Cross-Cultural Investigation of Interest-Based Training and Social Interpersonal Problem Solving in Students with Mental Retardation

This study examined the effects of two training methods (interest-based method vs. traditional method) in improving independent problem solving performance of students with mild mental retardation representing three cultural backgrounds (African-American, European-American and Nigerian) as measured by Edeh Scale of Interpersonal Problem Situations. Students were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups: Interest-based method vs. Traditional method vs. Control group. Significant treatment group main effects were found in problem solving performance. Results indicated that the participants in the interest-based method significantly generated higher posttest scores in independent problem solving responses than both the participants in traditional method and the control groups. Participants in the traditional method significantly generated higher posttest scores in independent problem solving responses than participants in the control group. Three months follow-up showed that higher percentage of students in interest-based method maintained the independent problem solving skills than both the participants in traditional method and the control groups. Curriculum implications were addressed. There is considerable research suggesting that the poor community adjustment of many adults with mental retardation is due as much to deficits in social competence as to limited intellectual abilities (D’Zurilla & Goldfried, 1971; D’Zurilla & Nezu, 1980; Edeh & Hickson, 2002; Gumpel, 1994; McFall, 1982; Zigler, 1969). Gresham, Sugai, and Horner (2001) stated that various service delivery and instructional approaches are utilized as a remediation for the deficits in social competence functioning. However, Edeh and Hickson suggested that culture could be an important barrier in designing effective curricula for students from different cultural backgrounds since “various cultures emphasize different approaches to problem solving” (p. 6). Social interpersonal problem solving is the ability to generate a wide variety of potential strategies, the ability to evaluate probable consequences of each strategy, and the ability to plan a logical sequence for implementing useful strategies (Smith, 1986). D’Zurilla and Goldfried implied that social interpersonal problem solving encompasses activities that include the generation of alternative responses as well as selecting the “best” alternative that would change the original state of a situation into a desired state. In the real-life setting, knowing the “best” alternative is especially important, since most of life’s problems have more than one “correct” solution; and they may be handled adequately in a number of different ways, some of which may be more effective or appropriate than others (Gagne, 1959; Maier, 1960).