The Youth Club Project: a Community-Based Intervention for Shy Adolescents

Abstract

A therapeutic youth club incorporating two forms of social skills training was set up for shy adolescents. The practicalities of setting up the club are described. A preliminary evaluation of its effectiveness suggested that it was favourably received by the participants. A comparison between an active form of social skills training, involving behaviour role-play and feedback, and a discussion form, did not differentiate between the two types of training. Further evaluation research of the youth club is suggested by these preliminary findings.

Social Skills Training with Children and Young People: Theory, Evidence and Practice

“…Where the program is conducted within the school curriculum, this should be extended across year levels in the same way in which academic skills are taught in a hierarchical and developmental fashion rather than a one‐off intervention. SST should extend into the child's naturalistic settings at school and at home. In some instances training may be conducted in real‐life social contexts, such as the youth club project reported by Jackson and Marzillier (1982). Token economy systems and other contingency management methods may assist in increasing skill acquisition, practice and group participation. Hepler (1994) used a group‐based token system in which the group could earn points towards a pizza party at the end of training, based upon the response of trainees in each session. Teachers, parents and peers should play a role in SST both within and outside training sessions, in order to serve as antecedent cues for use of socially skilled behaviour, and to model, prompt and reinforce appropriate social responding. Socially competent peers should be included in SST groups where possible in order to provide models of desirable target behaviours and as a method of changing children's peer networks outside the sessions. Efforts should be made to increase the fidelity of training, such as regular training sessions and meetings with trainers, structured session manuals and guides, and self‐ or other‐observation and ratings of program adherence. Strong contingency management and adjunct interventions are required to reduce competing/inhibiting responses that reduce the use of socially skilled behaviour.…”

“…• SST should extend into the child's naturalistic settings at school and at home. In some instances training may be conducted in real-life social contexts, such as the youth club project reported by Jackson and Marzillier (1982).…”

An Investigation of the Treatment of Adolescent Social Difficulty in a Community-based Setting

“…In an earlier publication we reported on the practical aspects of setting up an S.S.T. programme in a Youth Club and preliminary findings on its effectiveness (Jackson and Marzillier, 1982). We found that it was feasible to run S.S.T.…”

“…The nature and administration of five of these measures were identical to those described in an earlier publication (Jackson and Marzillier, 1982). The remaining three are described below.…”

“…The S.P.C.L. is a modified version of the Social Problem Check list described previously (Jackson and Marzillier, 1982) and comprises 44 of the original 51 problem situations. The S.P.C.L.…”