Social problem-solving, coping strategies and communication among 5^th and 7^th graders

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study is to explore the characteristics of social problem-solving, coping strategies and assertive communication among 5^th- and 7^th-grade students (N = 378). Communication is assessed with the Assertiveness Questionnaire (AQ, Gaumer Erickson et al., 2016), social problem-solving with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory – Revised (SPSI – R, D’Zurilla et al., 2002) and coping strategies with the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ, Lazarus & Folkman, 1988). The results show that mostly significant differences can be found between pre-adolescents and early adolescents in the three social fields. Low belief in problem-solving is more common among older students, and – besides the age difference – there are a number of areas where boys and girls differ, even among younger students. The SEM clearly identifies strong links between communication, coping strategies and problem solving. The results provide a more nuanced picture of boys’ social problem-solving, coping strategies and communication and the relation between them than before.

KEYWORDS:

• Social problem-solving
• coping strategies
• communication
• adolescence
• 5th and 7th graders
• differences between boys and girls

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Compliance with ethical standards

The work has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The submitted paper includes the results of our research. Data sharing not applicable.

Ethical aspects

The research was approved by the United Ethics Review Committee for Psychological Research (ethics approval number 2017/125). Principal and parental permission was obtained to collect the data, and the students gave written consent to participate. Data collection was anonymous.

Informed consent

The manuscript has been seen and reviewed by all authors, and the authors declare that they are the authors of this study. Participants have been informed about the research, and we have parental permits: all children’s parents allowed pedagogical evaluation and they have also verified their participation in the study and the evaluation their children with their signature (based on Hungarian Ethical Norms for Psychologist).

Additional information

Funding

László Kasik had a project (Research Programme for Public Education Development: Hungarian Academy of Sciences – University of Szeged School Failure Prevention Research Group, Hungary). The research was supported by the ICT and Societal Challenges Competence Centre of the Humanities and Social Sciences Cluster of the Centre of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Research, Development and Innovation of the University of Szeged. László Kasik is member of the New Tools and Techniques for Assessing Students Research Group.