Board games designed to train parents, children, and married couples in problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills have been found effective as therapeutic, preventive, and basic information gathering devices.Phase I of this project has three specific aims: (1) develop three interactive computer software packages that will retain the therapeutic value of the original board games; (2) include in these packages the capacity for online assessment of family problem solving; and (3) test the short-term effectiveness of these packages in three multiple-baseline single-case experimental studies with three groups of eight distressed families.The long-term objectives of the project are to develop three software packages that can be used as a central component of marital or family therapy with distressed families, for prevention purposes with high-risk families, and for health promotion with non-distressed families. The software will permit online continuous recording of the flow of interaction between therapist (software) and group, and among group members. This feature will contribute to basic knowledge about mechanisms of family problem solving.National Institute Of Mental Health
