A multi-site randomized controlled trial of a cognitive skills programme for male mentally disordered offenders: social–cognitive outcomes

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Cullen ◽  
A. Y. Clarke ◽  
E. Kuipers ◽  
S. Hodgins ◽  
K. Dean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
To Receive

BackgroundCognitive skills programmes have been associated with improvements on psychometric measures and reductions in antisocial behaviour in mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). However, to date there have been no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of such programmes with this population. In the first RCT of a cognitive skills programme with MDOs we aimed to determine if participation in the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R) programme was associated with improvements in social–cognitive skills and thinking styles.MethodA total of 84 men with a primary diagnosis of psychotic disorder and a history of violence were recruited from medium-secure forensic units and allocated to receive R&R (n=44) or treatment as usual (TAU; n=40). At baseline and post-treatment interviews, participants completed questionnaires to assess social problem-solving, criminal attitudes, anger experience, blame externalizing and perspective-taking. Researchers were not blind to group status.ResultsThe R&R group demonstrated significant improvements on measures of social problem-solving relative to the TAU group, some of which were maintained at 12 months post-treatment. Only half of those allocated to receive R&R completed the full programme. In post-hoc analyses programme completers showed improvements in social problem-solving at the end of treatment and changes in criminal attitudes at 12 months post-treatment.ConclusionsAmong male MDOs, R&R participation was associated with improvements in social–cognitive skills, some of which were maintained for up to 12 months post-treatment. Our finding that programme completers do better may reflect pre-treatment patient characteristics. This study establishes that multi-site RCTs can be conducted in medium-secure forensic units.

Social problem solving in mentally disordered offenders: a brief report

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary McMurran ◽  
Vincent Egan ◽  
Cathryn Richardson ◽  
Shahla Ahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered

scholarly journals Impact of social problem-solving training on critical thinking and decision making of nursing students

BMC Nursing ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soleiman Ahmady ◽  
Sara Shahbazi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
T Test ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract Background The complex health system and challenging patient care environment require experienced nurses, especially those with high cognitive skills such as problem-solving, decision- making and critical thinking. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of social problem-solving training on nursing students’ critical thinking and decision-making. Methods This study was quasi-experimental research and pre-test and post-test design and performed on 40 undergraduate/four-year students of nursing in Borujen Nursing School/Iran that was randomly divided into 2 groups; experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20). Then, a social problem-solving course was held for the experimental group. A demographic questionnaire, social problem-solving inventory-revised, California critical thinking test, and decision-making questionnaire was used to collect the information. The reliability and validity of all of them were confirmed. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and independent sampled T-test, paired T-test, square chi, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results The finding indicated that the social problem-solving course positively affected the student’ social problem-solving and decision-making and critical thinking skills after the instructional course in the experimental group (P < 0.05), but this result was not observed in the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusions The results showed that structured social problem-solving training could improve cognitive problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. Considering this result, nursing education should be presented using new strategies and creative and different ways from traditional education methods. Cognitive skills training should be integrated in the nursing curriculum. Therefore, training cognitive skills such as problem- solving to nursing students is recommended.

scholarly journals Effects of Bystander's Emotional Empathy and Social Problem-Solving Skills on Defending Behaviors Against Bullying in Elementary School: Mediated Through Peer Acceptance

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 741-753
Author(s):  
He Sook Nancy Kim ◽  
Kyung Ja Park
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Peer Acceptance ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Emotional Empathy ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Defending Behaviors

Objectives: Many children are exposed to their peers being bullied, which negatively impacts individuals and the society as a whole. We investigated the effects of elementary school children’s emotional empathy and social problem-solving skills on their defending behaviors. We evaluated the direct and indirect effects of these personal characteristics, mediated through their perceived peer acceptance among classmates. Gender differences were also tested.Methods: The study participants were 386 fourth- and fifth-graders (M = 10.4 yrs.) from six elementary schools in the metropolitan Seoul area of South Korea. Children’s perceived social acceptance, emotional empathy, and problem-solving skills were measured using self-reported questionnaires. Defending behavior was measured using peer nomination. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were conducted using SPSS 21.0 and MPLUS 6.12.Results: Bystanders‘ emotional empathy and social problem-solving skills had significant effects on defending behaviors. Social problem-solving skills directly affected defending behaviors of boys and girls. Girls’ peer acceptance mediated both emotional empathy and social problem-solving skills for defending behaviors, while no mediation effect was found in boys.Conclusion: For children, feeling accepted by classmates is important for defending bullied peers. For girls, peer acceptance magnifies their socio-emotional and socio-cognitive skills, empowering them to defend the bullied peers. However, for boys, having competent socio-cognitive skills alone is sufficient. Based on this study’s findings, it is recommended that interventions are needed to enhance bystanders’ emotional empathy and social problem-solving skills, and thereby, empowering them to be competent defenders against school bullying.

Effects of a Negative Social Experience on the Emotional and Social-Cognitive Responses of Aggressive-Rejected Children

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Vitaro ◽  
Daniel Pelletier ◽  
Sylvain Coutu
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Cognitive Responses ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Problem Situations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Group 1

Social problem-solving skills of aggressive-rejected children are usually assessed through hypothetical situations in a neutral setting where little or no reference is made to the emotional aspects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the social problem-solving skills of 57 aggressive-rejected (Group 1) and 57 prosocial-popular (Group 2) children of both sexes in Grades 1 and 2 by using as problem situations what happened in standardized provocations involving them with a trained peer-accomplice. An individual interview, aimed at disclosing emotions felt during the provocations, intentions attributed to the accomplice and possible reactions if confronted again with the same provocations, was conducted immediately after the session for half the subjects of each group. The other subjects were interviewed after a 10-min. delay. Analysis showed that Group 1 subjects would be less verbally assertive than Group 2 subjects if confronted again with the same provocations. The first graders from Group 1 also attributed fewer positive intents to the author of the provocations than Group 2 classmates. Second graders of both groups attributed more negative and fewer positive intents to the peer-accomplice when the interview immediately followed the provocations than when it was delayed. Similarly, second grade boys interviewed right away were more prone to use physical and verbal retaliation if the provocations were to happen again. These results highlight the influence of emotions on the social reasoning skills of aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-nonrejected children.

scholarly journals Social cognition in intellectually disabled male criminal offenders: a deficit in affect perception?

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Patrick Wilson Rogers ◽  
John Robertson ◽  
Mike Marriott ◽  
Matthew Kenneth Belmonte
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Violent Offenders ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Criminal Offending ◽  
Control Series ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Inference

Purpose Although intellectual disability (ID) and criminal offending have long been associated, the nature of this link is obfuscated by reliance on historically unrigorous means of assessing ID and fractionating social cognitive skills. The purpose of this paper is to review and report current findings and set an agenda for future research in social perception, social inference and social problem solving in ID violent offenders. Design/methodology/approach The literature is reviewed on comorbidity of criminal offending and ID, and on social cognitive impairment and ID offending. In an exploratory case-control series comprising six violent offenders with ID and five similarly able controls, emotion recognition and social inference are assessed by the Awareness of Social Inference Test and social problem-solving ability and style by an adapted Social Problem-Solving Inventory. Findings Violent offenders recognised all emotions except “anxious”. Further, while offenders could interpret and integrate wider contextual cues, absent such cues offenders were less able to use paralinguistic cues (e.g. emotional tone) to infer speakers’ feelings. Offenders in this sample exceeded controls’ social problem-solving scores. Originality/value This paper confirms that ID offenders, like neurotypical offenders, display specific deficits in emotion recognition – particularly fear recognition – but suggests that in ID offenders impairments of affect perception are not necessarily accompanied by impaired social problem solving. The implication for therapeutic practice is that ID offenders might be most effectively rehabilitated by targeting simpler, low-level cognitive processes, such as fear perception, rather than adapting treatment strategies from mainstream offenders.

A brief clinical report documenting a novel therapeutic technique (MEmory Specificity Training, MEST) for depression: a summary of two pilot randomized controlled trials

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Sadat Zia ◽  
Elham Afkhami ◽  
Hamid Taher Neshat-Doost ◽  
Mahgol Tavakoli ◽  
Hossein Ali Mehrabi Kooshki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trials ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Clinical Report ◽  
Memory Specificity ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Abstract Background: Depression has a profound effect on quality of life (QoL) and is associated with rumination, hopelessness and social difficulties. It is important to explore novel intervention techniques that may reduce depression, and also improve rumination, hope and QoL. Aims: In this brief clinical report, we report the findings of two pilot randomized controlled trials examining the feasibility of a potentially important novel clinical technique (MEmory Specificity Training, MEST) on depression, social problem-solving (Study 1), rumination, hope and QoL (Study 2). Method: In Study 1, Iranian women with depression (n = 24) completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Means-Ends Problem-Solving test at baseline, post-training and 2-month follow-up. In Study 2, female students with moderate depression (n = 24) completed the Ruminative Response Scale, Adult Hope Scale and Short-Form Health Survey at baseline and post-training. Assessors were blind to group allocation. In both studies participants were randomly assigned to MEST or a non-active control group. Results: In both studies, MEST was found to be feasible and associated with low drop-out rates and high rates of self-reported patient and group facilitator satisfaction. There was preliminary evidence that MEST may bring about clinical benefit in terms of depression, social problem-solving (Study 1), QoL, rumination and hope (Study 2). Conclusions: MEST is a promising technique in the treatment of depression.

Take CHARGE!A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Social Problem-Solving Curriculum to Support Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Van Loan ◽  
Justin D. Garwood ◽  
Stephen W. Smith ◽  
Ann P. Daunic
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Disorders ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
School Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Using a pre–post randomized controlled trial, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a social problem-solving curriculum, Take CHARGE!, based on a cognitive-behavioral approach, could improve students’ knowledge of problem-solving skills, as well as self-report of social behaviors for 92 middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in 11 self-contained classrooms. Dependent variables included student-report measures of problem-solving knowledge and skills. Findings indicated that the Take CHARGE! curriculum was related to significant increases in students’ social skills knowledge and problem-solving skills for middle school students with EBD. Teachers were able to implement the curriculum with a high degree of fidelity, and they indicated they would like to continue using it in the future. Implications for practicing teachers support the use of role-plays, think-alouds, and explicit instruction in problem-solving steps. Future research methodologies including observational research and longitudinal exploration are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document