Assessment of Children's Social Skills: Recent Developments, Best Practices, and New Directions

Merrell, Kenneth W.

doi:10.1207/s15327035ex091&2_2

Cited by 74 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…First of all, despite the importance of social comparison data for setting age-appropriate and socially valid criterion for treatment success, relatively few studies have included these measurements (Merrell 2001). When using behavioral observation, it is recommended that participants' behavior be compared to that of typical peers' in the same setting, to establish criteria for a good treatment response.…”

Section: Behavioral Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Change in Social Interaction Skills of Young Children with Autism

Cunningham

2011

J Autism Dev Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Designing effective treatments for improving early social behaviors in autism has been identified as a critical research need. One barrier to drawing conclusions about optimal treatments for children with autism is the use of highly varied dependent measures in the treatment literature. Contributing to this is the absence of "gold standard" assessment batteries. This is particularly true for assessing changes in social interaction impairments in very young children with autism. This paper addresses this issue by reviewing variables important in the development and evaluation of assessment measures, discussing previous studies' choices of socially-related dependent measures, and the strengths, limitations, and research questions pertaining to them. It concludes with recommendations for measurement selection and future directions for research.

show abstract

Section: Behavioral Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Change in Social Interaction Skills of Young Children with Autism

Cunningham

2011

J Autism Dev Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Rating scales are more likely to be used in clinical settings, but typically consist of broadband psychopathology measures (e.g., Behavior Assessment System for Children; Reynolds and Kamphaus 2004) that include only a limited assessment of social skills, but not peer relationships; Erdley et al 2010). Among assessment tools specific to social skills, the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS; Gresham and Elliot 1990; revised version Gresham et al 2011) has been the most popular in terms of recommended usage and citations in the literature (Bracken et al 1994;Crowe et al 2011;Demaray and Ruffalo 1995;Luiselli et al 2005;Merrell 2001;Merrell and Gimpel 1998). However, although the SSRS has been identified as one of the most psychometrically sound instruments (Bracken et al 1994;Demaray and Ruffalo 1995), the factor structure has repeatedly failed to replicate (Fantuzzo et al 1998;Jamyang-Tshering 2004;Manz et al 1999; Van der Oord et al 2005;Whiteside et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Friendships and Social Skills Test (FASST): A Parent Report Measure

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper describes the initial development of the Friendships and Social Skills Test (FASST), a clinically oriented 25-item parent report measure of child peer relationships and social skills in a community (N = 423) and clinical sample (N = 159) of elementary school age children. Confirmatory factor analyses supported five factors measuring pro-social skills, negative peer directed behavior, friendship interactions, peer victimization, and the level of concern expressed about a child's social functioning. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the FASST factors predominately ranged from moderate to very good. Validity was supported through higher scores in at-risk and clinical groups compared to children in the community and through correlations with an existing measure of social skills and emotional and behavioral functioning. Cross-informant validity was supported by correlations with teacher-report. Moreover, the scales measuring negative social behaviors and pro-social skills predicted changes in peer victimization and concern expressed about the child over a 1-year duration. By assessing positive and negative aspects of peer-directed behaviors and relationships the FASST has the potential to facilitate the identification and treatment of childhood social deficits in mental health settings.

show abstract

“…Over the past several years, behavior rating scales with ever more substantial psychometric properties have become available to practitioners (Merrell 2001). Behavior rating scales require less time and training on the part of users than behavior observation methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Skills Assessment in Young Children With Autism: A Comparison Evaluation of the SSRS and PKBS

Wang

Sandall

Davis

et al. 2011

J Autism Dev Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction and other social skills is one of the defining characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). There is a need for assessment tools that will help guide social skills interventions and document outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential usefulness of two behavior rating scales with young children with ASD in an early childhood program. The results showed that the two social skills measures, the SSRS and PKBS, had adequate psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, construct validity, convergent validity, and criterion validity with the AEPS, and were found to be predictive of how the tests would function when assessing young children with ASD in a natural setting. However, their usefulness in detecting social skills progress over time or intervention outcomes for young children with ASD may not be satisfactory.

show abstract

Assessment of Children's Social Skills: Recent Developments, Best Practices, and New Directions

Cited by 74 publications

References 7 publications

Measuring Change in Social Interaction Skills of Young Children with Autism

Measuring Change in Social Interaction Skills of Young Children with Autism

Development of the Friendships and Social Skills Test (FASST): A Parent Report Measure

Social Skills Assessment in Young Children With Autism: A Comparison Evaluation of the SSRS and PKBS

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About