Situational Social Problem Solving Skills in Adolescent Offenders

Abstract

Delinquent behavior is known as situation specific skill deficits in solving social problems. This study examined the difference in problem solving skills between juvenile delinquents (N=31) and nondelinquents (N=28) in social conflict situations. The social problems varied depending on the interpersonal context of conflict with peers, teachers, and parents and on the intent of the others in conflict such as ambiguous frustration and hostile provocation. There was a significant difference in the number of alternative solutions generated by subjects with general intelligence covaried out Delinquents had a different pattern of solving social conflict situation problems: Delinquents were likely to employ more physical and verbal aggression in conflict with peers and other’s hostile intent; to adopt more negative direct action with teachers and in frustration; and to propose fewer verbal assertive solutions for hostile teacher situations. Nondelinquents tended to produce more noncofrontative or compromising solutions in peer conflicts and during frustration; and to employ more verbal assertion with teacher conflicts and during frustration. However, reasoning ability in the noncoflict situations activated by script knowledge was not significantly different between the two groups. Implications are that cognitive interventions with adolescent offenders might take into consideration the situational factors in problem-solving skills.