Effects of an explicit problem-solving skills training program using a metacomponential approach for outpatients with acquired brain injury

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. We investigated the effects of an explicit problem-solving skills training program using a metacomponential approach with 33 outpatients with moderate acquired brain injury, in the Hong Kong context. METHOD. We compared an experimental training intervention with this explicit problem-solving approach, which taught metacomponential strategies, with a conventional cognitive training approach that did not have this explicit metacognitive training. RESULTS. We found significant advantages for the experimental group on the Metacomponential Interview measure in association with the explicit metacomponential training, but transfer to the real-life problem-solving measures was not evidenced in statistically significant findings. Small sample size, limited time of intervention, and some limitations with these tools may have been contributing factors to these results. CONCLUSION. The training program was demonstrated to have a significantly greater effect than the conventional training approach on metacomponential functioning and the component of problem representation. However, these benefits were not transferable to real-life situations.