Conducting Social Competence Research: Considering Conceptual Frameworks

Abstract

Although education professionals frequently use social skills training with students who exhibit significant behavioral problems, researchers continue to question its efficacy and generalizability. Because social skill deficits are predictive of adult adjustment problems, robust and omnibus interventions to remediate social deficits in children and youths are paramount. In this article we examine the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is currently lacking. Multiple areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for researchers to design and interpret social interaction research.

Social Skills Training for Youth With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Learning Disabilities: Problems, Conclusions, and Suggestions

“…Despite the impressive results obtained by Vaughn et al (1988), few researchers have conducted similar studies although the idea of conducting intervention within an interrelated context has continued to be advocated (Smith & Travis, 2001). The increasingly familiar reason may be that these type of studies take more time and effort than those that simply focus intervention on a target youth.…”

The Effects of Reading Interventions on Social Outcomes for Elementary Students with Reading Difficulties: A Synthesis

“…Many of these students also experience difficulties related to social competence or social functioning (Cornwall & Bawden, 1992;Smith & Travis, 2001;Snow et al, 1998;Vaughn, Elbaum, Schumm, & Hughes, 1998). In fact, social functioning difficulties, such as a lack of peer acceptance, poor self-concept, low self-esteem, peer rejection, and low academic self-perceptions, are often cited in studies as challenges faced by students with learning disabilities (Smith & Travis, 2001;Vaughn et al, 1998). In a meta-analysis of social skill deficits and interventions, an estimated 75% of students with learning difficulties received lower ratings of social skills than their peers without learning difficulties .…”

“…When specific interventions aimed at the development of social functioning are implemented, the expected benefit of improved social outcomes would seem to be the consequence. However, there is evidence to suggest that many social interventions do not yield the expected social outcomes Smith & Travis, 2001).…”

“…Even when instruction is explicit for the amelioration of social skill deficits, the magnitude of effects is small and, at best, short-term, and the results are not easily generalized across settings or behaviors Smith & Travis, 2001). Thus, it is valuable to determine the relative influence of academic interventions, specifically reading based on social outcomes.…”

Aberrational Socialization as a New Type of Socialization of an Individual in Modern Information Society

“…In this connection, scholars (Awan & Gauntlett, 2013;Boldakova, 2015;Smith & Travis, 2001;Kashima, 2019;Zizek, 2017) differentiate between the following three main groups of factors that hinder a positive socialization of an individual starting from childhood:…”