‘Play skills’ for shy children: development of a Social Skills Facilitated Play early intervention program for extremely inhibited preschoolers

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to develop and provide a preliminary evaluation of a social-skills-based early intervention program specifically designed to assist extremely inhibited preschoolers. Participants were a sample of n 5 22 extremely inhibited preschool-aged children, who were randomly assigned to either the Social Skills Facilitated Play (SST) or Waitlist Control (WLC) condition. As compared to wait-list controls, extremely inhibited children who participated in the SSTfacilitated play program sessions demonstrated a significantly greater post-intervention decrease in observed socially wary behaviours and a significantly greater increase in social and socially competent behaviours at preschool. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of developing and refining early intervention programs for extremely inhibited young children. Copyright r 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Key words: behavioural inhibition; early intervention; social skills It is not uncommon for many children to feel somewhat shy or self-conscious when meeting unfamiliar people or encountering new situations. However, about 15% of young children are considered extremely inhibited, persistently experiencing fear and anxiety in the presence of peers and frequently withdrawing themselves from opportunities for peer interaction (Kagan, 1997). Results from recent research support the wisdom of non-intrusive early prevention for inhibited young children (Rapee, 2002), who are at increased risk for developing

The +Contigo Project in the Voice of Eight-Grade Students

“…We describe the categories below, illustrating them with some units of context. These results are in line with those of authors who emphasize the positive development of interpersonal relationships as one of the consequences of social skills training (Coplan, Schneider, Matheson & Graham, 2010;Harrell, Mercer & DeRosier, 2009;Jones & Lavallee, 2009 As a self-concept component, self-esteem is a dimension that is positively associated with assertive communication. The greater the self-respect, self-appreciation and self-affection, the easier is the relationship with the others, i.e.…”

“…All these studies show the importance of the assertive (Evans, Langberg & Williams, 2003;Spence, 2003). The major challenge of this type of interventions is the opportunity to change social behaviors, in such a way that they can extend from the setting into the daily social interactions (Barrett, Lock & Farrel, 2005;Coplan et al, 2010;Evans et al, 2003).…”

A naturalistic observation of social behaviours during preschool drop-off

“…Such knowledge could be used to implement child-oriented and parent-oriented intervention strategies to facilitate settling behaviours among children with specific temperamental vulnerabilities. For example, Coplan, Schneider, Matheson, and Graham (2010) recently demonstrated the effectiveness of an early intervention targeting social skills in extremely inhibited preschool children. Perhaps, inhibited or shy children would also benefit in their social behaviours with peers from an early intervention programme targeting separation-related behaviours.…”

Teachers’ outlooks and assistance strategies with regard to “shy” pupils

“…There are programs that produce good results among preschoolers who are characterized by social anxiety for improving abilities and decreasing wary behaviors such as reticence, isolating oneself, and open expressions of anxiety (Coplan, Schneider, Matheson, & Graham, 2010). Other programs focus on the aspect of guiding parents and are auspicious in decreasing social anxiety among children before they enter school (Rapee, Kennedy, Ingram, Edwards, & Sweeney, 2005).…”