Principal Investigator: Myrna Shure
Level of Intervention: Universal
Target Population: children age 4-5 (similar program available for older elementary ages)
References: Shure & Spivack (1982, 1988); Shure (1979, 1988, 1997)
Theory (Risk & Protective Factors Targeted):
ICPS is based on a theory of cognitive problem solving ability
as a significant predictor of social adjustment and interpersonal
competence. ICPS is intended to prevent both internalizing and
externalizing disorders by reducing early aggression and antisocial
behavior, impulsivity and inhibited behaviors associated with
deficiencies in cognitive problem solving ability.
Description of Intervention:
ICPS is a 12 week interpersonal cognitive problem solving program
which uses games, didactic discussion and group interaction techniques
to teach children communication and problem solving skills and
the thought process necessary for good decision-making. The program
consists of 8 weeks of daily 20 minute lessons combined with teacher
(or parent) training in "problem solving dialoguing,"
an informal style of communication meant to foster the exercising
of newly-learned problem solving skills. The core skills of ICPS
are the ability to generate multiple solutions to interpersonal
problems, the ability to consider consequences to one decisions
or actions, and the ability to consider others’ perspectives
as a consideration in decision-making.
Research Subjects:
The study was conducted with 219 low SES, African-American 4 and
5 year olds. The group consisted of 113 treatment subjects (47
boys, 66 girls) and 106 controls (50 boys, 56 girls) in the first
year (preschool). Treatment and control subjects were comparable
in gender, age, IQ, ICPS test scores and behavioral characteristics.
In the second year (kindergarten) 69 of the 113 original treatment
subjects were available and were further divided into 39 subjects
who received the intervention for a second and 30 who became 2nd
year controls. Of the 106 original control subjects, 62 were available
in kindergarten.
Research Design:
A quasi-experimental design was used with treatment subjects grouped
into 2-year treatment (tt), 1st year treatment – 2nd year
control (tc), or 1st year control – 2nd year treatment (ct)
and compared to a no-treatment control group (cc). Data were collected
pre, post, 6 months, and 1 year, with measures including the Preschool
Interpersonal Problem Solving Test (PIPS) to measure alternative
solution thinking, the What Happens Next Game (WHNG) to measure
a child’s ability to identify multiple consequences to actions,
and the Hahnemann Preschool Behavior Scale (HPBS) to measure teacher-rated
interpersonal behaviors (impatience, aggression).
Outcomes:
The intervention group experienced a significant improvement in
interpersonal cognitive problem solving skills (as measured by
the PIPS and WHNG) after the first year of training. Even intervention
subjects initially rated as impulsive or inhibited improved significantly
over the control group. At the end of the second year of intervention
(for the tt group), significant effects again favored the intervention
group on the PIPS and WHNG measures, with significantly more intervention
children rated as behaviorally adjusted on the teacher rated HPBS.
Further analysis indicated a strong mediating linkage between
cognitive skill improvement and behavior gains, in which students
with higher PIPS scores experienced the greatest behavior gains.
In followup analysis, with the exception of the PIPS measure at
6 months, all gains were maintained at 6 months and 1 year. A
clear dose-response association was found, with children trained
two years improving significantly more than those trained one
year, who in turn showed significantly greater improvement (whether
trained in preschool or kindergarten) than the no-treatment control
group.
Strengths & limitations:
ICPS is a classroom-based universal preventive intervention aimed
at providing elementary-age children with structured training
in interpersonal cognitive problem solving skills. The program’s
goal is to teach children "how" to think in interpersonal
situations and to come up with multiple potential solutions. The
program focuses primarily on the individual, though it has become
a core component of a number of more comprehensive approaches
since its pioneering research. The study referenced above used
a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group
and non-random assignment, and attrition was relatively high.
It is unclear what effect pretest differences or attrition may
have had on the outcomes. The sample was fairly homogeneous and
no information was provided on measurement of implementation fidelity.
ICPS has been widely replicated and several independent studies have supported the cognitive and behavioral gains of students trained in the curriculum (Aberson, 1987; Callahan, 1992; Weddle & Williams, 1993). In addition, Shure reports findings from an unpublished longitudinal study in which ICPS skills and behavior gains lasted through grade 2, and after disappearing in grade 3, reemerged at the end of grade 4 (Shure, 1997).