Psychosocial Educational Groups for Students (PEGS)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of a new psychosocial intervention program, Psychosocial Educational Groups for Students (PEGS). The PEGS program is designed to help students in the areas of social skills, problem behaviors, bullying, and self-esteem. Three groups of elementary school students participated. Results showed significant improvement in selfcontrol for Group 1; social skills for Group 2; and assertion, self-reported bully behaviors, and perception of self for Group 3. Strong effect sizes were found for many of the indicators. Implications for counselors are presented.

Clinical Practice with Children and Adolescents Involved in Bullying and Cyberbullying: Gleaning Guidelines from the Literature

“…Across theoretical orientations, many treatment approaches share goals of developing self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, assertiveness, and coping among clients who are bullied (Chu, Hoffman, Johns, Reyes-Portillo, & Hansford, 2015;Newgent, Behrend, Lounsbery, Higgins, & Lo, 2010;Panzer & Dhuper, 2014;Paolini, 2018;Smaller, 2013;Ziomek-Daigle & Land, 2016), and empathy and communication skills among clients who bully others (Horton, 2014;Kimonis & Armstrong, 2012;McAdams & Schmidt, 2007;Sahin, 2012;Splett, Maras, & Brooks, 2015). Feather (2016) introduces an integrative social skills group model using gestalt principles for clients with disabilities who have been bullied, expressly aiming to incorporate skills such as assertiveness with mirroring and meaning making.…”