Skills for Academic and Social Success

OVERVIEW

Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS) is a cognitive-behavioral school-based program designed to reduce children's anxiety through group meetings and social events. A random assignment evaluation of this program showed a significant reduction in anxiety and social avoidance.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Socially anxious youth

Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS) is a cognitive-behavioral school-based program designed to reduce children's anxiety. SASS consists of 12, 40-minute weekly group sessions, two booster sessions, two 15-minute individual meetings, four weekend social events with prosocial peers, two 45-minute parent group meetings, and two 45-minute teacher meetings. In total, the program lasts for three months.

Group sessions cover five components: psychoeducation, realistic thinking, social skills training, exposure, and relapse prevention.

· Psychoeducation is addressed in the first group session where group leaders discuss commonly feared social situations and cognitive, somatic, and behavioral symptoms of social anxiety with the youth.

· In the second group session, realistic thinking is the focus as group leaders discuss the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and overestimating negative outcomes.

· Social skills training takes place over four group sessions emphasizing initiating conversations, maintaining conversations and establishing friendships, listening and remembering, and assertiveness through role discussion and role-play.

· During the exposure component, group leaders address the need for exposure to situations. Students develop a Fear Hierarchy of avoided situations. During each exposure session, group leaders select items from the Fear Hierarchy to gradually address the youth's fear. After the session, the youth discuss the experience and are provided feedback.

· Relapse prevention is the final session, and in it group leaders prepare youth for potential setbacks. Booster sessions, where youth progress is monitored, occur monthly for two months after the group sessions.

During the two individual meetings with the group leaders, youth can discuss goals and issues that interfere with progress. The four social events are intended to be fun activities (bowling, picnic, etc.) to provide youth an opportunity to practice social skills. The social events are aided by teacher-nominated students (peer assistants) who have exhibited helpful, friendly, and/or kind behavior. Peer assistants create a positive experience during the social event as well as helping the youth practice their skills during the week. Parent meetings include information about symptoms, psychoeducation, common reactions, and encouragement to refrain from being excessively reassuring to their child and allowing them to avoid situations. Teacher meetings include education about social anxiety, collaboration on areas of social difficulty, and progress feedback.

In 2008, SASS was available for families at the NYU Child Study Center for $1,600, with negotiable fees for families with limited means.

http://communications.med.nyu.edu/clinical-news/2008/social-anxiety

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Masia-Warner, C., Klein, R. G., Dent, H. C., Fisher, P. H., Alvir, J., Albano, A. M., & Guardino, M. (2005). School-based intervention for adolescents with social anxiety disorder: Results of a controlled study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(6), 707-722.

Evaluated Population: Thirty-five socially anxious adolescents in grades 9 through 11 from two parochial high schools in New York, NY participated in this study. 74% of the sample was female, 83% of the sample was white, and the mean age was 14.8 years.

Approach: Students were randomly assigned to the Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS) intervention (n = 18) or to a wait-list control group (n = 17). Students were assessed at pre-test and post-test on anxiety and mood disorders, social phobic disorders, depression, and loneliness through observer-, parent-, and self-report.

Results: At post-test, treatment group students had significantly lower observer-rated anxiety disorders (very large effect size of 2.4), social phobic disorder (very large effect size of 2), social anxiety (large effect size of 0.77), and total functioning (very large effect size of 2.3) when compared with control group students. Treatment group students also had significantly lower self-reported social avoidance and distress (large effect size of 0.79) when compared with control group students. Treatment group students had significantly lower parent-reported social avoidance and distress (large effect size of 0.82) when compared with control group students. There was no impact on parent-reported fear of negative evaluation. There was no impact on self-reported social phobia and anxiety, social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, depression, or loneliness.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

http://communications.med.nyu.edu/clinical-news/2008/social-anxiety

http://www.aboutourkids.org/about_us/staff/clinical_faculty/carrie_masiawarner

Dr. Carrie Masia-Warner

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

NYU Child Study Center

215 Lexington Avenue, 13^th floor

New York, NY 10016

Email: carrie.masia@med.nyu.edu

References:

Fisher, P. H., Masia-Warner, C., & Klein, R. G. (2004). Skills for Social and Academic Success: A school-based intervention for social anxiety disorder in adolescents. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 7(4), 241-249.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 13-15

Program components: school-based, parent or family component,

Program outcomes: social and emotional health

KEYWORDS: adolescents, high school, co-ed, white/Caucasian, urban, school-based, self-efficacy, counseling/therapy, anxiety disorders/symptoms, phobia, depression/mood disorders, self-esteem, social skills, cost

Program information last updated on 9/30/09.

		© Child Trends 2003