The effect of a communication-focused drama-based intervention on the social problem-solving of 10–11-year-olds

Abstract A communication-focused drama-based program was delivered over a period of 1 year to 10- to 11-year-olds in Hungary. The aim of the program was to develop participants’ social problem-solving, coping strategies, and assertive communication. Outcomes were measured by the Assertiveness Questionnaire (Gaumer Erickson et al., 2016), the Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised (D’Zurilla et al., 2002), and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). N = 18 children received the intervention, and N = 28 children formed a control group. The 1-year program consisted of 18 sessions, each lasting for 90 min; they took place every 2 weeks and resulted in significant changes across three areas in the intervention group. Contrary to our hypothesis, rationality was not strengthened, but impulsivity and avoidance-escape were significantly reduced, and confrontation increased in frequency. In all three areas, assertive communication has significant explanatory power. This program was a suitable way to address some of the problem-solving styles and coping strategies that the research (e.g., Zsolnai, 2013) suggest may cause a range of life management difficulties (e.g., conflict, managing emotions) in adolescence.