Social skills training with young adolescents: group and individual approaches in a school setting

Abstract

SynopsisThere has been relatively little research on social skills training with young adolescents. Yet adolescence is a key stage in the life cycle, and may well be important for the development of social skills. There is evidence that difficulty with the peer group early in life may be a risk factor for a range of personal problems at a later stage in the life cycle.The research programme sought to evaluate the use of group social skills training with young adolescents in a school setting, and to identify the most useful component.The research consisted of two experiments, each of which involved the provision of a social skills training programme for young adolescents of mixed gender within the school timetable.In the first experiment nine young adolescents aged 12-13 were identified as having social skills difficulty.The intervention took the form of a group programme of ten social skills training sessions with a strong individualised component. On measures of social competence and self-report significant gains were made which were maintained at six month follow-up.On a measure of sociometric status there was significant gain by the time of follow-up. A non-equivalent problem-free no-treatment control group (n = 10) of like age made no significant gains on any of the variables measured. There were significant differences between the control group and the treatment group in social competence and sociometric status prior to treatment, but none post treatment nor at follow-up. Using MANOVA a main 3 effect for time was found for the combined measures of social competence and self-report.In the second experiment 41 young adolescents aged 12-13 were allocated to an individualised training (IT) Group (n = 14), a standardised training (ST) Group (n = 13) and a no treatment control group (ii = 14). Therapist effects were controlled by crossing over therapists, so that equal numbers of each group were trained by each pair of therapists. The programme ran over 2 years. A group comparison design taken together with single case designs provided evidence for the effectiveness of the interventions and for the relative superiority of individua].ised training over standardised training. Dependent measures included a self-report questionnaire, a sociometric questionnaire, a behavioural interview schedule, a role-taking test, a social assertiveness test, and a clinical change rating. There was no main effect for type of problem (rejected vs neglected) nor for subject gender. Data relating to therapist performance suggested that therapist effects might make a substantial difference to outcome.It was concluded from the two experiments that the treatments were generally effective and able to produce generalisation, that the individualised approach worked rather better than the standardised approach, and that it was important to control for therapist effects. SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING 'ITH YOUNG ADOLESCENTS Chapter OneBackground to the Studies 1. 2.3.4. 5.6. 7.8. 9.10. 11.12. 13.Title.The concept of social skills training.The social s...

The Implementation of Social Skills Training (SST) to Improve the Social Skills of an Adolescent with Peer Relationship Problems at School

“…The involvement of people closest to the participants is vital in the assessment and evaluation process and in the provision of constructive feedback (Spence, Donovan, & Brechman-Toussaint, 2000;Spence, 2000). In line with Spence's statement, Bulkeley (1991) also reported that teacher engagement is considered effective in generalizing the social skills that have been trained in natural situations in which adolescents usually interact.…”

“…The final component is social problem solving. The adolescents' ability to solve problems improves rapidly during this time, as they become more exposed to various situations that need to be solved independently, such as problems in friendship (Bulkeley, 1991). These three social skills components are important in constructing a harmonious long-term relationship with friends.…”

Interventions for Improving Affective Abilities in Adolescents: An Integrative Review Across Community and Clinical Samples of Adolescents

“…The remaining 21 involved samples of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder, antisocial/ delinquent behaviors, learning impairment, or visual or auditory impairment. All but one of the studies with community samples involved an intervention that targeted perspective-taking skills (Bridgeman 1981;Bulkeley and Cramer 1994;Castillo et al 2013;Lane-Garon 1998;Marsh et al 1980;Nakkula and Nikitopoulos 2001;Schonert-Reichl et al 2012Silvern et al 1979;Wölfer et al 2014). Only Emerson and Holden's (1991) study involved an emotion recognition skills intervention with a community sample.…”

“…Perspective-taking interventions varied in their specificity. Four studies focused specifically on perspectivetaking skills interventions (i.e., Bridgeman 1981;Lane-Garon 1998;Silvern et al 1979;Marsh et al 1980), one focused on cyberbullying prevention (Wölfer et al 2014), one focused on negotiation training (Nakkula and Nikitopoulos 2001), and four focused on larger social-emotional learning or social skills training (i.e., Bulkeley and Cramer 1994;Castillo et al 2013;Schonert-Reichl et al 2012. A description of intervention characteristics across studies is presented in Table 2.…”

“…The majority of studies (60%) involved some form of randomization. Three studies randomly assigned students across treatment conditions (Bulkeley and Cramer 1994;Schonert-Reichl et al 2015;Silvern et al 1979), and three studies randomly assigned classrooms across treatment conditions, as the interventions involved were class-or school-wide (Bridgeman 1981;Castillo et al 2013;Wölfer et al 2014). Treatment groups were commonly compared to treatment as usual, which predominantly involved typical class/school activities.…”