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Abstract: 

Children face many different types of problem solving in their daily lives. Some are academic challenges, such as learning how to be a competent reader or how to solve math problems. Others are more technical in nature, such as how to set up a blog or read a road map. Chances are that these kinds of challenges will be incorporated into the school curriculum or that parents and other adults will consider helping children become competent in these functional skills. The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners with interventions to engage children in addressing another set of problems that can more directly challenge their socioemotional well-being. Schools and communities do not typically teach children competencies and skills to deal with interpersonal problems in a formal way. Yet, the daily experiences of childhood become important in developing a child’s ability to deal with stressful interactions. When children exhibit socioemotional difficulties in negotiating their social world, problem-solving interventions should be considered.

Keywords: Problem solving inteventions; socioemotional difficulty; intraindividual factors; family characteristics; peer influences; community influences; aggressive behaviors; response decision making

Affiliations:  1: George Washington University; 2: George Mason University.