This pilot study examined the impact of a prototype problem-solving skills-training program, Making Choices, on proximal outcomes in 70 6th-grade students. Method: Students received three components of Making Choices and completed pretest and posttest measures of skills on each component. Paired-sample t tests were used to assess proximal effects. Baseline measures were used to identify four subgroups of children, and differences in skill acquisition across subgroups were assessed. Results: Students displayed significantly higher scores at posttest on measures of two of three proximal skills. Nonaggressive-accepted and aggressive-accepted students displayed stronger skills at posttest, and aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-rejected students failed to show significant gains. Conclusions: Results provided preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of Making Choices and guided refinement of the prototype program.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achenbach, T., & McConaughy, S. (1987). Empirically based assessment of child and adolescent psychopathology: Practical applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Burks, V. S., Laird, R. D., & Dodge, K. A. (1999). Knowledge structures, social information processing, and children's aggressive behavior. Social Development, 8, 220-236.
4.
Comer, E. W., & Fraser, M. W. (1998). Evaluation of six family support programs: Are they effective? Families in Society, 72, 134-148.
5.
Crick, N. R. (1996). The role of overt aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in the prediction of children's future social adjustment. Child Development, 67, 2317-2327.
6.
Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social-information processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74-101.
7.
Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. E. (1998). Multiple risk factors in the development of externalizing behavior problems: Group and individual differences. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 469-493.
8.
Fast Track Project. (1997). Psychometric properties of the Social Health Profile. Durham, NC: Duke University.
9.
Fraser, M. W. (1996). Aggressive behavior in childhood and early adolescence: An ecological-developmental perspective on youth violence. Social Work, 41, 347-361.
10.
Fraser, M. W., Abell, M. D., Galinsky, M. J., Schopler, J. H., & Hodges, V. G. (2001). Strong families: A program of parent education. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, School of Social Work.
11.
Fraser, M. W., & Galinsky, M. J. (1997). Towards a resilience-based model of practice. In M. W. Fraser (Ed.), Risk and resilience in childhood: An ecological perspective (pp. 265-275). Washington, DC: NASW Press.
12.
Fraser, M. W., Nash, J. K., Galinsky, M. J., & Darwin, K. M. (2000). Making choices: Social problem-solving skills for children. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
13.
Fraser, M. W., Richman, J. M., & Galinsky, M. J. (1999). Risk, protection, and resilience: Toward a conceptual framework for social work practice. Social Work Research, 23, 131-143.
14.
Goldstein, H. (1995). Multilevel statistical models (2nd ed.). New York: Halsted.
15.
Hansen, D. J., Nangle, D. W., & Meyer, K. A. (1998). Enhancing the effectiveness of social skills interventions with adolescents. Education and Treatment of Children, 21, 489-513.
16.
Kelley, B., Huizinga, D., Thornberry, T., & Loeber, R. (1997). Epidemiology of serious violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
17.
Koop, C. E., & Lundberg, G. D. (1992). Violence in America: A public health emergency. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267, 3075-3076.
18.
Littell, R. C., Milliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., & Wolfinger, R. D. (1996). SAS system for mixed models. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.
19.
Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1998). Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
20.
Nash, J. K. (1999). Understanding and preventing youth violence: A pilot study of the Making Choices skills-training program. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Norusis, M. J. (2000). SPSS 10.0: Guide to data analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
23.
Pettit, G. S. (1997). The developmental course of violence and aggression: Mechanisms of family and peer influence. Anger, Aggression, and Violence, 20, 283-299.
24.
Prothrow-Stith, D. B. (1995). The epidemic of youth violence in America: Using public health prevention strategies to prevent violence. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 6, 95-101.
25.
Rothman, J., & Thomas, E. J. (Eds.). (1994). Intervention research: Design and development for human service. New York: Haworth.
Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). Juvenile offenders and victims: 1999 national report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99
Valente, E., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Evaluation of prevention programs for children. In R. P. Weissberg, T. P. Gullota, R. L. Hampton, B. A. Ryan, & G. R. Adams (Eds.), Establishing preventive services (pp. 183-218). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
