Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program (OJJDP Model Program Guide)

Office of Justice Programs, Innovation - Partnerships – Safer Neighborhoods

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Serving Children, Families and Communities

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Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program

Intervention:

The Social Decision Making and Problem Solving Program (SDM) is a social and emotional learning program that assists students in acquiring social and decision-making skills and in developing their ability to effectively use those skills in real-life, with the aim of preventing violence, substance abuse, and related problem behavior. It is a primary prevention program conceptually rooted in research from public health, child development, clinical psychology, cognitive sciences, and organizational and community psychology. The program provides a framework in which students have the ability to learn, reinforce, and practice applying skills necessary to develop social competence. SDM is intended for use with all students (regular and special education) in kindergarten through eighth grade, regardless of ability level, ethnic group, or socioeconomic level. The program has been successfully implemented in urban, suburban, and rural settings nationwide.

SDM is designed to become a strategic part of the teaching process, affecting behavior, academic learning, and the socioemotional life of the school setting. The formal lessons are most effectively taught in at least one classroom session per week (two for special education students), but the SDM approach permeates teaching across several content areas. Because the program provides a foundation of prosocial, critical thinking and life-skills learning for all students, it is often a useful structure for organizing existing school programs. In many sites, social decision-making has been incorporated into a school’s annual plans for student learning objectives.

The curriculum-based program occurs in three developmental phases:

Self-control and social awareness. These lessons and practice activities target such skills as listening, following directions, resisting provocation, avoiding provoking others, and self-monitoring stress and emotions. This phase also targets such group/social awareness skills as how to select friends and show caring. These skills, referred to as the “Readiness Phase” of the curriculum, are a primary emphasis in the early elementary grades or when the program is first introduced into a school.
Social decision-making. As the students gradually master the self-control and group/social awareness skills, the instructional attention begins shifting to teaching the students an eight-step “clear thinking” strategy to help in social problem situations.
Application of social decision-making. Teachers are trained to design application activities to help students transfer what they have learned in the program to real life and academic areas. Infusion of these skills into academic, personal, and social situations occurs throughout the full curriculum sequence, yet this is a particularly popular emphasis of instruction during the upper elementary and middle school grades.

Before implementing the program with students, classroom teachers are trained in specific questioning strategies to facilitate student decision-making and to promote the children’s cognitive development. Teachers provide students with roughly 40-minute lessons twice a week. Lesson activities include guided practice, role-playing, skill modeling, cooperative group projects, and writing assignments.

Evaluation Methodology:

SDM has been extensively evaluated during the years since its implementation. The primary development site was a lower middle– to middle-class suburban community in central New Jersey. The first of these evaluations was conducted in 1978–80. The program was assessed using a quasi-experimental, delayed control design. The children involved were 158 fifth grade students (80 boys, 78 girls) from four elementary schools. Since all fifth graders received at least partial training in SDM, a control group of students entering middle school the previous year was used as a comparison group. The three resulting conditions were a) no training, b) 2-year instructional and application stages, and c) 1-year instructional stage only. The instructional phase consisted of 20 lessons conducted twice a week for 40 minutes each. The application phase consisted of using problem-solving skills within a group and within the classroom during the school day. Both activities were simulated real-world examples provided by the classroom teacher. The primary outcome measure for this evaluation involved the assessment of the child’s transition to middle school, using the Survey of Middle School Stressors, and the assessment of problem-solving skills, using the Group Social Problem Solving Assessment.

Six years later, a follow-up study was conducted to assess the residual effects of the intervention. Children in grades 9–11 who had experienced up to 2 years of the program in the last 2 years of elementary school (grades 4 and 5) were the focal point of the study. The study design involved the comparison of three cohorts of students. Two of the cohorts—the experimental (E) group—received social decision-making and problem-solving lessons. The program was administered to the two experimental cohorts at two different levels of fidelity. One cohort—the control (C) group—had not experienced the intervention. All participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that included the National Youth Survey of antisocial and delinquent behavior and the Youth Report Survey.

Evaluation Outcome:

Results of the evaluation suggest that children receiving the program improved their social decision-making and problem-solving skills relative to control groups. The overall pattern of results suggests that those students who participated in the 2-year (instructional and application) training in social decision-making and problem-solving while in the elementary school program developed improved skills in self-control, interpersonal sensitivity, problem analysis, and planning and also increased their knowledge of detailed problem-solving concepts, when compared with controls. Students trained also showed real-life application of the skills, demonstrating more prosocial behavior in school and greater ability to cope with stress upon transitioning to middle school, when compared with control youngsters.

Students who were tested again in high school showed greater positive, responsible, and prosocial behavior and decreased antisocial, self-destructive, and socially disordered behavior compared with controls who did not receive the program. Moreover, gender differences were present for the control group that did not receive the training. Higher levels of self-destructive, identity, and alcohol-related problems characterized boys who did not receive the training, whereas girls reported higher usage of tobacco.

Other Information:

References:

Bruene–Butler, Linda, June Hampson, Maurice J. Elias, John F. Clabby, Jr., and Thomas F. Schuyler. 1997. “The Improving Social Awareness, Social Problem–Solving Project.” In George W. Albee and Thomas P. Gullotta (eds.). Primary Prevention Works. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 239–67.

Elias, Maurice J., Michael A. Gara, Thomas F. Schuyler, Leslie R. Branden–Muller, and Michael A. Sayette. 1991. “The Promotion of Social Competence: Longitudinal Study of a Preventative School-Based Program.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 61:409–17.

Elias, Maurice J., Michael A. Gara, Michael Ubriaco, Peggy A. Rothbaum, John F. Clabby, Jr., Thomas F. Schuyler. 1986. “The Impact of a Preventive Social Problem–Solving Intervention on Children’s Coping With Middle School Stressors.” American Journal of Community Psychology 14:259–75.

Elias, Maurice J., Roger P. Weissberg, Kenneth A. Dodge, J. David Hawkins, Philip C. Kendall, Leonard A. Jason, Cheryl L. Perry, Mary Jane Rotheram–Borus, and Joseph E. Zins. 1994. “The School-Based Promotion of Social Competence: Theory, Research, and Practice.” In Robert J. Haggerty, Lonnie R. Sherrod, Norman Garmezy, and Michael Rutter (eds.). Stress, Risk, Resilience in Children and Adolescents. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 268–316.

Program Specification:

Current Rating:

Promising

Expected Date of Re-Review:

Summer 2013

Program Type:

Academic Skills Enhancement

Afterschool/Recreation

Classroom Curricula

Conflict Resolution / Interpersonal Skills

School/Classroom Environment

Truancy Prevention

Ethnicity:

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

African American

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

White

Gender:

Both

Age:

5 - 14

Target Settings:

Rural

Suburban

Urban

Tribal

Problem Behaviors:

Academic Problems

Aggression/Violence

Alcohol,Tobacco and Other Drug Use

Delinquency

Family Functioning

Gang Activity

Sexual Activity/Exploitation

Risk & Protective Factors:

Risk

Family

Family management problems / Poor parental supervision and/or monitoring

Sibling antisocial behavior

Individual

Lack of guilt and empathy

Life stressors

Poor refusal skills

Victimization and exposure to violence

Peer

Association with delinquent and/or aggressive peers

Peer alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drug use

Peer rejection

School

Dropping out of school

Inadequate school climate / Poorly organized and functioning schools / Negative labeling by teachers

School suspensions

Truancy / Frequent absences

Protective

Community

Prosocial opportunities for participation / Availability of neighborhood resources

Family

Effective parenting

Opportunities for prosocial family involvement

Rewards for prosocial family involvement

Individual

Healthy / Conventional beliefs and clear standards

Perception of social support from adults and peers

Positive / Resilient temperament

Self-efficacy

Social competencies and problem solving skills

Peer

Good relationships with peers

Involvement with positive peer group activities

School

High quality schools / Clear standards and rules

Opportunities for prosocial school involvement

Presence and involvement of caring, supportive adults in school

Rewards for prosocial school involvement

Student bonding (attachment to teachers, belief, commitment)

Additional Information:

CASEL

Drug Strategies

Department of Education

Status:

Program is in operation at this time.

Performance Measures:

Suggested OJJDP Performance Measures for the Program Types(s):

Delinquency Prevention
Academic Skills Enhancement
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
School Programs
Academic Skills Enhancement
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
Delinquency Prevention
Afterschool/Recreation
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
Delinquency Prevention
Classroom Curricula
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
School Programs
Classroom Curricula
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
School Programs
Truancy Prevention
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
School Programs
School/Classroom Environment
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF

Contact Information:

Program Developer:
Linda Bruene–Butler
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
151 Centennial Avenue, Suite 1140
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: 7322359275
Fax: 7322359280
Email: Click Here
Website: Click Here

Training & TA Provider:
Maurice Elias
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University
53 Avenue E, Livingston Campus
Piscataway, NJ 08854–8046
Phone: 7324452444
Email: Click Here

Program Locations:
Karen Colello
Jersey City Public Schools
346 Claremont Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07305

Beth Buoro
Cape May County Special Services School District
Four Moore Road DN 704
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

Victoria Poedubicky
Highland Park Public Schools
435 Mansfield Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904

Dr. Rachelle Parker, Principal
Jessie F. George Elementary School
One Palm Street
Washington Township, NJ 07676

Stacey Anderson
St. Charles Community Unit, School District 303
201 South Seventh Street
St. Charles, IL 60174