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Guide
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Social Skills Training Program for Children’s Social Functioning
OVERVIEW
The Social Skills Training Program was given to children aged 10-13 with social problems. It seeks to give these children the skills to improve everyday social interactions and decrease problem behavior with peers. The program addresses a different area of social functioning at each session using interactive activities such as group discussion, modeling, role plays, and direct instruction. The study below finds that the Social Skills Training Program was effective in increasing self-esteem ratings and social activity levels of isolated and/or rejected children.
This program seeks to increase socially isolated or rejected students’ positive interactions through development of their social skills. The program sessions occur twice weekly for 4 weeks. In addition to these initially program sessions, children also participate in a series of 4 post-treatment booster sessions approximately one month after the conclusion of the program. Sessions are highly structured and during each session children discuss homework from the last session, are taught about a new theme, rehearse an example situation of this theme, and receive a summary of the session as well as homework assignments to be completed before the next session. Topics for each session focus on social development and include: bullying, responding to criticism, asking for help, making friends, and giving complements.
Verduyn, C. M., Lord, W., & Forrest, G. C. (1990). Social skills training in schools: An evaluation study. Journal of Adolescence, 13, 3-16.
Approach: Children were rated by teachers and peers to determine which children lacked positive social skills. The children were then randomly assigned to the Social Skills Training condition or a control condition which received no intervention. Treatment groups received a total of 8 Social Skills Training group sessions over 4 weeks. Parents and teachers gave ratings of the child’s social behavior. Self-report measures were taken from the children to assess knowledge about social situations and responses as well as a self-esteem inventory. Over the course of a week, post-treatment, both groups of children kept a journal of social activities to assess the number of social peer group activities the child had.
Results: It should be noted that there were pre-treatment differences found between the treatment and control group such that the treatment group had more problem behaviors than the control group. Reflecting this, no impact differences were found post-treatment.
However, children in the treatment group exhibited less problem behaviors post-treatment as compared to before the treatment. This effect was also found at the follow up assessment at 6 months. Children ages 10 and 11 in the Social Skills Training treatment were found to have higher self-rated self-esteem ratings (M=63.5, SD=19.1) compared with children in the control group (M=59.5, SD=17.5). Treatment group children were found to be more socially active (M=5.4, SD=2.6) compared with the control treatment (M=3.0, SD=2.5) as measured by the weekly diary of activities self-report.
Verduyn, C. M., Lord, W., & Forrest, G. C. (1990). Social skills training in schools: An evaluation study. Journal of Adolescence, 13, 3-16.
Program categorized in this guide according to the following:
Evaluated participant ages: 10-13 / Program age ranges in the Guide: mid-childhood, adolescence
Program components: school-based
Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development, life skills, behavioral problems
Program information last updated 10/23/06
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© Child Trends 2003 |