Training aggressive adolescents in prosocial behavior

Abstract

The initial outcomes and current directions of a research and treatment program focusing upon Structured Learning Therapy (SLT) are the concerns of this paper. SLT is a psychoeducational approach used successfully in the past with psychiatric and other clients and is now designed to teach prosocial behaviors to aggressive adolescents. Evaluations of such training efforts to date have been largely positive. However, still more favorable skill development outcomes should follow from differential implementation of SLT in which trainee-trainer-treatment matches are prescriptively arrived at and in which major attention is devoted to transfer of training techniques designed to maximize real-life utilization of training gains. The present article describes SLT and its usage with aggressive adolescents, and details guidelines by which prescriptiveness and transfer enhancement may be implemented.

Social skills training with adolescent offenders: A review

“…Behavioural deficiency models of offending have been outlined by Braukmann et al (1975), Goldstein et al (1978) and Sarason (1968). All these models stress the importance of social skills deficits in exacerbrating persistent offending.…”

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

“…In the light of these practical limitations it was decided to experiment with alternative means of helping shy and socially inhibited adolescents to socialize. Goldstein et al (1977) made a number of suggestions for overcoming difficulties of generalization in S.S.T. programmes based upon a review of current learning principles.…”

Aggression Replacement Training

“…The difficulty with which apparent intervention efforts with incarcerated delinquents are successfully transferred to community settings has long been our interest (Goldstein, Sherman, Gershaw, Sprafkin, & Glick, 1978;Goldstein, Sprafkin, Ger- & Klein, 1979). We wanted ART to serve as a sufficiently powerful inoculation to at least sustain short-term carryover of in-facility ART gains to the community.…”

“…We entered the psychological skills training movement in the early 1970s. As our research program progressed and we achieved successful skill enhancement (Goldstein, 1981;Goldstein, Sherman, Gershaw, Sprafkin, & Glick, 1978), we shifted our focus from teaching a broad array of interpersonal and daily living skills to adult, psychiatric inpatients to a more explicit concern with skill training for aggressive youngsters. Many writers have demonstrated that delinquent and other aggressive youngsters display widespread deficiencies in interpersonal, planning, aggression management, and other psychological skills (Conger, Miller, & Walsmith, 1965;Freedman, Rosenthal, Donahoe, Schbundy, & McFall, 1978;Mussen, Conger, Kagan, & Gerwitz, 1979;Patterson, Reid, Jones, & Conger, 1975;Spence, 1981).…”