38, t(35) = 2.59, p = .01). A significant model found that both depression and rumination explained approx. 59% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 26.58, p< .001, R 2 = . 62, R 2 Adjusted = .59). Taken together, these findings suggest whilst depression predicts the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in the baseline condition, both depression and rumination predict the effectiveness of solutions in the resolved and unresolved conditions.

Regression analyses for consequences generated

Regression analysis were also conducted for the consequences that were generated. It was found that for the baseline condition (e.g., when no problems were solved) depression predicted the number of consequences recalled, Beta = .60, t(35) = 3.11, p< . 01. A significant model was found to explaining approx. 32% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 9.16, p< .01, R 2 = . 36, R 2 Adjusted = .32). Rumination, however, failed to predict the recall of consequences, Beta = .004, t(35) = .02, p = .98. In the resolved condition, it was found that depression predicted the number of consequences recalled, Beta = .44, t(35) = 2.34, p = . 03, with a significant model explaining approx. 34% of the variance (F (2, 33) = 10.11, p< . 001, R 2 = . 38, R 2 Adjusted = .34). Rumination, however, failed to predict the recall of consequences, Beta = .23, t(35) = 1.20, p = .24. In the unresolved condition, however, we found that rumination predicted the number of consequences recalled, Beta = .510, t(35) = 2.46, p = . 02, with a significant model suggesting that rumination explained approx. 22% of the variance (F (2, 32) = 5.79, p< .01, R 2 = . 26, R 2 Adjusted = .22). Depression, however, failed to predict recall of consequences, Beta = .01, t(35) = .04, p = .97. Taken together, these findings suggest that whilst depression predicts the recall of baseline and resolved consequences, rumination predicts the recall of unresolved consequences.

Emotional Stroop performance & problem-solving abilities

As depressed and non-depressed groups showed significant differences in only one condition of the Stroop task (i.e., positive word/negative face condition), we correlated depressed participants positive word/negative face accuracy & reaction times with relevant means, effectiveness ratings and recall of consequences across all three conditions: baseline, resolved and unresolved. The analysis revealed that Emotional Stroop accuracy performance was significantly positively correlated with self-reported depression and rumination, as well as with the number of means and effectiveness scores on the problem-solving task and the recall of baseline and resolved consequences. Furthermore, a negative correlation was found for the reaction times to the positive word negative face condition and self-reported depression, self-reported rumination, number of steps generated in the resolved and unresolved conditions, as well as, the effectiveness in the resolved condition. See Table 5 . We also correlated non-depressed participants positive word/negative face accuracy & reaction times with relevant means, effectiveness ratings and recall of consequences across baseline, resolved and unresolved conditions. This analysis only found a significant relationship between positive word/negative face reaction times and recall of unresolved consequences, r (43) = -.31, p = .02; all other tests, p > .05.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270661.t005

The impact of thinking about the consequences being resolved versus unresolved on social problem-solving

The aim of the current study was to determine whether thinking about the consequences of social problems being resolved or remaining unresolved would have different effects on social problem-solving in a depressed versus non-depressed sample. To this end, we presented participants with a hypothetical problem and asked them to generate consequences of the problem being resolved and remaining unresolved. We also took a baseline measure of social problem solving (i.e., where no consequences were generated). Our study found that the depressed group, compared to the non-depressed group was less effective at generating solutions and produced fewer relevant means in the baseline and unresolved conditions. These findings are consistent with previous research demonstrating that depression has a detrimental impact on social problem-solving [ 3 , 50 ]. The findings are also consistent with Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ] who found that generating the consequences of a problem remaining unresolved impaired social problem-solving in individuals scoring high in depression.

Interestingly, however, we found that there were no significant differences in the effectiveness of generating solutions and the number of relevant means between the depressed and non-depressed group in the resolved condition. Furthermore, we also found that depressed participants generated more relevant means and proposed more effective solutions to the problems in the resolved than baseline conditions. These findings are of clinical importance as they suggest that encouraging depressed individuals to think about the consequences of a problem being resolved prior to problem-solving enhances their ability to solve the problem. Given that research has found that positive problem orientation is an important factor for successful problem-solving [ 26 ], it is possible that thinking about consequences being resolved may naturally induce a positive problem-focused approach. Thus, this style of positive thinking may represent an effective strategy to improve social problem-solving in depression. Furthermore, the fact that depressed individuals were as able as non-depressed participants at generating effective solutions in this condition, suggests that depressed individuals may have intact social skills but, other cognitive-behavioural factors, such as excessive rumination or a negative-problem orientation may render them unable to select and implement these skills effectively.

Examining the relative contributions of depression and rumination on social problem-solving as a function of thinking about the consequences being resolved versus unresolved

The regression analyses revealed that whilst depression predicted the number of relevant means in the baseline and resolved conditions, both depression and rumination predicted the number of relevant means in the unresolved condition. These findings are partially consistent with Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ] who found that depression predicted the number of relevant means in the resolved condition, but only rumination predicted the number of relevant means in the unresolved condition. One reason for the discrepancy in findings may relate to depression severity. The present study consisted of participants that met the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression, whilst Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel’s [ 23 ] study consisted of dysphoric participants scoring high on measures of self-reported depression and rumination. Thus, it may be that more severe levels of depressive symptomology result in impairing social problem-solving abilities. This is consistent with research which has found that depressed individuals are less skilful then nondepressed participants in solving interpersonal problems and report significantly more difficulties in making decisions concerning interpersonal problems [ 4 , 51 – 53 ].

The fact that rumination predicted the number of relevant means in the unresolved but not resolved condition suggests that rumination, when triggered by negative thoughts or consequences, may represent an unsuitable problem-solving strategy in individuals with high levels of depression [ 54 ] and impair social problem-solving. This is consistent with research which suggests that although individuals believe rumination can help solve problems, i.e., by replaying the problem over in one’s mind and appraising it [ 55 ], when rumination is focused on negative thoughts, it can have a debilitating effect on social problem-solving [ 8 ] with individuals perceiving the problem as being more difficult to solve [ 14 ] and being less confident with the solutions they generate [ 56 ]. Thus, in the present study, when participants were asked to generate unresolved consequences, this may have triggered negative ruminative thoughts in the depressed group which led them to believe the problem was more difficult to solve. As a result, they took less steps to attempt to solve the problem.

The regression analyses also found that whilst depression was the only predictor for the effectiveness of the solutions generated in the baseline condition, both depression and rumination predicted the effectiveness of the solutions generated in the resolved and unresolved conditions. These findings are partially consistent with Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel [ 23 ] who found that whilst rumination predicted the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in the unresolved condition, only depression predicted the effectiveness of the solutions in the resolved condition.

One reason why rumination predicted the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in the resolved condition in this study but not Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel’s [ 23 ] study may relate to depression severity and the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms. Research has found that rumination is associated with more severe and longer episodes of depression [ 57 ] and also predicts the onset of depressive episodes as well as their severity and duration [ 58 – 60 ]. It is important to mention that in Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel’s [ 23 ] study participants had moderate levels of depressive symptoms whilst in this study participants met a diagnostic criterion for depression. Therefore, it is possible that when individuals have moderate levels of depression, ruminative thinking is only triggered when negative information is presented. However, with more severe depression it is possible that both positive and negative information may trigger ruminative thinking. This is consistent with research which suggests that when currently depressed individuals recall positive memories their mood worsens [ 61 ], but when the positive memories are consistent with current view of the self then their mood improves [ 62 ]. Thus, recalling positive memories that are discrepant with current views of the self, worsens mood. It is possible that when depressed individuals think about the resolved consequences they might begin to ruminate about how positive resolution is discrepant with their current situation where they may have interpersonal difficulties. Future research should examine the self-relevancy of the problems to provide further insight on this issue.

The finding that rumination predicts the effectiveness of the solutions is consistent with a large body of research which has found that rumination hampers depressed individual’s problem orientation and problem-solving skills [ 14 , 63 ]; see Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco & Lyubomirsky [ 64 ] for a comprehensive review). Lyubomirsky & Nolen-Hoeksema [ 12 ], for example, found that by manipulating dysphoric participants response style by encouraging them to focus on their mood state impaired their ability to solve problems on the MEPS compared to dysphoric participants who were distracted from thinking about their mood state [ 14 ]. Taken together, these findings suggest that rumination may account for the deficits in social problem-solving in individuals high in depression.

The fact that our study found that depression, independent of rumination impaired social problem-solving in the unresolved condition may relate to the severity of depressive symptomology. Previous research has found that rumination, rather than depression impaired social problem-solving in individuals with high self-reported levels of depressive symptoms (Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel, [ 23 ]). Given that individuals who took part in the present study met the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression, it is possible that generating consequences for a problem remaining unresolved impairs social problem-solving in only those individuals that have more severe levels of depression. This is consistent with research which suggests that increased severity of depression is related to greater impairments in overall cognitive ability [ 65 ].

Impact of consequence instruction on recall of consequences

We also found that depressed participants recalled significantly more consequences in the unresolved than resolved and baseline conditions. In contrast the non-depressed controls retrieved more resolved than non-resolved consequences. One reason for these findings may relate to the valence of the consequences generated. Participants generated more positive consequences of the problem being resolved and more negative consequences of the problem remaining unresolved. These findings are consistent with research on mood congruency effects which suggests that depressed individuals exhibit enhanced memory for negative material whilst healthy individuals demonstrate the opposite pattern with a memory bias for positive material ([ 66 , 67 ]; see also Matt, Vazquez & Campbell, [ 68 ]) for a review of the early work in the area).

Alternatively, it is possible that depressed individuals may recall more unresolved consequences and be impaired at social problem-solving due to impaired inhibitory control. Indeed, it is possible that generating the consequences of a problem remaining unresolved encourages depressed individuals to ruminate on these consequences. As a result, they may mentally fixate on these items which subsequently impedes the generation of appropriate solutions. This is consistent with research finding that problem-solving relies on the ability to generate appropriate solutions whilst inhibiting inappropriate responses [ 69 , 70 ].

The role of inhibitory control in social problem-solving

The role of inhibitory control in impairing problem-solving is supported by the present findings. Our findings on the Emotional Stroop task revealed that depressed participants were significantly slower and less accurate at responding in the positive word/negative face condition compared to non-depressed participants. Furthermore, we also found that in the depressed group accuracy in this condition was positively correlated with the number of relevant means and the effectiveness of solutions generated on the problem-solving task, as well as self-reported rumination and depression. For response times, however, the opposite pattern of findings was observed with reaction times negatively correlated with the number of relevant means and the effectiveness of solutions generated on the problem-solving task, as well as self-reported rumination and depression. Given that the Stroop task is a measure of sustained attention and the depressed participants showed impairments in the incongruent (positive word/sad face) condition, suggests that depression is associated with an impaired ability to inhibit negative interfering information.

Interestingly, we found no effects of depression on the flanker test which was a measure of inhibitory control of non-valanced material. These findings are consistent with research which has found that both depression and rumination are associated with impairments in tasks that require inhibition of affective content [ 36 , 71 , 72 ]. Indeed, according to Koster, De Lissnyder, Derakshan & De Raedt [ 73 ], difficulty disengaging from negative material increases one’s susceptibility to rumination. Thus, it is possible that impaired cognitive control in depression leads to individuals ruminating on unresolved consequences which subsequently impairs problem-solving and leads to enhanced recall of the unresolved consequences.

Clinical implications

It is important to highlight that our findings have potentially useful clinical implications. The fact that depressed participants showed no deficits at solving social problems compared non-depressed participants when resolved consequences were generated suggests that this may be an effective strategy to improve social problem-solving. Indeed, it is possible that generating resolved consequences results in a more a positive problem orientation style, which is a belief that social problems can be solved with a positive outcome. As positive problem orientation is conceptualised as an adaptive problem-solving strategy (see D’Zurilla & Nezu [ 26 ] for a review), these findings suggest that generating resolved consequences may aid social problem-solving in depression. Furthermore, the fact that positive problem orientation is significantly related to good psychological health, such as adaptive behaviour, positive mood, life satisfaction, and a higher level of subjective well-being [ 25 ], generating resolved consequences prior to problem-solving may actually help to reduce or alleviate sad mood in depression. Future research may wish to investigate the impact of generating resolved consequences on depressed participants subsequent mood and well-being in a therapeutic context. It is important to mention that there may also be other benefits of thinking about the problem being resolved prior to problem-solving. One possibility is that having a more positive problem orientation may encourage greater motivation in thinking about strategies for solving problems. Increasing motivation has been identified as an important factor for increasing engagement with coping strategies that can reduce depression [ 74 ]. Thus, it may be that focusing on thinking about the consequences of a problem being resolved positively increases motivation to engage in more active problem- solving strategies. Future research should look at changes in motivation for solving problems as a function of thinking about the consequences in depression. Another benefit of thinking about the generation of positive consequences is that it might encourage more positive goal-directed imagination. There is evidence that positive goal-directed imagination predicts well-being even after controlling for baseline levels of mental health [ 75 ]. Given that therapists often ask their clients to describe current problems, encouraging them to think about positive resolutions before they think about how to solve the problem could be important to improve not only social problem-solving specifically, but well-being more generally.

Furthermore, given that our findings suggest that poorer inhibitory control on the Stroop task is related to less effective problem solutions in the depressed group, it suggests that interventions such as mindfulness -based interventions (MBI) which influence inhibitory control might be useful for improving problem solving performance in depression. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that involves sustaining attentional focus on a chosen object (e.g., part of your body, sounds, specific thoughts or your breathing) and returning it to this anchor every time your mind starts to wander [ 76 ]. Research has found that mindfulness meditation is effective at enhancing executive control ([ 77 – 79 ]; for a review see Casedas, Pirrucio, Vadillo, [ 80 ]) with inhibitory control being the most consistent executive function that is improved by mindfulness mediation training [ 78 ]. With improved inhibitory control, depressed individuals may more effective at ignoring inappropriate and negative interfering thoughts from memory when trying to generate effective solutions to social-problems Future research should examine the impact of mindfulness on inhibitory control and its subsequent impact on social problem-solving.

Limitations

It is important to mention however that the study does have some limitations. Firstly, although the study used participants that met the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression on the MINI Plus, participants were not clinically diagnosed with depression by a medical professional. Therefore, it is possible that the present findings may not be generalizable to clinically diagnosed depressed individuals. It is, however, important to mention that the MINI Plus is a structured diagnostic tool that is compatible with the diagnostic criteria of DSM-5 and is commonly used in clinical research. Furthermore, the fact that our findings of impaired social problem solving are consistent with previous studies [ 8 ] that have used clinically diagnosed depressed patients also supports the notion that our participants disorder related level of impairment is comparable to clinically depressed patients. It is also worth noting that our participants were also largely university students and therefore may not represent the general population. This is especially true of our depressed sample. By using university students, however, our depressed and non-depressed participants did not differ significantly in age or level of education, thus any differences across groups for social problem solving or inhibitory measures cannot be attributed to these factors. It is also worth noting that there are significantly higher rates of depression in university students compared to the general population [ 81 ], thus, making this population important to study.

An additional limitation concerns determining the impact of depression on social problem-solving relative to other mental disorders. There is evidence that social problem -solving is also impaired by other mental health disorders, such as, social anxiety disorder [ 82 ], eating disorders [ 83 ] and schizophrenia [ 84 ], which can co-occur with depression. In the present study we could not address this issue as we screened our participants for other psychological disorders. Therefore, the present findings cannot be attributed to the presence of any comorbid disorders. Nonetheless, future research may wish to use a larger and more clinically diverse sample size to explore the impact of comorbid disorders on social problem solving. Another limitation of the current study is that we did not ask participants whether they were currently on any psychopharmacological treatments for their depression. Indeed, it is possible that psychopharmacological treatments for depression may lead to individuals demonstrating a different pattern of findings on social problem solving and rumination. Thus, future research may wish to report whether participants are on any treatments and whether this impacts rumination and social problem solving. A final limitation is that the study was not preregistered, however it is important to note that the study predictions were based on robust previous research findings (Noreen, Whyte & Dritschel, [ 23 ]).

In conclusion, our study has found that depressed participants have intact social problem-solving skills when solving problems that they have previously generated resolved consequences for. We also found that depressed participants recalled significantly more consequences in the unresolved than resolved and baseline conditions. These findings suggest that encouraging depressed individuals to think about the consequences of a problem being resolved may be an effective strategy to improve social problem-solving skills in depression. Furthermore, we also found that depressed participants had difficulty disengaging from negative interfering material on an Emotional Stroop task, providing support for an impaired inhibitory control account of social problem-solving in depression. These findings advance our understanding of social problem-solving in depression by providing a more nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underpinning social problem-solving difficulties and have implications for therapeutic interventions.

• 1. D’Zurilla TN, Nezu AMProblem-solving therapy: A social competence approach to clinical intervention. 2 nd ed. New York: Springer; 1999.
• 2. D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM, Maydeu-Olivares A. Social problem solving: theory, research, and assessment. In Chang EC, D’Zurilla TJ, Sanna LJ, editors. Social Problem-Solving: Theory, Research, and Training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004. pp. 11–27.
• View Article
• PubMed/NCBI
• Google Scholar
• 16. Pyszczynski T, Greenberg J Toward an integration of cognitive and motivational perspectives on social inference: A biased hypothesis-testing model. In Berkowitz Leditor Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 20. Academic Press; 1987. pp 297–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60417-7 .
• 17. Martin LL, Tesser A (Editors) Striving and feeling: Interactions among goals, affect, and self-regulation. Hove: Psychology Press;1996.
• 18. Harvey AG, Watkins E, Mansell W, Shafran RCognitive behavioral processes across psychological disorders: A transdiagnostic approach to research and treatment. New York. Oxford University Press Inc; 2004.
• 19. Beck AT. Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: International Universities Press; 1976.
• 20. Beck AT, Rush AJ, Shaw BFEmery G Cognitive therapy of depression. New York, NY: Guilford Press;1979.
• 26. D’Zurilla TJ Nezu AM Problem-solving therapy: A positive approach to clinical intervention (3rd ed). New York: Springer Publishing;2007.
• 33. Hasher L, Zacks RT Working memory, comprehension, and aging: A review and a new view. In Bower GH (editor) The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 22, New York: Academic Press. 1988; pp.193–225.
• 40. Beck AT, Steer RA Brown GK (1996 Manual for the beck depression inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation; 1996.
• 44. Spielberger CD, Gorsuch RL, Lushene RE. Manual for the state-trait inventory. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press: 1970.
• 45. Spielberger CD. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Bibliography. 2 nd Edition, Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press; 1989.
• 47. Young AW, Perrett D, Calder A, Sprengelmeyer R, Ekman P. Facial expressions of emotion: Stimuli and tests (FEEST). Bury St. Edmunds: Thames Valley Test Company; 2002.
• 48. Ekman P, Friesen WV, Hager JC. Facial action coding system: Manual and Investigator’s Guide. Salt Lake City, UT: Research Nexus; 2002.
• 69. Smith SM (The constraining effects of initial ideas. In: Paulus PB, Nijstad BA, editors. Group creativity: Innovation through collaboration New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2003; pp 15–31.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• HHS Author Manuscripts

Social Problem Solving and Health

Counseling psychology is committed to helping people meet the challenges and solve the problems they encounter in daily routines and in stressful circumstances. To a great extent, this holds true for other professional psychology specialties (including clinical, educational and health psychology) as clients usually seek professional assistance in solving the problems they face. Thus, the study of problem-solving abilities—their measurement and correlates—and efficient ways to improve these abilities is of keen interest to clinicians and researchers.

Counseling psychology has played an influential role in this area of inquiry. Historically guided by early cognitive-behavioral theorists (D’Zurilla & Goldfried, 1971), counseling psychology contributed essential theoretical refinements ( Heppner & Krauskopf, 1987 ) and measurement tools ( Heppner, 1988 ) that remain landmark events. However, related and subsequent theoretical and empirical contributions—appearing primarily in outlets associated with clinical and health psychology, and in the larger, multidisciplinary literature—have yet to be sufficiently integrated with contributions from counseling psychology. This lack of scholarly integration has not necessarily impeded advancements and applications, but it has thwarted a deeper theoretical understanding of the mechanisms at work in the learning and application of social problem-solving abilities.

Historical Backdrop

The historical backdrop of theory and research must be considered for us to appreciate the subsequent developments in the current literature. The D’Zurilla and Goldfried (1971) is the intellectual wellspring for this area: In this paper, the authors described the elements that would eventually characterize the problem-solving process. Specifically, it was argued that successful problem-solving consists of identifying a problem, defining the characteristics and important aspects of the problem, generating possible solutions and alternatives for the problem, choosing a viable solution and implementing it, and then monitoring and evaluating the progress of the solution.

Two important features of this paper should be emphasized. First, as Nezu (2004) observes, the proposed model of this work was prescriptive rather than descriptive ; that is, D’Zurilla and Goldfried construed effective problem solving principles as they should be and as they should operate, in theoretical terms. Second, the authors did not recommend a specific measure for assessing problem solving skills; their essay was primarily concerned with the ramifications of their straightforward model for cognitive-behavioral interventions.

The implications of this model for counseling psychology were spelled out in an important conceptual review by Heppner (1978) and demonstrated in an impressive intervention study by Richards and Perri (1978) . These papers—both published in the same volume of Journal of Counseling Psychology —exemplified the two different approaches to the study of problem-solving abilities that persist to this day. In the former, Heppner considered the larger cognitive-behavioral framework in which problem solving was a part, drawing out implications for counseling practice and research. Eventually, Heppner’s work produced the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner, 1988 ), accompanied by an impressive program of empirical research that demonstrated the correlates and properties of the PSI (for reviews of this work see Heppner & Baker, 1997 ; Heppner, Witty, & Dixon, 2004 ). In contrast, Richards and Perri took initiative from the prescription of problem-solving abilities stipulated by D’Zurilla and Goldfried, developed an intervention based on these principles, and provided evidence of their utility in significantly improving self-management skills of undergraduates ( Richards & Perri, 1978 ).

In surveying the current landscape, we find relevant research that extends from the Heppner research program. This influence is rather easy to identify, as most of this work relies on the PSI (perhaps the most frequently used problem solving measure). This work appears predominately in the counseling psychology literature. The most comprehensive theoretical commentary on this scholarship appears in Heppner and Krauskopf (1987) , in which an information-processing model is used to help us understand how individuals learn, regulate, and execute problem-solving abilities.

Running parallel to this stream of work (with a few intriguing moments of empirical overlap) are studies that integrate the problem-solving principles into interventions with considerable success. Although D’Zurilla and colleagues were apparently uninterested in developing a measure of problem solving abilities at first—indeed, some of the initial intervention studies used Heppner’s PSI ( Nezu & Perri, 1989 )— this camp provided theoretical refinements of the cognitive-behavioral mechanisms of the problem-solving process ( D’Zurilla & Nezu, 2007 ). A measure of social problem-solving abilities was eventually developed (featuring 70 items; D’Zurilla & Nezu, 1990 ) and empirically refined (52 items; D’Zurilla, Nezu, & Maydeu-Olivares, 2002 ). However, this research stream is best characterized by the number of intervention studies that appeared in journals associated with clinical and counseling psychology, and the far-reaching implications of this work are now being realized by multidisciplinary research teams across the health professions.

Theoretical Distinctions

Although these two streams of work often compliment the other, a few compelling theoretical distinctions should be noted. In the Heppner and Krauskopf (1987) model, for example, problem solving is construed as a metacognitive variable that has organizational properties. In a manner akin to Bandura’s self-efficacy model ( Bandura, 1986 ), problem solving is a self-appraisal process, as behavior is influenced by subjective beliefs and perceptions of abilities, competencies, and potential. These cognitions regulate emotional experiences and expression, overt behavior, personal goals and goal-directed activity. The PSI features three empirically derived factors (Personal Control, Problem-Solving Confidence, and Approach-Avoidance), but it is not construed as a measure of actual problem-solving abilities, per se. The favored terminology emphasizes the phenomenological processes stipulated in this model (e.g., “problem-solving appraisal” and “self-appraised problem-solving abilities”).

The Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R; D’Zurilla & Nezu, 1990 ) was developed as the authors recognized two broad functions of social problem-solving abilities they termed problem orientation and problem-solving skills (see Nezu & D’Zurilla, 1989 ). The problem orientation component, based on converging evidence from research at that time, served to regulate emotions, maintain a positive attitude necessary for solving problems, and motivate a person toward solving problems in routine and stressful circumstances. The problem-solving skills component encompassed the actual skills individuals use in solving problems, including rational skills, avoidance, and impulsive and careless styles. This model guided much of the contemporary research that has used this scale. The theoretical and clinical focus of this group centers on the prescriptive nature of the original model ( D’Zurilla & Nezu, 1999 ; Nezu, 2004 ) and consistently uses the term “social problem-solving abilities.” Recently, D’Zurilla and colleagues recognize the strong associations that have occurred between the positive orientation scale on the SPSI-R measure and the rational-problem solving scale, and between the negative problem orientation scale and the impulsive/careless and the avoidance scales ( D’Zurilla, Nezu, & Maydeu-Olivares, 2004 ). They use the terms “constructive problem-solving style” and “dysfunctional problem-solving style” in their recent conceptualization.

PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT AND HEALTH

We acknowledge that personal adjustment is an important aspect of “health,” generally, and it is a dubious enterprise to separate adjustment into dualistic notions of “mental” and “physical” health. The study of social problem-solving and emotional adjustment has largely dominated the relevant counseling literature, and only recently have we begun to appreciate the theoretical and clinical implications of social problem-solving abilities and physical health. From our perspective, we are fairly confident in the established associations between ineffective problem-solving abilities and depression, anxiety, and distress among people in general ( Heppner, et al., 2004 ; Nezu, 2004 ). However, ineffective problem-solving abilities are inconsistently associated with indicators of health-compromising behaviors (e.g., sedentary behavior, substance abuse; Elliott et al., 2004 ). Social problem-solving abilities can be significantly predictive of important self-reported outcomes (e.g., disability, well-being; Elliott, et al., 2004 ) and with objectively-rated indicators of therapeutic adherence (although the directions of these relationships are not always clear; see Herrick & Elliott, 2001 ).

In the remainder of this chapter, we address recent advancements in our understanding of social problem-solving abilities from recent research in emotional, interpersonal and social adjustment associated with health, with health outcomes and secondary complications, and from problem-solving interventions among persons with various health conditions. We then turn our attention to major issues and findings raised in published reviews of the research to date, and conclude with a discussion of the problems we see in this work and offer our recommendations for future research. We use the term “social problem-solving abilities” in deference to the original model and in light of the currency of this concept in the larger multidisciplinary literature (in which much of the research relevant to our discussion has appeared).

Emotional, Interpersonal, and Social Adjustment

In a previous survey of problem-solving abilities and health, the connections between dysfunctional social problem-solving styles and depression and distress were theoretically consistent across the relevant literature; data linking effective problem-solving abilities with optimal adjustment were decidedly mixed ( Elliott, et al., 2004 ). Empirical research over the ensuing years has yielded similar results. A negative problem orientation has been associated with higher depression scores among older persons with vision loss ( Dreer, Elliott, Fletcher, & Swanson, 2005 ) and among family caregivers of persons with severe disabilities ( Grant et al., 2006 ; Rivera, Elliott et al., 2006 ). A dysfunctional problem-solving style—as measured by the SPSI-R—may be particularly characteristic of individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for a suspected major depressive disorder ( Dreer, Elliott, Shewchuk, Berry, & Rivera, in press ; Grant, Weaver, Elliott, Bartolucci, & Giger, 2004 ; Rivera, Elliott, Berry, Oswald, & Grant, 2007 ).

Indicators of function and quality of life among persons with debilitating conditions rely heavily on self-report measures of these constructs. These measures may be influenced by respondent problem-solving styles, independent of objectively-defined indicators of disability severity ( Elliott, Godshall, Herrick, Witty, & Spruell, 1991 ; Shaw, Feuerstein, Haufler, Berkowitz, & Lopez, 2001 ). Consistent with these data, Rath and colleagues found ineffective problem-solving abilities were significantly associated with self-reported psychosocial impairment among persons with traumatic brain injuries (TBI; Rath, Langenbahn, Simon, Sheer, Fletcher, & Diller, 2004 ). Similar results have been found among persons in a chronic pain rehabilitation program ( Witty, Heppner, Bernard, & Thoreson, 2001 ). A negative problem orientation is a stronger predictor of psychosocial impairment than health locus of control variables ( Shanmugham, Elliott & Palmatier, 2004 ).

In fact, among persons with TBI, there is evidence that social problem-solving abilities may be a better predictor of community integration following medical rehabilitation than several neuropsychological measures often used to predict adjustment in this population ( Rath, Hennessy, & Diller, 2003 ). These results—consistent with prior evidence of the social adaptability associated with effective problem-solving (see Heppner, et al., 1982 , and Neal & Heppner, 1986 )—may prove particularly enlightening in our appreciation of interpersonal and social dynamics of adjustment following disease and disability.

Although the results from these studies have been largely consistent with previous research, the evidence linking social problem-solving abilities and optimal adjustment remains thin. For example, prospective research has found a positive orientation predictive of well-being among family caregivers of stroke survivors over thirteen weeks after discharge from an inpatient rehabilitation program ( Grant et al., 2006 ). Cross-sectional research has found a negative orientation to be inversely associated with caregiver mental health and life satisfaction ( Rivera et al., 2006 ), and Dreer et al. (2005) found elements of constructive and dysfunctional problem-solving styles were associated with the life satisfaction reported by individuals in an outpatient low vision rehabilitation program.

A more detailed analysis of subgroups within a large sample of individuals with disabilities suggests that the relationship of problem-solving abilities to measures of distress and well-being may be theoretically consistent at the extremes: Effective problem-solving abilities are associated with a more optimal profile, and ineffective abilities are associated with opposite clinical picture ( Elliott, Shewchuk, Miller, & Richards, 2001 ). However, two other clusters revealed that some individuals who harbor a negative orientation and who report rational problem-solving skills also experience considerable distress. Our lack of insight into the actual mechanisms by which problem solving influences adjustment in routine, daily experiences hinders our interpretation of these data and their implications.

A similarly complicated pattern emerges in our understanding of self-reported health and social problem-solving abilities. Prospective research has found a negative orientation to be productive of family caregiver health complaints over the course of a year ( Elliott, Shewchuk, & Richards, 2001 ). Yet cross-sectional study with family caregivers of persons with various disabilities did not replicate this finding ( Rivera et al., 2006 ), and Grant et al. (2006) found a significant—albeit tenuous and diminishing—relationship between a positive orientation and general health over 13 weeks. Despite early evidence that a negative orientation is predictive of self-reported health complaints in cross-sectional and prospective designs ( Elliott & Marmarosh, 1994 ), it appears that several unmeasured factors may account for these inconsistent findings.

There is reason to believe that social problem-solving abilities operate within interpersonal and social contexts to exert an influence on adjustment. An effective problem-solving style has been associated with greater relationship satisfaction among family caregivers of stroke survivors ( Shanmugham, et al., 2007 ). Related research suggests that children of families that rely on problem-solving coping fare better over time than families who rely less on these strategies ( Kinsella, Ong, Murtagh, Prior, & Sawyer, 1999 ; Rivara, Jaffe, Polissar, Fay, Liao, & Martin, 1996 ). Furthermore, persons living with severe disability and with family caregivers who have impulsive and careless ways of solving problems were more likely to have a pressure sore within the first year of acquired disability than other individuals ( Elliott, Shewchuk, & Richards, 1999 ). Caregiver dysfunctional styles have also been implicated in the distress and decreased life satisfaction reported by patients with congestive heart failure ( Kurylo, Elliott, DeVivo, & Dreer, 2004 ).

A comprehensive study by Johnson and colleagues (2006) suggests that the effects of problem solving on distress may be defined by several adaptive correlates of social problem-solving abilities. In this study, distress—as a latent construct—was composed of decreased social support, elevations in depression and negative mood, and high stress among 545 HIV+ adults, and distress was predicted by constructive and dysfunctional problem-solving styles (accounting for over 60% of the variance). Although prior research has indicated that social problem-solving abilities are usually related to these separate variables in a theoretically consistent fashion, this was the first study to demonstrate these relationships in a comprehensive model, and the associations were best understood within the context of this model.

Health Outcomes and Secondary Complications

In many respects, social problem-solving abilities have demonstrated considerable utility as a predictor of important health outcomes in several studies of depression among persons living with chronic health conditions. Depression is often conceptualized as an important health outcome because it is associated with increased heath care costs and it compromises the overall health of persons with conditions as varied as diabetes, paralysis, and congestive heart failure.

It has been difficult to ascertain the ways in which problem-solving abilities might influence other, more objectively-defined health outcomes. Data concerning the relations of problem solving to substance use, exercise, and other health behaviors have been mixed (see Elliott et al., 2004 ), although among individuals who live with a disability there is some indication that a dysfunctional style may be associated with health-compromising behaviors ( Dreer, Elliott, & Tucker, 2004 ).

The Johnson et al. (2006) study again informs us of the ways in which problem-solving abilities may influence health outcomes. In this attempt to predict adherence to antiretroviral therapy (assessed by a survey of the number of pills skipped during a 3-day period), the final model revealed no significant, direct paths from the two social problem-solving latent variables (constructive, dysfunctional) to adherence. Rather, social problem-solving exerted significant indirect effects to adherence through its substantive effects on distress. Thus, social problem-solving abilities were significantly associated with therapeutic adherence through its palliative, beneficial (and perhaps, regulatory) effects on personal stress, distress and social support.

Studies that demonstrate connections between social problem-solving abilities and objectively diagnosed biomedical variables are particularly impressive, but the lack of clarity (or, in some cases, theory) raise intrigue and speculation about the nature of these relationships. Social problem-solving abilities were significantly predictive of pressure sores diagnosed over the first 3 years of traumatically acquired spinal cord injury (SCI), and these associations were more influential than clinically important variables like severity of disability and demographic characteristics (e.g., race, gender, age; Elliott, Bush, & Chen, 2006 ). These data are among the first to document the potential of social problem-solving abilities to prospectively predict individuals who may be at risk for expensive and often preventable health complications, above and beyond the predictive value of variables deemed medically important. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms by which problem solving exerted this observed effect cannot be determined from this study.

We can speculate from other relevant studies that problem-solving abilities may have prevented pressure sores (and promoted healthier skin) among participants in the Elliott et al. (2006) study in a couple of ways. Effective problem-solvers may have had fewer health compromising behaviors than persons who had dysfunctional styles (e.g., less sedentary, inactive behaviors, less alcohol intake; Godshall & Elliott, 1997 ); perhaps they were more successful in regulating their emotions and stress levels so they were more likely to attend to recommended regimens for skin care and maintenance (i.e., therapeutic adherence; Johnson, et al., 2006 ). However, a compelling study of glycemic control among African American men raises other possibilities.

In a study of 65 African American men with diabetes, Hill-Briggs and colleagues (2006) found avoidant and impulsive/careless styles (as measured by a short form of the SPSI-R) were significantly predictive of elevated hemoglobin A1C levels, indicative of poor glycemic control. The relationship between avoidant scores and A1C levels was not mediated by participant depression. These data are further supported by focus group research, in which a group of persons with poor glycemic control reported more avoidant and impulsive/careless responses to a problem-solving task than a group of individuals with good glycemic control ( Hill-Briggs, Cooper, Loman, Brancati, & Cooper, 2003 ). It is possible that a dysfunctional problem solving style—in the context of chronic disease and stress—may have definite correlates with impaired immune system functioning (these correlations do not permit causal explanations; glycemic control may have been influenced by unmeasured variables such as diet, exercise and distress that may, too, be influenced by problem-solving abilities).

Lessons Learned from Intervention Research

Problem-solving therapy (or training; PST) has promulgated as an attractive therapeutic option in many multidisciplinary health care settings. Indeed, the broader concept of “problem solving” is considered an essential element in chronic disease education and self-management programs ( Hill-Briggs, 2003 ). PST grounded explicitly in the principles espoused by D’Zurilla and Goldfried has been applied with notable success in alleviating distress among persons with cancer ( Nezu, Felgoise, McClure, & Houts, 2003 ; Nezu, Nezu, Friedman, & Faddis, 1998 ) and in improving coping and self-regulation skills among persons with TBI ( Rath, Simon, Langenbahn, Sherr, & Diller, 2003 ). Problem-solving interventions have documented success in individual sessions provided in primary care settings ( Mynors-Wallis, Garth, Lloyd-Thomas, & Tomlinson, 1995 ), in structured group therapy ( Rath, et al., 2003 ), in telephone sessions with community-residing adults ( Grant, Elliott, Weaver, Bartolucci, & Giger, 2002 ), and in online Web sessions for parents of children with TBI ( Wade, Corey, & Wolfe, 2006a ; and with observed benefits on child functioning, Wade, Corey, & Wolfe, 2006b ). When null effects have appeared in the peer-review literature, these may be attributable in part to a perceived lack of relevance or lack of “tailoring” of the intervention to problems—as they are perceived and experienced—of immediate concern to participants ( Shanmugham, et al., 2004 ; Study 2).

The positive effects of PST are usually ascribed to the treatment, particularly when significant increases are observed on self-appraised ( Grant et al., 2002 ) and observed problem-solving abilities ( Rath et al., 2003 ). There is some evidence that decreases in dysfunctional styles may be particularly essential in realizing significant decreases in depression ( Rivera, Elliott, Berry, & Grant, 2007 ). Participants may display increased skills in finding more solutions to their problems following PST than persons assigned to a control group ( Lesley, 2007 ). In one impressive multisite clinical trial, Sahler et al. (2005) found the beneficial effects of PST on lowering negative affect among mothers of children with cancer were pronounced among young, single mothers; Spanish-speaking mothers demonstrated continued improvements over a 3-month period. Nevertheless, there is perplexing evidence that PST can be associated with lower depression scores over time with no corresponding changes in social problem-solving abilities ( Elliott, Brossart, Berry, & Fine, 2007 ).

Critical reviews point out that this work has recurring problems with the theoretical integrity of interventions, a lack of methodological details, and a lack of clarity regarding the “dosage” sufficient for therapeutic change. Nezu (2004) has been especially critical of the lack of theoretical integrity, as the general flexibility of the original D’Zurilla and Goldfried model may be melded into or added on to any loosely defined cognitive-behavioral intervention. In some cases, it may appear that a published report used a “problem solving intervention” but there is no elaboration of principles of the model or how these were implemented in any replicable fashion (e.g., Smeets et al., in press ). There are some high-profile trials in which training in “problem solving” was presented as a marquee feature of the multisite intervention, and this evidently meant training in rational, instrumental ways to cope with certain problems, but there is no mention or recognition of the problem orientation component and its theoretical function in self-regulation and motivation (e.g., Project REACH, Wisniewski et al., 2003 ). Nezu (2004) adamantly argues that PST must address issues germane to the problem orientation component, and strategies that strictly address the problem solving skills component will not be successful.

The broad range in the number of sessions across studies frustrates our ability to determine the dosage sufficient for therapeutic change. Some studies report clinical success with after a few sessions ( Mynor-Wallis, et al., 1995 ) but other work shows no effects after two sessions administered six months apart ( Elliott & Berry, 2007 ). Weekly sessions seem to have considerable benefits over several weeks ( Grant et al., 2002 ; Rath, et al., 2003 ; Sahler et al., 2005 ). In some clinical scenarios, however, therapeutic change may occur with monthly sessions over the course of a year ( Rivera, Elliott, Berry & Grant, 2007 ). Currently, we cannot conclude from the extant literature the minimal dosage of PST sufficient to effect beneficial, therapeutic changes. This is an issue that should be addressed in future work.

A critical review of problem solving interventions for family caregivers of stroke survivors concluded that the inconsistent use of a theoretical framework and concepts, and a recurring neglect in measuring participant problem-solving abilities limits our understanding of PST in this area ( Lui, Ross, & Thompson, 2005 ). Very few of the studies reviewed used standardized measures of problem solving abilities despite their availability; many studies use the term without regard to the prevailing theoretical models and corresponding directives for training and assessment. Multidisciplinary research teams are often unfriendly to psychological theories. The Lui et al. critique reveals a high regard for cognitive-behavioral theories and a considerable respect for conducting theory-driven research and service. In particular, this critique conveys a premium on theory for organizing and interpreting multidisciplinary research, and for guiding service programs and their evaluation.

The most critical and informative review of this literature appeared in a recent meta-analysis of 31 studies of PST ( Malouff, Thorsteinsson, & Schutte, 2007 ). This paper stayed true to the basic, organizing principles of the social problem-solving model and recognized the theoretical fidelity of authors across studies. PST demonstrated a significant effect size across studies, indicating a superiority over no treatment and treatment-as-usual. Although no moderating effects were found by mode of delivery (group, individual) or in the number of hours of PST (further confounding our ability to determine adequate “dosage”), these colleagues found significant effects for the presence of problem orientation training (consistent with the Nezu position) and homework assignments. Unfortunately, they also found an “investigator” effect: Studies conducted by one of the developers of PST had a significant contribution to the overall effects of PST. This contribution was stronger than the contributions of homework assignment and problem orientation training. Finally, PST was not significantly different from bona fide treatment alternatives.

Identifying and Solving Problems in the Research Base

As these recent reviews and preceding comments attest, there are several problems that have lingered in this literature that impede our appreciation of social problem-solving abilities and the mechanisms by which they have beneficial effects on health. Yet the available research is generally supportive, as we continue to see positive and theoretically consistent findings in multidisciplinary outlets (e.g., Stroke, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Pain, British Medical Journal, Patient Education and Counseling ) that signify an acceptance of social problem solving far beyond the usual confines of counseling psychology research (which also may signify the far-reaching impact of counseling psychology research). With these optimistic thoughts in mind, we assert the following issues should receive greater theoretical and empirical scrutiny in future work.

Utilize and Promote Theory-Driven Research and Instrumentation

Exploratory studies are unquestionably compelling and intriguing, and they arguably broaden our vision and stoke our intellectual curiosity (e.g., Hill-Briggs et al., 2006 ). But the ordinary, rank-and-file, “stopgap” studies do not advance our understanding of social problem-solving abilities if they fail to make explicit ties to the prevailing theoretical models, ignore instruments tied to these models (PSI, SPSI-R), or make vague, obscure references to “problem solving” with no appreciation for the implications of prior work, subsequently squandering the opportunity for informed, relevant research that advances existing knowledge. It is frustrating to read studies that ignore prior work, and wonder how the results could have differed if proper attention had been given to the implications of previous theory-driven research (e.g., De Vliegu, et al., 2006).

These are not trivial matters: The most egregious and harmful incidents occur in large, multisite clinical trials that purport to use “problem solving interventions” with no ties to relevant theory-driven research, and then report null effects for their intervention (as in the case of Project REACH). For those invested in policy-relevant research, small-scale studies that yield positive results are held in suspicion because smaller samples often overestimate actual treatment effects (and thereby dismiss the convergence of data across methodologically diverse studies); large-scale, multisite randomized controlled trials (like Project REACH) are assumed to be more robust, generalizeable, and necessary for determining the true efficacy of an intervention ( Califf, 2002 ). Consequently, a perceived lack of evidence from a multisite clinical trial can irreparably smear the reputation of theory-driven PST, and cultivate unjustified disinterest among funding sources and policymakers for further study of PST.

There is some concern that the primary measures of problem-solving abilities—the PSI and the SPSI-R—may be too time-consuming and cumbersome for use in many clinical settings. Interestingly, a shorter, 25-item form of the SPSI-R has been used successfully in several studies (e.g. Grant et al., 2002 ) and some researchers have read the SPSI-R aloud to participants to ensure administration (with theoretical consistently results among persons with visual impairments, Dreer et al., 2005 , and with disabling mobility impairments, Elliott, 1999 ). This may be asking too much for everyday clinical applications and shorter versions should be developed for telehealth applications and in primary care clinics. Preliminary item analysis of the SPSI-R suggests that a briefer version for greater use may be possible, with results generally consistent with contemporary reformulations of the social problem-solving model ( Dreer et al., 2007 ).

Broaden the Scope of PST across Research Teams and Clinical Settings

The effects of PST on depression and distress permeate the literature ( Malouff et al., 2007 ). Recent applications have unsuccessfully tried to use PST to elevate life satisfaction ( Rivera, Elliott, Berry, & Grant, 2007 ). More promising areas include the use of PST principles to promote healthier diets and lifestyles ( Lesley, 2007 ; Perri et al., 2001 ) and to facilitate the use of problem-solving strategies in social interactions (essential for community reintegration; Rath et al., 2003 ). Although much of this work is hampered by the lack of specificity about the actual implementation of PST and relevant theory (rendering the results suspect and thwarting generalizability and replicability; e.g., Van den Hout et al., 2003 ), these studies collectively illustrate the potential of PST in various applications. Other colleagues, for example, incorporate PST in promoting healthier lifestyles (including matters of impulse control, adherence, mood regulation) among persons who are HIV+ (the Health Living project, Gore-Felton et al., 2005 ) and who have substance abuse histories ( Latimer, Winters, D’Zurilla, & Nichols, 2003 ). PST may prove to be quite adaptable in long-distance, community-based telehealth programs, in which ongoing services may be provided to underserved people and to those in remote areas (e.g., Grant et al., 2002 ; Wade et al., 2006a ).

Identify the Mechanisms of Therapeutic Change

It appears that there is no clear evidence of the “dosage” of PST necessary to effect change. Moreover, when change occurs, it is unclear if the changes are uniquely attributable to PST. One persistent issue concerns the intricate relationship between a negative orientation and self-report measures of distress. Even when we find evidence linking effective problem-solving abilities with objectively defined outcomes (e.g., skin ulcers), we do not know if effective problem-solving abilities influenced greater behavioral adherence to therapeutic regimens, or if the problem orientation component was instrumental in regulating emotional adjustment and prevented distress that could have compromised health. We do know that PST is more successful when the issues germane to the problem orientation component are addressed, and there is evidence that decreases in negative orientation and dysfunctional problem-solving styles can be associated with decreases in depression in response to PST ( Rivera, Elliott, Berry, & Grant, 2007 ).

There is legitimate concern that—with respect to social problem-solving abilities—the “absence of the negative” may be more powerful than the “presence of the positive.” It is important for us to understand how and why a negative, dysfunctional style is associated with negative outcomes (and a greater likelihood of a positive outcome), and why and under what conditions a constructive problem-solving style proves uniquely beneficial. This could entail studies of social problem solving abilities and biomedical indicators of stress and adjustment. We believe this is a pressing issue given current interest in social problem-solving as an important variable in positive psychology ( Heppner & Wang, 2003 ).

Attend to Matters of Diversity

Few cognitive-behavioral variables appear to be as culturally resilient as social problem-solving abilities ( Heppner et al., 2004 ). Large-scale studies that have controlled for possible effects of ethnicity have shown the relationships of social problem-solving abilities to distress and adherence ( Johnson et al., 2006 ) and to health outcomes ( Elliott et al., 2006 ) are not mediated by race. Studies of race-specific issues have yielded some of the most intriguing data to date among problem-solving and biomedical markers of health (among African-American men; Hill-Briggs, et al., 2006 ); other work has shown some effects for PST tailored to address health promotion issues among african Americans with hypertension ( Lesley, 2007 ). There is also some indication that Spanish-speaking participants may experience greater benefits from PST than others ( Sahler, et al., 2005 ).

There are many health problems that are disproportionately experienced by ethnic minorities in the United States (e.g., diabetes, stroke, disability incurred in acts of violence). Collectively, available evidence suggests that PST may be used in prevention and remedial programs to assist persons from minority backgrounds who live with these conditions. Although this work is promising, we have yet to see robust effects of PST across health conditions and research has yet to be conducted in any substantive fashion with certain ethnic groups (e.g., Chinese, although initial work has been consistent with extant theoretical models; see Siu & Shek, 2005 ). Ideally, the next wave of intervention research will document effects of PST among people across ethnic groups and cultures.

Problem Solving for the People

Research to date suggests that PST can be effectively provided by psychologists, physicians, nurses and counselors. As the needs of our society demand greater attention to and support for the increasing number of people who live with a chronic health conditions that necessitates routine adherence to prescribed regimens (and currently this number constitutes almost 50% of the population of the United States; Partnerships for Solutions, 2004 ), health promotion programs will increasingly rely on paraprofessionals and community health workers to reach a larger number of individuals. These public health efforts already work with community groups (schools, churches) and with respected paraprofessionals within certain communities (e.g., promotoras in Latino communities) to educate people about health and health promotion skills. We believe problem-solving principles can be taught in public health interventions to reach a greater percentage of people who are affected by chronic health conditions (including family members of an individual with a diagnosable condition). We also know that PST can be effectively provided in the community via telehealth, so a greater use of existing technologies is expected in community-based programs. PST can be a useful modality for prevention programs for teaching health promotion skills (e.g., nutrition, sexual health and behaviors, exercise and activity) to individuals, generally.

A real concern lurking in this sea of possibility is the difficulty in determining when and how to best apply PST: People experience a wide range of problems in our communities, and paraprofessionals may be overwhelmed by the depth and severity of certain problems they will inevitably encounter in their clientele. Furthermore, we know that some individuals live with considerable distress and face many problems that have a restricted range of options and solutions. In these clinical scenarios, a strict reliance on the rather linear application of PST principles may be frustrating to paraprofessionals and clients. Research is needed to determine the best and optimal use of PST by paraprofessionals in public health interventions, and when doctoral-level providers are best suited for using PST in more complex cases that demand greater clinical expertise.

The study and application of social problem-solving abilities has matured beyond its early years in the counseling psychology literature to be embraced by a larger, multidisciplinary audience. Many theoretical issues remain for counseling psychologists to examine and refine, and an influx of new researchers would do much to assuage concerns of “investigator” effects in PST research. Perhaps the next wave of PST research will be conducted in public health programs. It behooves counseling psychology to be involved in this activity so that the theoretical tenets of social problem-solving are accurately integrated and realized in this work, and in the process, ensure a more accurate realization of the effects and applicability of social problem-solving theory and research for the public good.

Acknowledgments

This chapter was supported by grants to the first author awarded by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (#T32HD07420), the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133A020509), and from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (#R49/CE000191) to the Injury Control Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The contents of this study are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

• Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1986. [ Google Scholar ]
• Califf RM. Large clinical trials: Clinical research institutes. In: Gallin JI, editor. Principles and practice of clinical research. San Diego, CA: Academic; 2002. pp. 225–250. [ Google Scholar ]
• D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu A. Problem-solving therapy. 2. New York: Springer; 1999. [ Google Scholar ]
• D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory. Psychological Assessment. 1990; 2 :156–163. [ Google Scholar ]
• D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM. Measures of social problem solving ability. In: D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM, editors. Problem solving therapy: A positive approach to clinical intervention. New York: Springer Publishing Company LLC; 2007. pp. 33–47. [ Google Scholar ]
• D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM, Maydeu-Olivares A. Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R): Technical Manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-health Systems; 2002. [ Google Scholar ]
• D’Zurilla TJ, Nezu AM, Maydeu-Olivares A. Social problem solving: Theory and assessment. In: Chang E, D’Zurilla TJ, Sanna LJ, editors. Social problem solving: Theory, research, and training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004. pp. 11–27. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dreer L, Berry J, Rivera P, Elliott T, Swanson M, McNeal C, Shewchuk R, Miller D. Efficient assessment of social problem-solving abilities: A rasch analysis of the social problem-solving inventory-revised. 2007 Manuscript submitted for publication. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dreer L, Elliott T, Fletcher D, Swanson M. Social problem-solving abilities and psychological adjustment of persons in low vision rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2005; 50 :232–238. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dreer L, Elliott T, Shewchuk R, Berry J, Rivera P. Family care-givers of persons with spinal cord injury: Predicting caregivers at risk for depression. Rehabilitation Psychology. in press. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dreer L, Elliott T, Tucker E. Social problem solving abilities and health behaviors of persons with recent-onset spinal cord injuries. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. 2004; 11 :7–13. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T. Social problem solving abilities and adjustment to recent-onset physical disability. Rehabilitation Psychology. 1999; 44 :315–332. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Berry JW. Problem-solving training for family caregivers of persons with recent-onset spinal cord injury: A randomized controlled trial. 2007 Manuscript submitted for publication. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Brossart D, Berry JW, Fine PR. Problem-solving training via videoconferencing for family caregivers and effects on family members with spinal cord injury: A randomized clinical trial. 2007 Manuscript submitted for publication. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Bush B, Chen Y. Social problem solving abilities predict pressure sore occurrence in the first three years of spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2006; 51 :69–77. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Godshall F, Herrick S, Witty T, Spruell M. Problem-solving appraisal and psychological adjustment following spinal cord injury. Cognitive Therapy and Research. 1991; 15 :387–398. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Grant J, Miller D. Social problem solving abilities and behavioral health. In: Chang E, D’Zurilla TJ, Sanna LJ, editors. Social problem solving: Theory, research, and training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004. pp. 117–133. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Marmarosh C. Problem solving appraisal, health complaints, and health-related expectancies. Journal of Counseling and Development. 1994; 72 :531–537. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Shewchuk R, Miller D, Richards JS. Profiles in problem solving: Psychological well-being and distress among persons with diabetes mellitus. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. 2001; 8 :283–291. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Shewchuk R, Richards JS. Family caregiver social problem-solving abilities and adjustment during the initial year of the caregiving role. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 2001; 48 :223–232. [ Google Scholar ]
• Elliott T, Shewchuk R, Richards JS. Caregiver social problem solving abilities and family member adjustment to recent-onset physical disability. Rehabilitation Psychology. 1999; 44 :104–123. [ Google Scholar ]
• Godshall F, Elliott T. Behavioral correlates of self-appraised problem solving ability: Problem solving skills and health compromising behaviors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 1997; 27 :929–944. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gore-Felton C, Rotheram-Borus MJ, Weinhardt LS, Kelly J, Lightfoot M, Kirshenbaum S, et al. The Healthy Living Project: An individually tailored, multidimensional intervention for HIV-infected persons. AIDS Education and Prevention. 2005; 17 :21–39. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Grant J, Elliott T, Weaver M, Bartolucci A, Giger J. A telephone intervention with family caregivers of stroke survivors after hospital discharge. Stroke. 2002; 33 :2060–2065. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Grant J, Elliott T, Weaver M, Glandon G, Giger J. Social problem-solving abilities, social support, and adjustment of family caregivers of stroke survivors. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2006; 87 :343–350. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Grant J, Weaver M, Elliott T, Bartolucci A, Giger J. Family care-givers of stroke survivors: characteristics of caregivers at-risk for depression. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2004; 49 :172–179. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP. The Problem-Solving Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press; 1988. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP, Baker CE. Applications of the problem solving inventory. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development. 1997; 29 :229–241. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP, Hibel J, Neal GW, Weinstein CL, Rabinowitz FE. Personal problem solving: A descriptive study of individual differences. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1982; 29 :580–590. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP, Krauskopf CJ. An information processing approach to personal problem solving. The Counseling Psychologist. 1987; 15 :371–447. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP, Wang Y-W. Problem-solving appraisal. In: Lopez SJ, Snyder CR, editors. Positive psychological assessment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2003. pp. 127–138. [ Google Scholar ]
• Heppner PP, Witty TE, Dixon WA. Problem-solving appraisal and human adjustment: A review of 20 years of research utilizing the problem-solving inventory. The Counseling Psychologist. 2004; 32 :344–428. [ Google Scholar ]
• Herrick S, Elliott T. Social problem solving abilities and personality disorder characteristics among dual-diagnosed persons in substance abuse treatment. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2001; 57 :75–92. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hill-Briggs F. Problem solving in diabetes self-management: A model of chronic illness self-management behaviors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2003; 25 :182–193. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hill-Briggs F, Cooper DC, Loman K, Brancati F, Cooper L. A qualitative study of problem solving and diabetes control in type 2 diabetes self-management. Diabetes Educator. 2003; 29 :1018–1028. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hill-Briggs F, Gary T, Yeh H-C, Batts-Turner M, Powe N, Saudek C, Brancati F. Association of social problem solving with glycemic control in a sample of urban African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2006; 29 :69–78. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Johnson M, Elliott T, Neilands T, Morin SF, Chesney MA. A social problem-solving model of adherence to HIV medications. Health Psychology. 2006; 25 :355–363. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kinsella G, Ong B, Murtagh D, Prior M, Sawyer M. The role of the family for behavioral outcomes in children and adolescents following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1999; 67 :116–123. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kurylo M, Elliott T, DeVivo L, Dreer L. Caregiver social problem-solving abilities and family member adjustment following congestive heart failure. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. 2004; 11 :151–157. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Latimer WW, Winters K, D’Zurilla T, Nichols M. Integrated family and cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescent substance abusers: a stage I efficacy study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2003; 71 :303–317. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lesley ML. Social problem solving training for African Americans: Effects on dietary problem solving skill and DASH diet-related behavior change. Patient Education and Counseling. 2007; 65 :137–146. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lui MHL, Ross F, Thompson D. Supporting family caregivers in stroke care: A review of the evidence for problem solving. Stroke. 2005; 36 :2514–2522. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Malouff JM, Thorsteinsson E, Schutte N. The efficacy of problem solving therapy in reducing mental and physical health problems: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review. 2007; 27 :46–57. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mynors-Wallis LM, Gath DH, Lloyd-Thomas AR, Tomlinson D. Randomised controlled trial comparing problem solving treatment with amitriptyline and placebo for major depression in primary care. British Medical Journal. 1995; 310 :441–445. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Neal GW, Heppner PP. Problem solving self-appraisal, awareness and utilization of campus helping resources. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1986; 33 :39–44. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nezu A. Problem solving and behavior therapy revisited. Behavior Therapy. 2004; 35 :1–33. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nezu AM, D’Zurilla TJ. Social problem solving and negative affect. In: Kendall P, Watson D, editors. Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 1989. pp. 285–315. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nezu AM, Felgoise SH, McClure KS, Houts P. Project Genesis: Assessing the efficacy of problem-solving therapy for distressed adult cancer patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2003; 71 :1036–1048. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nezu A, Nezu C, Friedman S, Faddis S. Helping cancer patients cope: A problem-solving approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1998. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nezu AM, Perri MG. Social problem solving therapy for unipolar depression: an initial dismantling investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1989; 57 :408–413. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Partnerships for Solutions. Chronic conditions: Making the case for ongoing care. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2004. [ Google Scholar ]
• Perri M, Nezu A, McKelvey W, Shermer R, Renjilian D, Viegener B. Relapse prevention training and problem-solving therapy in the long-term management of obesity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2001; 69 :722–726. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rath JF, Hennessy JJ, Diller L. Social problem solving and community integration in postacute rehabilitation outpatients with traumatic brain injury. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2003; 48 :137–144. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rath JF, Langenbahn D, Simon D, Sherr RL, Fletcher J, Diller L. The construct of problem solving in higher level neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 2004; 19 :613–635. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rath JF, Simon D, Langenbahn D, Sherr RL, Diller L. Group treatment of problem-solving deficits in outpatients with traumatic brain injury: A randomised outcome study. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. 2003; 13 :461–488. [ Google Scholar ]
• Richards CS, Perri MG. Do self-control treatments last? An evaluation of behavioral problem solving and faded counselor contact as treatment maintenance strategies. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1978; 25 :376–383. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rivara J, Jaffe K, Polissar N, Fay G, Liao S, Martin K. Predictors of family functioning and change 3 years after traumatic brain injury in children. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 1996; 77 :754–764. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rivera P, Elliott T, Berry J, Grant J. Problem-solving training for family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries: A randomized controlled trial. 2007 Manuscript submitted for publication. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rivera P, Elliott T, Berry J, Oswald K, Grant J. Predictors of care-giver depression among community-residing families living with traumatic brain injury. NeuroRehabilitation. 2007; 22 :3–8. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rivera P, Elliott T, Berry J, Shewchuk R, Oswald K, Grant J. Family caregivers of women with physical disabilities. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. 2006; 13 :431–440. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sahler O, Fairclough D, Phipps S, Mulhern R, Dolgin M, Noll R, Katz E, Varni JW, Copeland D, Butler D. Using problem-solving skills training to reduce negative affectivity in mothers of children with newly diagnosed cancer: Report of a multisite randomized trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2005; 73 :272–283. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shanmugham K, Elliott T, Palmatier A. Social problem solving abilities and psychosocial impairment among individuals recuperating from surgical repair for severe pressure sores. NeuroRehabilitation. 2004; 19 :259–269. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shanmugham K, Cano M, Elliott T, Davis M. Social problem solving abilities, relationship satisfaction and adjustment of family caregivers of stroke survivors. 2007 Manuscript under review. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shaw WS, Feuerstein M, Haufler A, Berkowitz S, Lopez M. Working with low back pain: problem-solving orientation and function. Pain. 2001; 93 :129–137. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Smeets RJEM, Vlaeyen J, Hidding A, Kester A, van der Heijden G, Knottnerus J. Chronic low back pain: Physical training, graded activity with problem solving training, or both? The one-year post-treatment results of a randomized controlled trial. Pain. in press. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Siu AMH, Shek DTL. Relations between social problem-solving and family well-being among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Social Indicators Research. 2005; 71 :517–539. [ Google Scholar ]
• Van de Hout JH, Vlaeyen JW, Heuts P, Zijlema J, Wijnen JA. Secondary prevention of work-related disability in nonspecific low back pain: does problem-solving therapy help? A randomized clinical trial. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 2003; 19 :87–96. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wade SL, Carey J, Wolfe CR. An online family intervention to reduce parental distress following pediatric brain injury. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2006a; 74 :445–454. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wade SL, Carey J, Wolfe CR. The efficacy of an online cognitive-behavioral family intervention in improving child behavior and social competence in pediatric brain injury. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2006b; 51 :179–189. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wisniewski SR, Belle S, Coon DW, Marcus S, Ory M, Burgio L, Burns R, Schulz R. The resources for enhancing Alzheimer’s caregiver health (REACH): Project design and baseline characteristics. Psychology and Aging. 2003; 18 :375–384. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Witty TE, Heppner PP, Bernard C, Thoreson R. Problem solving appraisal and psychological adjustment of persons with chronic low back pain. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. 2001; 8 :149–160. [ Google Scholar ]

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1.1 What Is a Social Problem?

Learning objectives.

• Define “social problem.”
• Explain the objective and subjective components of the definition of a social problem.
• Understand the social constructionist view of social problems.
• List the stages of the natural history of social problems.

A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed. This definition has both an objective component and a subjective component.

The objective component is this: For any condition or behavior to be considered a social problem, it must have negative consequences for large numbers of people, as each chapter of this book discusses. How do we know if a social problem has negative consequences? Reasonable people can and do disagree on whether such consequences exist and, if so, on their extent and seriousness, but ordinarily a body of data accumulates—from work by academic researchers, government agencies, and other sources—that strongly points to extensive and serious consequences. The reasons for these consequences are often hotly debated, and sometimes, as we shall see in certain chapters in this book, sometimes the very existence of these consequences is disputed. A current example is climate change : Although the overwhelming majority of climate scientists say that climate change (changes in the earth’s climate due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) is real and serious, fewer than two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) in a 2011 poll said they “think that global warming is happening”(Leiserowitz, et. al., 2011).

This type of dispute points to the subjective component of the definition of social problems: There must be a perception that a condition or behavior needs to be addressed for it to be considered a social problem. This component lies at the heart of the social constructionist view of social problems (Rubington & Weinberg, 2010). In this view, many types of negative conditions and behaviors exist. Many of these are considered sufficiently negative to acquire the status of a social problem; some do not receive this consideration and thus do not become a social problem; and some become considered a social problem only if citizens, policymakers, or other parties call attention to the condition or behavior.

Sometimes disputes occur over whether a particular condition or behavior has negative consequences and is thus a social problem. A current example is climate change: although almost all climate scientists think climate change is real and serious, more than one-third of the American public thinks that climate change is not happening.

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

The history of attention given to rape and sexual assault in the United States before and after the 1970s provides an example of this latter situation. These acts of sexual violence against women have probably occurred from the beginning of humanity and certainly were very common in the United States before the 1970s. Although men were sometimes arrested and prosecuted for rape and sexual assault, sexual violence was otherwise ignored by legal policymakers and received little attention in college textbooks and the news media, and many people thought that rape and sexual assault were just something that happened (Allison & Wrightsman, 1993). Thus although sexual violence existed, it was not considered a social problem. When the contemporary women’s movement began in the late 1970s, it soon focused on rape and sexual assault as serious crimes and as manifestations of women’s inequality. Thanks to this focus, rape and sexual assault eventually entered the public consciousness, views of these crimes began to change, and legal policymakers began to give them more attention. In short, sexual violence against women became a social problem.

Before the 1970s, rape and sexual assault certainly existed and were very common, but they were generally ignored and not considered a social problem. When the contemporary women’s movement arose during the 1970s, it focused on sexual violence against women and turned this behavior into a social problem.

Women’s e News – Placards at the Rally To Take Rape Seriously – CC BY 2.0.

The social constructionist view raises an interesting question: When is a social problem a social problem? According to some sociologists who adopt this view, negative conditions and behaviors are not a social problem unless they are recognized as such by policymakers, large numbers of lay citizens, or other segments of our society; these sociologists would thus say that rape and sexual assault before the 1970s were not a social problem because our society as a whole paid them little attention. Other sociologists say that negative conditions and behaviors should be considered a social problem even if they receive little or no attention; these sociologists would thus say that rape and sexual assault before the 1970s were a social problem.

This type of debate is probably akin to the age-old question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, is a sound made? As such, it is not easy to answer, but it does reinforce one of the key beliefs of the social constructionist view: Perception matters at least as much as reality, and sometimes more so. In line with this belief, social constructionism emphasizes that citizens, interest groups, policymakers, and other parties often compete to influence popular perceptions of many types of conditions and behaviors. They try to influence news media coverage and popular views of the nature and extent of any negative consequences that may be occurring, the reasons underlying the condition or behavior in question, and possible solutions to the problem.

Sometimes a condition or behavior becomes a social problem even if there is little or no basis for this perception. A historical example involves women in college. During the late 1800s, medical authorities and other experts warned women not to go to college for two reasons: they feared that the stress of college would disrupt women’s menstrual cycles, and they thought that women would not do well on exams while they were menstruating.

CollegeDegrees360 – College Girls – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Social constructionism’s emphasis on perception has a provocative implication: Just as a condition or behavior may not be considered a social problem even if there is strong basis for this perception, so may a condition or behavior be considered a social problem even if there is little or no basis for this perception. The “issue” of women in college provides a historical example of this latter possibility. In the late 1800s, leading physicians and medical researchers in the United States wrote journal articles, textbooks, and newspaper columns in which they warned women not to go to college. The reason? They feared that the stress of college would disrupt women’s menstrual cycles, and they also feared that women would not do well in exams during “that time of the month” (Ehrenreich & English, 2005)! We now know better, of course, but the sexist beliefs of these writers turned the idea of women going to college into a social problem and helped to reinforce restrictions by colleges and universities on the admission of women.

In a related dynamic, various parties can distort certain aspects of a social problem that does exist: politicians can give speeches, the news media can use scary headlines and heavy coverage to capture readers’ or viewers’ interest, businesses can use advertising and influence news coverage. News media coverage of violent crime provides many examples of this dynamic (Robinson, 2011; Surette, 2011). The news media overdramatize violent crime, which is far less common than property crime like burglary and larceny, by featuring so many stories about it, and this coverage contributes to public fear of crime. Media stories about violent crime also tend to be more common when the accused offender is black and the victim is white and when the offender is a juvenile. This type of coverage is thought to heighten the public’s prejudice toward African Americans and to contribute to negative views about teenagers.

The Natural History of a Social Problem

We have just discussed some of the difficulties in defining a social problem and the fact that various parties often try to influence public perceptions of social problems. These issues aside, most social problems go through a natural history consisting of several stages of their development (Spector & Kitsuse, 2001).

Stage 1: Emergence and Claims Making

A social problem emerges when a social entity (such as a social change group, the news media, or influential politicians) begins to call attention to a condition or behavior that it perceives to be undesirable and in need of remedy. As part of this process, it tries to influence public perceptions of the problem, the reasons for it, and possible solutions to it. Because the social entity is making claims about all these matters, this aspect of Stage 1 is termed the claims-making process . Not all efforts to turn a condition or behavior into a social problem succeed, and if they do not succeed, a social problem does not emerge. Because of the resources they have or do not have, some social entities are more likely than others to succeed at this stage. A few ordinary individuals have little influence in the public sphere, but masses of individuals who engage in protest or other political activity have greater ability to help a social problem emerge. Because politicians have the ear of the news media and other types of influence, their views about social problems are often very influential. Most studies of this stage of a social problem focus on the efforts of social change groups and the larger social movement to which they may belong, as most social problems begin with bottom-up efforts from such groups.

A social problem emerges when a social change group successfully calls attention to a condition or behavior that it considers serious. Protests like the one depicted here have raised the environmental consciousness of Americans and helped put pressure on businesses to be environmentally responsible.

ItzaFineDay – Financing Climate Change – CC BY 2.0.

Stage 2: Legitimacy

Once a social group succeeds in turning a condition or behavior into a social problem, it usually tries to persuade the government (local, state, and/or federal) to take some action—spending and policymaking—to address the problem. As part of this effort, it tries to convince the government that its claims about the problem are legitimate—that they make sense and are supported by empirical (research-based) evidence. To the extent that the group succeeds in convincing the government of the legitimacy of its claims, government action is that much more likely to occur.

Stage 3: Renewed Claims Making

Even if government action does occur, social change groups often conclude that the action is too limited in goals or scope to be able to successfully address the social problem. If they reach this conclusion, they often decide to press their demands anew. They do so by reasserting their claims and by criticizing the official response they have received from the government or other established interests, such as big businesses. This stage may involve a fair amount of tension between the social change groups and these targets of their claims.

Stage 4: Development of Alternative Strategies

Despite the renewed claims making, social change groups often conclude that the government and established interests are not responding adequately to their claims. Although the groups may continue to press their claims, they nonetheless realize that these claims may fail to win an adequate response from established interests. This realization leads them to develop their own strategies for addressing the social problem.

Key Takeaways

• The definition of a social problem has both an objective component and a subjective component. The objective component involves empirical evidence of the negative consequences of a social condition or behavior, while the subjective component involves the perception that the condition or behavior is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.
• The social constructionist view emphasizes that a condition or behavior does not become a social problem unless there is a perception that it should be considered a social problem.
• The natural history of a social problem consists of four stages: emergence and claims making, legitimacy, renewed claims making, and alternative strategies.

For Your Review

• What do you think is the most important social problem facing our nation right now? Explain your answer.
• Do you agree with the social constructionist view that a negative social condition or behavior is not a social problem unless there is a perception that it should be considered a social problem? Why or why not?

Allison, J. A., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1993). Rape: The misunderstood crime . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ehrenreich, B., & English, D. (2005). For her own good: Two centuries of the experts’ advice to women (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Smith, N. (2011). Climate change in the American mind: Americans’ global warming beliefs and attitudes in May 2011 . New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

Robinson, M. B. (2011). Media coverage of crime and criminal justice . Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

Rubington, E., & Weinberg, M. S. (2010). The study of social problems: Seven perspectives (7th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J. I. (2001). Constructing social problems . New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Surette, R. (2011). Media, crime, and criminal justice: Images, realities, and policies (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Social Problems Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

The Pathway 2 Success

Solutions for Social Emotional Learning & Executive Functioning

Teaching Social Problem-Solving with a Free Activity

February 3, 2018 by pathway2success 5 Comments

• Facebook 77

Kids and young adults need to be able to problem-solve on their own. Every day, kids are faced with a huge number of social situations and challenges. Whether they are just having a conversation with a peer, working with a group on a project, or dealing with an ethical dilemma, kids must use their social skills and knowledge to help them navigate tough situations. Ideally, we want kids to make positive choices entirely on their own. Of course, we know that kids don’t start off that way. They need to learn how to collaborate, communicate, cooperate, negotiate, and self-advocate.

Social problem solving skills are critical skills to learn for kids with autism, ADHD, and other social challenges. Of course, all kids and young adults benefit from these skills. They fit perfectly into a morning meeting discussion or advisory periods for older kids. Not only are these skills that kids will use in your classroom, but throughout their entire lives. They are well worth the time to teach!

Here are 5 steps to help kids learn social problem solving skills:

1. Teach kids to communicate their feelings. Being able to openly and respectfully share emotions is a foundational element to social problem solving. Teaching I statements can be a simple and effective way to kids to share their feelings. With an I statement, kids will state, “I feel ______ when _____.” The whole idea is that this type of statement allows someone to share how their feeling without targeting or blaming anyone else. Helping kids to communicate their emotions can solve many social problems from the start and encourages positive self-expression.

2. Discuss and model empathy. In order for kids to really grasp problem-solving, they need to learn how to think about the feelings of others. Literature is a great way teach and practice empathy! Talk about the feelings of characters within texts you are reading, really highlighting how they might feel in situations and why. Ask questions like, “How might they feel? Why do you think they felt that way? Would you feel the same in that situation? Why or why not?” to help teach emerging empathy skills. You can also make up your own situations and have kids share responses, too.

3. Model problem-solving skills. When a problem arises, discuss it and share some solutions how you might go forward to fix it. For example, you might say, “I was really expecting to give the class this math assignment today but I just found out we have an assembly. This wasn’t in my plans. I could try to give part of it now or I could hold off and give the assignment tomorrow instead. It’s not perfect, but I think I’ll wait that way we can go at the pace we need to.” This type of think-aloud models the type of thinking that kids should be using when a problem comes up.

4. Use social scenarios to practice. Give a scenario and have kids consider how that person might feel in that situation. Discuss options for what that person might do to solve the problem, possible consequences for their choices, and what the best decision might be. Kids can consider themselves social detectives by using the clues and what they know about social rules to help them figure out the solution. These are especially fun in small groups to have kids discuss collaboratively. Use these free social problem solving cards to start your kids off practicing!

5. Allow kids to figure it out. Don’t come to the rescue when a child or young adult has a problem. As long as it’s not a serious issue, give them time to think about it and use their problem-solving skills on their own. Of course, it’s much easier to have an adult solve all the problems but that doesn’t teach the necessary skills. When a child comes to you asking for your help with a social problem, encourage them to think about it for five minutes before coming back to you. By that point, they might have already figured out possible solutions and ideas and might not even need you anymore.

If you are interested in helping your kids learn social problem solving skills right away, consider trying out these Social Problem Solving Task Cards . They highlight real social scenarios and situations that kids can discuss. The scenarios include a variety of locations, such as in classrooms, with family, with friends, at recess, and at lunch. This set is targeted for elementary-age learners.

Of course, older kids need social problem solving skills, too! If you work with older kids, you will love these Social Problem Solving Task Cards for Middle and High School Kids. These situations target age-appropriate issues that come up in classes, with friends, with family, in the hallway, in the cafeteria, and with online and texting.

Remember that teaching social problem skills does take a little bit of planning and effort, but it will be well worth the time! Kids will use these skills to help them make social decisions in their everyday lives now and in the future!

Share this:

February 22, 2018 at 12:03 am

Thank you for sharing>

March 3, 2018 at 8:59 am

Good thought ful

March 20, 2018 at 9:24 pm

They are not free

March 21, 2018 at 8:58 am

They are! Here is the link (it’s listed under number 4): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Social-Problem-Solving-Task-Cards-2026178 I also have a paid version with a bunch more cards (for both elementary and older kids), but that will give you the freebie. Enjoy!

July 15, 2018 at 3:41 am

Awesome way to teach the skill of social problem solving.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Find It Fast

• Privacy Policy
• Join Pathway 2 Success
• Social Emotional Learning Toolkit
• Self-Control Resources

pathway2success1

⭐ Kristina 💖 SEL & Executive Functioning 💻 Blogger at www.thepathway2success.com 👩‍🏫 Special Educator turned Curriculum Specialist Links here 👇

Free Article: Why Use the Social Thinking Methodology? 19 Concepts to Consider

Why Use the Social Thinking Methodology?

19 concepts to consider.

Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP

Social thinking is what we do when we share space with others and when sending an email, sitting in a classroom, lining up at the grocery store, reading a work of fiction, watching a funny video clip, participating in a business meeting, driving in traffic, and a host of other daily activities that involve our social interpretation and related reactions. The Social Thinking Methodology provides teaching and support frameworks and strategies that encourage individuals to focus their social attention, interpret the social context, and socially problem solve to figure out how to respond to this social information, with the overall goal of helping them make gains toward their social goals.

Thinking socially is what we do when we’re around others and when we send an email, sit in a classroom, line up at the grocery store, read a work of fiction, watch a funny video, participate in a business meeting, drive in traffic, and engage in a host of other daily activities that involve social interpretation. We consider the context; take in the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of the people; and (when needed) use that information to determine how we respond. How we think about people affects how we behave, which in turn affects how others respond to us, which in turn affects our internal and external emotional responses. It's an incredibly complex process that most of us take for granted.

One’s ability to think socially develops naturally and becomes intuitive for most of us. But for many individuals this process is anything but natural. Individuals with social learning differences and/or challenges may find it extremely difficult to think about what others are thinking and to use their social competencies in the exact moment they are needed. And one's ability to think socially has little to no relationship with conventional measures of intelligence. In fact, many people who score high on IQ and standardized tests do not intuitively learn the basics or the nuances of social communication and interaction.

The Social Thinking® Methodology was created by Michelle Garcia Winner and it continues to evolve with the help of Dr. Pamela Crooke. Our mission is to help people develop social competencies to better connect with others and experience greater well-being. We provide teaching and support frameworks and strategies that encourage individuals to focus their social attention, interpret the social context, and socially problem solve to figure out how to respond, with the overall goal of helping them make gains toward their social goals. The Social Thinking Methodology (STM) is based on research that includes but is not limited to the exploration of social-emotional development, neuroscience, communication science, emotions, anxiety, and depression.

The concepts and strategies found in the STM are a better fit for those social learners with average to superior language skills and cognition, regardless of diagnosis or lack of diagnosis. The methodology is also designed to guide parents and professionals toward better understanding of the social-emotional and social communicative process, to help them become more astute teachers of this information. Professionals and parents are using this information in schools, homes, communities, and work settings.

Consider these 19 concepts when using our Social Thinking Methodology:

Social thinking is the user-friendly term for social cognition.

When developing on a neurotypical trajectory, thinking socially develops from birth, much like motor skills.

A milestone of infancy is joint attention . This occurs when babies naturally follow the gaze of another person. Others follow a baby's gaze too when attempting to figure out wants or needs. This is the building block for many parts of social communication, including play, cooperation, sharing an imagination, and working as part of a group. Once this milestone is reached, complex communication develops rapidly.

Playing effectively with peers in the early years provides the foundation for sitting and learning in a classroom as well as having back-and-forth conversations. From a developmental perspective, interactive play encourages problem solving and teamwork.

Students with social learning differences (and sometimes challenges) may not intuitively learn social information the way other children do.

The STM includes a four-step process for teaching individuals how to socially attend, interpret, problem solve, and respond to social information, and to use evolving social competencies across contexts, whether in a classroom, on a playground, at home, or in the community.

The STM’s frameworks and strategies are considered metacognitive (thinking about thinking) and rely on language to talk about and understand thinking and feeling.

The STM teaches that social skills are not to be memorized. Rather, social competencies evolve across our lifetimes. As infants, we begin by using our eyes to be aware of our caregivers and then of other people. We think with our eyes to figure out others’ thoughts, intentions, emotions, plans, etc.

Our thoughts and emotions are strongly connected; we teach about this connection using a Social Emotional Chain Reaction . What each of us does or says has an impact on others’ thoughts and feelings, which impacts how they respond to us, which impacts how we respond to them and ultimately how we feel about ourselves.

We notice and even think about people a lot of the time, even when we have no plans to interact with them; we refer to this as sharing space . Sharing space effectively means we interpret the social situation to figure out what might be an expected behavior for that situation based on the place and people.

As part of our humanity, we are on a daily quest to manage how people perceive us. To encourage people to have more neutral thoughts and emotions about what we do and say, we consider how they may perceive our words and actions and adapt in hopes they consider us in the manner we intend.

The STM focuses on how we as people, regardless of culture, share space and interact with others. We focus on humanity’s social agreements, which is why communities around the world invite our experts to present and share teaching materials.

There are, of course, nuances in social behaviors across cultures. Using the Social Thinking- Social Competency Model , we teach individuals to be social observers to help problem solve how to coexist or interact with people of different cultures and age groups.

When we focus on the nuance of social communication, we find that social expectations evolve across our lives. For example, how we apologize to another person shifts dramatically from age 5 to age 10 and then takes on a different form in our teenage and adult years.

Our brain thinks socially, even when alone in our homes. To understand a novel, movie, web clip, or TV show, one must think about the characters’ emotions, thoughts, reactions, etc.

Everything we do and learn in the academic world is rooted in thinking socially: considering the motives and intentions of people in literature and history, turning in assignments, considering the perspectives of classmates and teachers to participate in class, etc.

Our social competencies are just as critical in adulthood aas they are earlier in life. This applies when using digital communication as well!

The Social Thinking Methodology helps to take abstract, implied social information and teach it explicitly in a step-by-step or concrete manner. Our core teaching frameworks provide individuals a top-level view of key social information, for example:

• 5 Steps of Being with Others
• Four Steps of Communication
• Social Emotional Chain Reaction

Both neurotypically developing students and Neurodivergent students can also have mental health problems, including depression, anxiety , obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and other issues. Using the STM does not replace the need for support from mental health providers, but it does incorporate strategies for anxiety management in its core teachings.

We hope you find our strategies and concepts helpful in your journey to teach social competencies. To kick-start your learning and dive deeper into our core concepts, watch our free webinar, The Social Thinking - Social Competency Model . We’re thrilled when we hear from educators, clinicians, and families around the world that the Social Thinking Methodology has helped them change lives and we’d love to help you do the same!

Related Resources to Support the Concepts in This Article

Products & curriculum sets, free articles.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Raising Kids

Everything You Need To Know About 16-Year-Old Child Development Milestones

Everything you need to know about how your 16-year-old is developing, from physical or cognitive milestones, to emotional and social development.

• Language and Cognitive Milestones
• Physical Development
• Emotional and Social Milestones
• Other Milestones
• Help Your 16-Year-Old Learn and Grow
• Keep Your 16-Year-Old Safe
• When To Be Concerned

Turning 16 is a big deal to most teens . Not only do 16-year-olds earn more legal freedom, but they are also becoming more cognizant of what they want to do in the future. Your teen's growth and development reaches new heights at this age and there are bound to be a few struggles along the way. 

Here we'll break down what your 16-year-old is experiencing developmentally, how to help them grow, and how to keep them safe.

Parents / Emily Roberts

16-Year-Old Language and Cognitive Milestones

At this age, your child is no longer simply thinking about their own life. In the mid-teen years, kids start to consider how the entire world works and how their life fits into it.

They also are mastering abstract thinking—that is, considering what could be and improving their reasoning and problem-solving skills during this time. But these skills are still not completely developed, says Ellen S. Rome, MD, MPH , who heads the Center for Adolescent Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Children's.

"The ability to foresee consequences is not completely hardwired at this age," Dr. Rome adds. "A 16-year-old might manage their job or homework well and even drive their car safely, but then not use a condom with their significant other."

Additional Cognitive Developments for 16-year-olds

• Changes language and behaviors between school, home, and other settings
• Exhibits defined work habits
• Explains the rationale behind their thoughts or decisions

One challenge many teenagers this age face is being overscheduled, which is not necessarily good for their development. They need free time to pursue interests and rest and relax without expectations.

"They also might be thinking spiritually and know what it means to love another person," says Ashley Ebersole, MD, MS, FAAP , an adolescent medicine physician with Nationwide Children's. "But, this also can be a challenging time because some 16-year-olds are susceptible to a phenomenon known as the Personal Fable, which is this belief that they are invincible or that it is OK for them to take a particular risk because they believe they are special."

16-Year-Old Physical Development

The differences in the level of physical development among sexes are more apparent around age 16. Biological females, who are likely almost done growing and developing, are starting to slow down in physical development, while biological males are sometimes just getting started.

"At 16, a female's body may very much replicate an adult female body while a male might still be developing and may notice more height growth and further development of facial hair," says Dr. Ebersole. "Adolescents this age also are expected to gain weight and experience a redistribution of fat patterns."

Dr. Ebersole indicates that many teenagers struggle with the idea of gaining weight at this age but stresses that it is completely normal for them to do so. Yet despite this fact, research shows that as many as 45% of females between ages 16 and 19 try to lose weight.

Additional Physical Developments

• May be concerned about the way they look
• Continue to develop physically, including muscle development and weight gain
• May consider dieting even though weight gain is expected at this age

You might also see your teen sleeping longer and eating more to keep up with their growth. Shifts in their circadian rhythm may also cause them to stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning.

16-Year-Old Emotional and Social Milestones

A 16-year-old knows that adulthood is not far away, so they will start showing more independence and less conflict with their parents. They also will begin making decisions with that independence in mind. However, their choices may not always be right in the eyes of their parents.

"Sixteen-year-olds sometimes weigh the opinions of their peers over that of their parents," says Dr. Rome. "They won't always recognize the consequences of their decisions, but as Dr. Ken Ginsburg says, parents should be a lighthouse providing a beacon that guides teens toward safe harbor. In other words, parents set limits but allow kids to test the waters as long as their choices are not life-threatening."

If your child makes decisions that concern you, talk to them. Pay attention to changes in behavior, particularly if your teen seems sad or depressed, and reach out for professional help if necessary, suggests Dr. Rome.

Teenagers often have strong sexual desires and may become sexually active. Nearly 30 percent of high school students in the U.S. have had sex. At the same time, they might begin to understand more about sexual orientation and become aware of their preferences.

Sixteen-year-olds are entrenched in a social world that includes friendships and romantic relationships. They may spend less time with their families and more time with their friends or dating interests —or prefer to spend more time alone than they used to.

Social and Emotional Milestones

• Become aware of sexual orientation
• Enter into deeper platonic or romantic relationships in search of intimacy
• Show signs of confidence and increased resistance to peer pressure

Other Milestones for Your 16-Year-Old

Most teenagers begin driving around age 16, but driving does have its own risks. Ensure your teen is mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving before teaching them to drive or handing over the keys.

"You also should have regular discussions about who they are going with, where they are going, and how they are getting there," says Dr. Rome. "You could even consider having your place become the space where your teen and their friends hang out. Although you can give them some freedom and space, they also should know you will be coming in periodically to refill the popcorn bowl so that you can get eyes on them."

You also might want to consider implementing some safe driving rules, such as limiting the number of passengers your teen can take in the car and using parental control and monitoring apps so that you know where they are. Keep in mind that accidents are one of the top causes of death for teenagers.

Dr. Ebersole suggests that you ensure that your teen knows how to be safe on the road, whether they are driving or riding as a passenger, and that they can call you to come get them if they ever feel unsafe.

How To Help Your Teen Learn and Grow

Being a 16-year-old is not easy for teens—or for parents or caregivers. But you can make this time period in their lives smoother by keeping the lines of communication open and educating them about the challenges they may be dealing with.

Talk about expectations, risks, and opportunities without shying away from tough topics such as drugs, alcohol, and sex. Make your rules clear by saying things like, “I trust that you will call me to pick you up if there's any drinking at the party.”

"Allow them a chance to voice their opinion," suggests Dr. Rome. "Problem-solve with them first, make suggestions second, and then agree on a plan. For instance, you can ask them what time they think would be a safe time to get the car home or how they believe different situations should be handled."

Continue strengthening your relationship with your teenager by showing interest in their life and praising their accomplishments. Let your teen fail sometimes, but make sure they have the skills to handle the discomfort of failure.

Also, talk to your teen about the pressure to have sex, regardless of their gender. Forbidding a romantic relationship or ignoring your child’s sexual growth could end up backfiring. Instead, make your expectations known and talk consistently and openly about topics such as sexual desire, sexting, and consent.

How To Keep Your 16-Year-Old Safe

Substance abuse is a significant risk at this age, says Dr. Ebersole. In fact, she indicates that she sees a number of young people who have engaged in vaping or juuling recently or used other substances in some way.

"Talk to your teen about the risks of smoking, vaping, drinking, and using drugs," says Dr. Ebersole. "For instance, a lot of kids don't understand that there is tobacco in a vape pen or they don't realize that there is a chemical inside."

Editor's Note

If your teen is struggling with substance use or addiction , contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

Make sure you are giving them factual information without using scare tactics. Instead, educate them on the risks and communicate your expectations. Having ongoing conversations can add a layer of protection for your kids. And by all means, make sure you watch for signs of experimentation.

"This is an age and stage where smoking, drinking, and other forms of self-harm can become hardwired if it is not addressed," says Dr. Rome. "It is worthwhile to have frank conversations with your kids."

When To Be Concerned About Your Teen

Parents may be concerned for their teens at this age for two common reasons. First, you may worry that your child is not succeeding academically. Slipping grades might be displayed through a lack of organization or disengagement from the learning process.

Keep in mind that learning disabilities—like dyslexia, dysgraphia , or others—may have gone undiagnosed and can make it feel impossible for the child to succeed academically. Kids with learning challenges typically need different accommodations to help them learn, so you may want to have your child evaluated if they are struggling.

Secondly, around 16-years-old, parents often see warning signs for mental health issues or substance abuse problems, says Dr. Rome. If this is the case, contact a mental health professional or a health care provider immediately.

"Trust your instincts," she says. "If something doesn't feel right, it's worth looking into."

Attempts to Lose Weight Among Adolescents Aged 16–19 in the United States, 2013–2016 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 2019.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 2021.

Risk Factors for Teen Drivers . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2024.

Related Articles

Design Thinking and Innovation

Design Thinking and Innovation from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online will teach you how to leverage fundamental design thinking principles and innovative problem-solving tools to address business challenges.

Associated Schools

Harvard Business School

What you'll learn.

Break cognitive fixedness and approach problems with a new mindset that integrates creative problem-solving and management

Develop an innovation toolkit, and determine when to apply design thinking frameworks, tools, and exercises to your own strategic initiatives

Practice empathy and apply human-centered design through techniques such as ideation, prototyping, user journey mapping, and analyzing mental models

Assess group dynamics and maximize your team’s potential for developing and iterating prototypes and managing the implementation of new designs

Understand how leaders can create the optimal environment and team dynamics to guide innovation and collaboration

Put design thinking into action by collaborating with peers from a wide range of professional experiences and backgrounds

Course description

Design Thinking and Innovation, through Harvard Business School (HBS) Online, equips current and aspiring innovation managers with the design thinking principles and innovative problem-solving tools to solve business challenges and guide their organization’s strategy. The course features five weeks of course content and two weeks of cohort project work, enabling the opportunity to put learning into practice. Leaders interviewed include Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, Royal Philips CEO Frans van Houten, and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, among others. Participants will walk away with an innovation toolkit of frameworks and exercises for identifying business opportunities and generating possible solutions for their organization’s initiatives.

Instructors

Srikant Datar

You may also like.

Launching Tech Ventures

Build a viable, valuable tech venture that can profitably scale in this course from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online.

Negotiating Salary

Learn salary negotiation techniques with this free, 15-minute Harvard Business School (HBS) Online lesson taught by Mike Wheeler of Negotiation Mastery.

Financial Accounting

Discover what’s behind the numbers in financial statements and unlock critical insights into business performance and potential to drive strategic decision making in this course from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online.

Join our list to learn more