Social problem-solving skills training for young adolescents

A brief social problem solving skills training program was conducted for young adolescents in a school setting. There were no quantitative changes reported for productive coping, non-productive coping or negative mood state due to the training. However, qualitative results in response to questions asked immediately after, sixmonths after and three-years after training in relation to the program suggested positive effects in at least some of the participants who attended training. Other findings support previous studies, which indicate that girls report higher levels of negative mood and use more non-productive coping than boys who tend to use more productive coping. Also, confirmatory factor analyses conducted on the adolescent coping scale (ACS) and the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) indicate support for a two factor model of coping: productive coping (PC) and non-productive coping (NPC) as well as a single factor of depression anxiety and stress (SAD). This study provides encouraging results for further research into coping and mood for young adolescents.