Abstract
This study examined the psychometric properties of the social problem solving test (SPST) using two samples of Vietnamese high school students: 247 regular students (referred to as normal students) and 168 “disruptive” students who had been diagnosed as having behavioral problems. The SPST is a performance measure of interpersonal problem-solving competence in adolescents. The SPST consists of 24 interpersonal problematic situations, set in two parts, 12 stories in SPST-A (stories-a) and 12 stories in SPST-B (stories-b). The SPST-A was structured into five subscales that were designed to assess the five components of social problem-solving competency based on the modified multi-dimensional problem-solving model. The SPST-B was divided into two scales to assess overall problem-solving abilities: problem affect-cognitions (orientation) and problem-solving actions (strategies or skills). The Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised standardized, was used to appraise the validity of the SPST-A. The preliminary data concerning the reliability and validity of these instruments were reported. The results provided evidence that the scales had acceptable internal consistency, concurrent validity and construct validity and that the SPST seem to be a promising multidimensional outcome measure of social problem-solving competence in Vietnamese adolescents.
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Appendices
Appendix A
Story # 3 (a) in Stories-a: On the occasion of your birthday, your friend of the opposite sex gives you a bunch of roses and a valuable present, implying “I like you…I love you”. However, you want to maintain a friendship only.
What would you think or feel? | What would you do? | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I would think or feel | I would do | ||||||||
1. | He/she is a good friend, but a love-affair can influence study in a bad way | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1. | Take the flowers and gift, keep silent, then say “Sorry! I can’t…” and return the gift after the birth day | 0 | 1 | 2 |
2. | The friend is insensitive or is childish | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2. | Refuse the roses and the gift and show a cold-greeting attitude | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3. | About how to help my friend understand that this relationship is a friendship only, but I must speak politely, not rudely | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3. | Take the roses but politely return the gift and act in a way that shows I regard the person as equal to other friends | 0 | 1 | 2 |
4. | Feel insulted or upset | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4. | Make fun of the person or tease him/her | 0 | 1 | 2 |
5. | Frightened or troubled | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5. | Avoid the person all the time if possible | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Story # 3 (b) in Stories-b: Break time is over and you come into your class. You find a letter in your notebook and the contents of the letter reveal that the author likes you …and loves you. However, you think you are too young to fall in love with the person, though you know the person is a good friend. However, you only want to spend time on your studies at this moment.
Appendix B
All free-responses for each story-b are structured to fit in the PAC-B and the PSA-B scale using a coding of responses with 3 scoring levels as follows:
Problem affect cognitions | Problem solving actions |
|---|---|
(I would think and feel) | (I would do) |
0 POINT—This level involves emotional arousal, insulted feelings, impulsive, or distorted cognitions | 0 POINT—This level involves the application of avoidance, impulsive, or irrational negative strategies to resolve problems |
1 POINT—This level refers to positive beliefs/expectations/thinkings such as: admitting a problem exists, viewing it as a challenge and perceiving a problem from an “empathic” or “forgivable/tolerable” perspectives | 1 POINT—This level refers to “acceptable” positive solutions which involve emotion-focused coping strategies or tolerating a problem rather than resolving it thoroughly through evaluation of consequences and alternatives |
2 POINT—This reflects rational positive beliefs/expectations/cognitions such as: understanding why a problem occurs, recognizing self-responsibility to resolve it as soon as possible, and how to keep it under self-control | 2 POINT—This level refers to effective, deliberate, adaptive and rational positive strategies to resolve a problem as soon and as well as possible |
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Nguyen Cong, K., Nguyen Thi My, L. Development and Psychometric Properties of a Social Problem Solving Test for Adolescents. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 38, 76–95 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-019-00325-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-019-00325-3