Social Skills Assessment and Intervention with Children and Adolescents

Transcription

1 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 References Dy, S. (1989) 'Some hilren Die - How Does Jersey re?', unpublishe seminr report, Acorns hilren's Hospice Trust, Birminghm. Fullen, M. (1982) The Mening of Euctionl hnge. ew York : Techers' ollege Press. Georgies,.J. n Phillimore, L. (1975) 'The Myth of the Hero-Innovtor n Alterntive Strtegies for rgniztionl hnge', in.. Kiernn n F.P. Woofor (es) Behviour Moirction with the Severely Retre. ew York : Associte Scientific Publishers. Gry, J. (1986)'Specil Euctionl ees in the Schools', unpublishe pper, Sttes ofjersey Euction ommittee. Ktz, D. n Khn, R.L. (1966) The Socil Psychology of rgnistions. ew York : Wiley. Robson,. et l. (1988) In-service Trining n Specil Euctionl ees : Running Short, School Focuse ourses. Mnchester: Mnchester niversity Press. Wtermn, R.H., Peters, T.J. n Phillips, J.R. (198) 'Structure is not rgnistion', Business Horizons 3. Socil Skills Assessment n Intervention with hilren n Aolescents Guielines for Assessment n Trining Proceures STEPHE. ELLITT n R.T. BSSE niversity of Wisconsin-Mison, SA ABSTRAT hilren who persistently exhibit socil skills eficits experience both short- n long-term negtive consequences, n these negtive consequences my often be precursors of more severe problems lter in life. If untrete, reserchers hve inicte tht socil skills eficits in erly chilhoo re reltively stble over time, relte to poor cemic performnce n my be preictive of socil justment problems n serious psychopthology in olescence. Proceures for linking ssessment n clssifiction of socil skills problems to tretments re briefly reviewe. A number of proceures hve been ientifie s effective methos for treting socil skills eficits. The myri of proceures cn be clssifie into three ctegories : (1) opernt conitioning, (2) socil lerning, n (3) cognitivebehviorl proceures. In prctice, behviorl rehersl is often incorporte into tretments n most of the effective socil skills interventions re combine proceures rther thn single technique. Guielines for implementing mjor tretment components re iscusse n n overll implementtion pln is presente. Behviors such s shring, helping, inititing reltionships, requesting -help from others, giving compliments n sying 'plese' n 'thnk you' re socilly esirble behviors tht lmost everyone This rticle represents the content of n invite three-hour workshop presente t the 13th Interntionl School Psychology olloquium hel in ewport, Rhoe Isln in July 199. Portions of this workshop contine mterils from the Socil Skills Rting System Technicl Mnul (Greshm n Elliott, 199) n from chpter entitle 'Best Prctices in Preschool Socil Skills Trining' by Elliott n Ershler (199). Plese ress ll corresponence regring this mnuscript to Stephen. Elliott, Deprtment of Euctionl Psychology, 125 W. Johnson St, niversity of Wisconsin- Mison, Mison, WI 5376, SA. School Psychology Interntionl (SAGE, Lonon, ewbury Prk n ew Delhi), ol. 12 (1991), c

2 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining woul gree re exmples of socil skills. In generl, socil skills my r be efine s socilly cceptble lerne behviors tht enble ) person to interct with others in wys tht elicit positive responses n ~v ' L o u G e ssist in voiing negtive responses (Greshm n Elliott, 1984). The y v _l _ ~, - _ W o [ of y u.b W J ) X. ) o, 't7 `. b ) ) evelopment of socil skills is one of the most importnt outcomes of EmE~ W. o y y Ei".:,v bw E o., o." 'bw E =t 'ic6 n '. ecṁ.o.y... the schooling process. hilren with socil skills eficit re t risk for.: W.y w i6.~.. r.~ ~.w c r. t.-, socil-emotionl ifficulties n poor cemic performnces (Prker ti w ro,.~ u 's tu" y G ~D G ii n Asher, 1987). z~ o. (;n vw ~ m 3. x o 'n. fo.- ~n o A u - The cronym of ARES hs been offere by Greshm n Elliott c en (199) to fcilitte memory for, n the ientifiction of, five mjor _ c E v E clusters of socil skills. The clusters re coopertion, ssertion, respon- q - sibility, empthy n self-control. Briefly, these clusters of socil H o.~ bv psycho- rn > w behviors cn be chrcterize s follows : ) b 1. oopertion - behviors such s helping others, shring mteri- y w u v ls with peer n complying with rules. D r Assertion - inititing behviors such s sking others for.n J yiro. ~ :3 Y + informtion n behviors tht re responses to others' ctions such s v oo E y ' u n. ~ 4, v L o. 'E Ċ. mc o responing to peer pressure. ) ) 8 4. u 7 '~ t. > y,c Z L-2 3. Responsibility - behviors tht emonstrte the bility to t. A c A L -11. communicte with ults n concern bout one's property. o) fs. t% H o H m Loȯ - 4. Empthy - behviors tht show concern for peer's or signifi- cnt ult's feelings. y 5. Self-control - behviors tht emerge in conflict situtions such m c v s responing ppropritely to tesing or to corrective feebck from n ult. M h M. w The term socil competence hs often been consiere synonymous M ' with socil skills. Socil competence, however, is summry term v y E which reflects socil jugment bout the generl qulity of n inivi- o m vb,'o =~ o ul's performnce in given sitution. The concept of socil skills, 'v Z = *.. Q. cs c y r D. D. to ) - > from behviorl perspective, is premise on the ssumption tht.ti 3.. L t, specific, ientifible skills form the bsis for socilly competent behv- t..., 4ọ. W o ~.!1 t. v.~ c ) w '6 ;s -1! ) s y= c - ' u 4' y ior (Hops, 1983). To ssess socil competence, wier rnge of.w u --..L W._r,,.= E 'o m E oo EE~ behviors n bilities, such s communiction skills, physicl bili- 4i ~w ~" v cv M E H woo.~. = uc o ) L. m cw E w 4 r-w ties n physicl ppernce nee to be consiere. From tretment y perspective, socil skills my be the most mlleble of the components.v Q w T of socil competence. or Q o x M Assessment of socil skills n ientifiction of chilren in l nee of socil skills trining c W 2,.M E,) A number of methos, incluing rting scles, checklists n sociomet- n > u, c^ ric nomintion techniques, hve been esigne to ientify chilren t c ) risk for behvior problems. Specific ssessment proceures re not c. _ g :M W. reviewe here, however Tble 1 ocuments the normtive n o H c ~? w w

3 v v School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12.r v 'b i b.5 w y.-, u y `o ~ X "~ y. L 1, 3 c. c (n v 3oF.ro o.g u ~' ~ co ~n H wb ~ w 7. '3Zb ~3 i....~'d ~, >, ' ~z X.-~ G Q -SG ~.. G tė...~.=.~ c b E y n.. b T+. i y o.r y ~ '~ s ~.l 3 c. F.3 ~ - s.^ o y- v n..u y o 3 4. >. y.g.. y ~ G l J y s. u y G7 m ~> ~, o">fme. o L. ~, ~ A c-.r>fv ''.5 y y y, E,y x E_roo~ t y r..m G.- o w W w t/) 't7 Ls. L. (n m -. ~. W.. _R m q - o. c os -b.f co - Ei c.12.. E.Y. A u. w c y. p t. + w ~ > b ~.F F vy~"~. nri E..b.! > b 5 ro >, ou W -r,w'. M.. - yy A ' ~ 7 v w v 'D.. y y. G c E;. z, sue. v 'o LT, s. ^ o ' wv l. "F.~'.. 3.e c.>+ : 7 lr E W ~ T' ~ 'b l?, v. u :s J E w : G.o F -EFnz cn yh v w. ti L ) o. w Er i w M.~ -3 ~ J. W is M.M y I I Q.o m wv M Go o m ^! 7 v, u t o.o ;v.o ~wr u,g ' ' ~ cc E ~ - v c i y ~ ' m :p 1. c u n Q 39. H m m X v~,22 n ~'. sor u..v. -5 o m 8b ^ y Q) * r ti o. W I u. S"' t.-r w y.. F cl ~.. s,x...+..l ro u, x.~ ~.~.c x v o >'u v h7 Z; m ~~ F-. n 3 ~Y 3 crr ~?w ~.. v Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining metric chrcteristics of three frequently use rting scles : Socil Behvior Assessment, Wlker-Mconnell Scle of Socil ompetence n School Ajustment, n Socil Skills Rting System. Detile reviews of socil skills ssessment methos hve been publishe by Greshm n Elliott (1984, 1989) n Strin et l. (1986). In generl, the purposes of socil skills ssessment concern either ientifiction/clssifiction or intervention/progrm plnning. From behviorl perspective, the criticl chrcteristic tht ifferentites ssessment methos is the extent to which metho llows for functionl nlysis of behvior (i.e. the extent to which n ssessment proceure provies t on the nteceent, sequentil n consequent conitions surrouning moleculr behvior). A stnr bttery of tests or methos for ssessing socil skills oes not exist. Rther, hypotheses ictte the irection of ssessment, the questions to be nswere n the methos to be use. Assessment shoul procee from globl to specific to llow pproprite plnning of interventions. In contrst, evlution of intervention success typiclly Tble 2 Assessment sequence for socil skills 1. Techer rtings of socil skills. Estimtion of frequency of behviors b. Estimtion of behvior's importnce to techer c. Tenttive estimtion of skill n performnce eficits. Guieline for techer interview n irect observtions 2. Prent rtings of socil skills. Estimtion ofcross-setting generlity of eficits b. Prent's perceive importnce of socil behviors c. Guieline for prent interview 3. Techer interview. Further elinetion of trget behviors b. Functionl nlysis ofbehvior in specific situtions c. Selection of trget behviors bse upon importnce rtings n techer's rtings. Guieline for evelopment of observtion cse 4. Prent interview (sme s bove) 5. Direct observtions of clssroom behvior. Functionl nlysis of behvior b. Direct mesurement of behvior in pplie setting c. bservtion of peer rections to trget chil's behvior 6. Sociometrics using like most n like lest nomintions. Mesurement of socil preference n socil impct b. lssifiction of sociometric sttus (rejecte, neglecte, controversil) 7. Self-report of socil skills - obtin chil's perception of socil behvior 8. hil interview ote : From Elliott et l., (1989) opyright 1989 by Pergmon Press. Apte by permission.

4 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 procees in the opposite irection, moving from behvior-specific outcomes to more globl nlyses of importnt socil outcomes. To increse the likelihoo of ccurte ientifiction/clssifiction ecisions, we recommen the use of irect observtions of the trget chil n non-trget peers in multiple settings ; behviorl interviews with the referrl source n possibly the trget chil ; rting scle t, preferbly norm-reference, from both socil skills scle n problem behvior scle complete by the referrl source ; n sociometric t from the trget chil's clssmtes. Regring intervention ecisions, t contributing to functionl nlysis of importnt socil behviors re impertive. These types of t usully result from multiple irect observtions cross settings ; behviorl role plys with the trget chil ; n techer n prent rtings of socilly vli moleculr behviors. Behviorl interviews with the tretment gent(s) lso will be importnt to ssess the tretment setting, the cceptbility of the finl tretment pln n the integrity with which the pln is implemente. Tble 2 (from Elliott et l., 1989) provies summry of n heuristic sequence for the ssessment of socil skills. Bsic ssumptions n proceures for promoting socil skills Socil skills interventions focus on positive behviors n use nonversive methos (e.g. moeling, coching n reinforcement) to improve chilren's behvior. These lso re the chrcteristics tht techers n prents report they like in interventions (Elliott, 1988). Therefore, utiliztion of these methos my enhnce tretment integrity. In ition, these progrms cn be built into the existing structure of clssroom or home environment, thus minimizing the Tble 3 ommon socil skills trining tctics n selection fctors 1. Therpist irecte. Moeling (positive n negtive ; live n symbolic) b. oching c. pernt (mnipultion of nteceents n consequences). Problem solving exercises (role ply) e. Self-system (self-tlk, self-monitoring, self-evlution) 2. Therpist n peer irecte. Group therpy (inclues moeling, problem-solving, guie prctice) 3. Peer irecte. Peer-meite initition n reinforcement Tretment selection fctors 1. Type of problem n ccompnying interfering behviors 2. Resources vilble 3. Setting n situtions 4. Tretment effectiveness n cceptbility finings Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining time require for successful implementtion n mximizing tretment generliztion. Finlly, socil skills interventions cn be use with iniviuls or groups of stuents, n becuse they primrily concern incresing prosocil behviors, ll stuents cn prticipte n benefit from the interventions. Teching chilren socil skills involves mny of the sme methos s teching cemic concepts. Effective techers ofboth cemic n socil skills moel correct behvior, elicit n imittive response, provie corrective feebck n rrnge for opportunities to prctice the new skill (rtlege n Milburn, 1986). A lrge number of intervention proceures hve been ientifie s effective for trining socil skills in chilren. Tble 3 illustrtes common socil skills trining tctics tht re (1) therpist irecte, (2) therpist n peer irecte or (3) peer irecte. These proceures cn be further clssifie into three theoreticl pproches" tht highlight common tretment fetures n ssumptions bout how socil behvior is lerne. These pproches re opernt, socil lerning n cognitive-behviorl. Tble 4 provies comprison of these three pproches long severl common imensions. In prctice, mny reserchers n prctitioners hve use proceures tht represent combintions of two or more of these bsic pproches. However, we will use the three groups of interventions to escribe the bsic proceures n to orgnize review of their effectiveness. First, however, we believe it is instructive to review five ssumptions propose by Michelson et l. (1983: 3) which re funmentl to the conceptuliztion of socil skills ssessment n intervention plns. Assumption 1 : Socil skills re primrily cquire through lerning which involves observtion, moeling, rehersl n feebck. Assumption 2: Socil skills comprise specific n iscrete verbl n non-verbl behviors. Assumption 3: Socil skills entil both effective n pproprite inititions n responses. Assumption 4 : Socil skills re interctive by nture n entil effective n pproprite responsiveness. Assumption 5: Socil skill performnce is influence by the chrcteristics of n environment. ollectively, these prgmtic ssumptions provie irection to both ssessment n intervention ctivities by stressing the multiimensionl (verbl-non-verbl n inititing-responing), interctive, sitution-specific nture of socil skills. Thus, regrless of intervention pproch, effective interventions will nee to ress trget behviors which involve both verbl n non-verbl communictions use to initite or respon to others. With this in min, we now

5 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 y L n p it `"-., - ~b L. ~ cl..,, o,o.~ y. on ' 'v 4 o '. 5 c ~ o f s c n 4~ t- b c r en. c W G;.[ W. r ȯ H n - c7 > u m'...n..~. G. y bd q 'j f-i cn G» o '5 r. r.. G r. c., +' is ->. Y W o. " m ;n c X - y '.p > ' ro ~y " b :[ 4; ch b Sb o c o ^. ~ m '5 y H L "cz.t c y " y y ~ ;.. ~ - cx, L. ' q, q,b o c X. p c b ( w ' p.ty y ~ o ^ 7 > Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining exmine the proceures tht re germne to the opernt, socil lerning n cognitive-behviorl pproches to socil skills interventions. pernt intervention proceures pernt conitioning proceures focus on overt, observble behvior n the nteceent n consequent events tht surroun the behvior. ontrol of behvior is most often chieve through the ppliction of reinforcement or punishment contingent on the observnce of the behvior. However, mny socil behviors cn lso be moifie through the control of nteceent conitions, such s frien ppering t your oor or techer prompting stuents to observe plygroun conuct rule before leving for recess. Thus, the mnipultion of both nteceents n consequences re vluble proceures for interventions in wie vriety of settings n with lmost ny performnce eficit. Some chilren experience ifficulties in interpersonl reltionships becuse the socil environment is not structure to fcilitte positive socil exchnges. Anteceent control of socil behvior cn set the occsion for positive socil interctions n hs the vntge of requiring less techer time n monitoring thn other proceures (e.g. reinforcement-bse proceures). Anteceent control proceures, however, implicitly ssume tht the chil possesses the requisite socil skills but is not performing them t cceptble levels. Strin n his collegues (Strin, 1977 ; Strin et l., 1977 ; Strin n Timm, 1974) use n nteceent control proceure terme peer socil inititions to increse socil interction rtes of socilly withrwn chilren. The generl proceure involve hving trine peer confeerte initite positive socil interctions with withrwn chil in free-ply environment. Peer confeertes were coche, prior to the intervention, to ppropritely initite n mintin socil interctions. This proceure effectively increse rtes of socil interctions of withrwn chilren. Strin n Fox (1981) provie comprehensive review of these proceures for pre-schoolers n for oler chilren. oopertive lerning oopertive lerning is nother metho which focuses upon mnipulting nteceent conitions to set the occsion for positive socil interctions (Men n Slvin, 1983). Bsiclly, coopertive lerning requires stuents to work together in completing n cemic tsk. The group, rther thn the iniviul, receives gre on the complete cemic prouct. This proceure requires tht stuents cooperte, shre n ssist ech other in completing the tsk n, s

6 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 such, represents n effective technique for incresing the likelihoo of positive socil behviors. A number of opernt-lerning proceures (i.e., mnipultion of nteceents n consequences) hve been use to increse the frequency of positive socil behviors n ecrese the frequency of negtive socil behviors. All of these proceures re bse on the ssumption tht low rtes of positive socil interction n high rtes of negtive socil interction result from reinforcement contingencies (positive or negtive) occurring subsequent to behvior. The implicit ssumption when using these proceures is tht the chil knows how to perform the socil behvior in question but is not oing so becuse of the lck of reinforcement for pproprite socil behvior. ontingent socil reinforcement ontingent socil reinforcement involves hving techer, prent or other significnt person to chil publicly reinforce pproprite socil behviors. For exmple, Allen et l. (1964) h techer socilly reinforce four-yer-ol socilly isolte girl whenever she intercte with other chilren. This proceure le to six-fol increse in socil interction rtes over bseline levels. ritions of this bsic proceure hve been successful with elective mute n severely n profounly mentlly retre popultions (Myhew et l., 1978). Althpugh contingent socil reinforcement increses rtes of positive socil interction, it requires gret el of techer/prent involvement on consistent bsis to be effective. Therefore, it is perhps best use to mintin socil interction rtes once they hve been estblishe through other socil skills intervention proceures. Differentil reinforcement Differentil reinforcement of other behvior (DR) n ifferentil reinforcement of low rte of responing (DRL) hve lso been use to moify socil skills. DR involves presenting reinforcement fter ny behvior except the trget behvior. Thus, the iniviul is reinforce only when he or she oes not perform the trget behvior fter certin mount of time hs elpse. For exmple, to ecrese ggressive behvior n increse positive socil interctions, ny behvior tht is exhibite by chil except ggressive behvior, is reinforce. This proceure woul hve the effect of incresing ll other responses n extinguishing ggressive behvior. Pinkston et l. (1973) use DR proceure to ecrese the ggressive behvior of boy n contingent socil reinforcement to increse his positive socil interction. DRL involves reinforcing reuctions in the performnce of trget behvior. Reinforcers my be elivere for reuction in the overll frequency of response within prticulr time perio, or for Elliott n Busse : Socil Skills Trining increse elpse time between responses (interresponse time). For exmple, to ecrese the frequency of tlking-out behvior in clssroom, reinforcement contingency coul be specifie such tht reinforcement woul only occur if the frequency of behvior ws t or below given criterion level. Dietz n Repp (1973) use DRL scheule to reuce the inpproprite tlking of n entire EMR clssroom. During the DRL contingency, stuents coul ern reinforcement if the entire clss me five or fewer 'tlk-outs' in fifty-minute perio. The stuies just reviewe illustrte tht DR n DRL re effective in ecresing the frequency of negtive socil behviors. These proceures, however, re perhps best use s juncts in socil skills interventions s mens of ecresing negtive socil behviors while, t the sme time, teching positive socil behviors. Socil lerning intervention proceures Socil lerning proceures hve their roots in the socil lerning theory of Bnur n Wlters (1963) n Bnur (1977), who suggest tht socil behvior is cquire through two types of lerning : observtionl lerning n reinforce lerning. Socil lerning theorists ifferentite between the lerning of response n the performnce of tht lerning. This enbles socil lerning theorists to evelop the role of moeling influences prt from their use in the cquisition of new behvior. Moeling lso ffects the performnce of previously lerne responses through its isinhibitory or cueing effects. Therefore, socilly cceptble behvior cn be elicite through the presence of person moeling prticulr behvior. For exmple, if one stuent volunteers to help the techer, he or she will often elicit similr volunteering behviors in other stuents in the clss. The consequences for moele behvior re hypothesize to influence the future occurrence of the sme behvior. bservers ten to inhibit responses which they see punishe in others, wheres they re likely to perform the behvior if it is reinforce. This process of observing the consequence for moele behvior is referre to s vicrious punishment or vicrious reinforcement, epening on the effect of the consequence. Moeling hs bro empiricl support for teching new socil skills to chilren n youths (Greshm, 1985 ; Wnless n Prinz, 1982). In socil skills trining, moeling cn be ivie into two types : (1) live moeling, in which the trget chil observes the socil behviors of moels in nturlistic settings (e.g. the clssroom) n (2) symbolic moeling, in which trget chil observes the socil behviors of moel vi film or vieotpe. Both types ofmoeling hve been effective in teching socil skills, lthough the mjority of empiricl stuies

7 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 hve use symbolic moeling becuse of the experimentl control ffore by the consistent presenttion formt. Live moeling, however, my be more flexible technique for clssroom settings becuse of the opportunity to moify the moeling sequences bse upon behviorl performnce. Tble 5 provies bsic guielines for using moeling. Tble 5 Guielines for using moeling proceures 1. Estblish n explin the nee ; set the stge. Stories b. T or movies c. Personl experiences of group members. Role moels 2. Ientify skill components. Tsk nlysis b. Group prticiption c. Sequencing of skill components. Evlution ofcriticl components n sequence 3. Moeling socil skill. Slience of moele skill components b. Moel/observer similrity c. oping vs mstery moels. Situtionl relevnce of moele behvior 4. Behviorl rehersl. Soliciting prticipnts b. Review of skill components c. Situtionl relevnce. onstructive feebck e. Instnt reply (if necessry) 5. Progrm for generliztion. se sufficient stimulus exemplrs b. se sufficient behvior exemplrs Greshm n gle (198) conucte the only publishe stuy to te in which moeling hs been compre to coching ( cognitivebehviorl proceure iscusse in etil in the next section). Stuents were expose to one of four conitions : (1) moeling, (2) coching, (3) moeling n coching, n (4) ttention controls. The three tretment conitions were eqully effective in incresing sociometric sttus n incresing the frequency of positive socil interctions. Interestingly, the tretments contining coching component were more effective thn moeling in ecresing rtes of negtive socil interctions. ognitive-behviorl intervention proceures The cognitive-behviorl pproch to intervention is loosely efine group of proceures which plce significnt emphsis on n iniviul's internl regultion of his or her behvior. In prticulr, cognitivebehviorl pproches to socil skills trining emphsize person's Elliott n Busse: Socil Shills Trining bility to problem solve n to self-regulte behvior. Two of the most frequently use cognitive-behviorl socil skills proceures re coching n socil problem solving. oching is irect verbl instruction technique tht involves 'coch' (most often techer or psychologist, but occsionlly peer), knowlegeble s to how to enct esire behvior, n the stuent in nee of cquiring the esire behvior. Most coching interventions require three steps. First, the chil is presente with rules for or stnrs of behvior. Secon, the selecte socil skills re reherse with the coch. Thir, the coch provies specific feebck uring the behvior rehersl n offers suggestions for future performnce. In some rehersl situtions moeling proceures my lso become prt of the coch's trining, n if the coch prises the ccurte performnce of behvior by the stuent, reinforcement will lso be evience. Thus coching, lthough conceptulize s verbl instruction proceure tht requires cognitive skills of the stuent to trnslte the instruction into esire behviors, cn be esily supplemente with behviorl n/or socil lerning proceures. Tble 6 provies bsic guielines for encting coching proceures. Tble 6 Guielines for using coching proceures 1. Present socil concept bse on skill to be lerne 2. Ask for efinitions of socil skills 3. Provie clrifiction of efinitions 4. Ask for specific behviorl exmples of concept. 'Wht woul someone hve to o to show they were cooperting?' b. 'Wht things woul you hve to o to show you were helping others?' c. 'flow coul you show tht you isgree with someone without getting into n rgument or fight?' 5. Ask for specific behviorl negtive exmples of concept 6. Generte situtions n settings where skill is pproprite n inpproprite 7. Behviorl rehersl 8. onstructive feebck n instnt reply oching hs receive empiricl support s socil skills trining proceure. en n Asher (1977) use coching to tech prticiption, communiction, coopertion n peer reinforcement to stuents. The coching proceure involve the three steps of verbl instructions, opportunity for skill rehersl n feebck on skill performnce. This proceure ws lso effective in incresing the sociometric sttus of the stuents who successfully cquire the new socil skills. L (1981) n Gottmn et l. (1976) obtine similr results using coching proceures. Severl pplie reserchers hve evelope interventions tht

8 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 stress teching chilren the process of solving socil or interpersonl problems. As Weissburg (1985) pointe out, some of these intervention progrms, which re lrgely clssroom bse, hve been clle socil problem solving (SPS) wheres others hve been clle interpersonl cognitive problem solving (IPS) progrms. Although the IPS pproch plces more emphsis on the conitions tht ccompny socil problem situtions n employs nrrower trining proceure thn oes the SPS pproch, both use similr sequence of steps to trin stuents to ientify n rect to socil problems. Briefly, the steps cn be chrcterize s : (1) ientify n efine the problem, (2) etermine lterntive wys of recting to the problem, (3) preict the consequences for ech lterntive rection n (4) select the rection tht is `best' or most ptive. Socil problem solving methos of socil skills trining cn be use with iniviul chilren or entire clssrooms n hve become common prts of severl clssroom socil skills curriculums. It shoul be note, however, tht such n pproch oes not focus on iscrete socil skills trining n tht lerning socil skills generlly requires more skill focuse, externlly reinforce proceures thn offere by this cognitively oriente pproch. Tble 7 illustrtes bsic guielines for using socil problem solving strtegies to improve socil functioning. Tble 7 Guielines for using socil problem solving proceures 1. Define n formulte problem 2. Generte lternte solutions 3. Specify consequences regring lterntives 4. Select `best' lterntive 5. Specify requirements/steps to implement solution 6. erify outcomes of solution 7. Discuss n reinforce the problem solving process Effectiveness of socil skills interventions n suggestions for prctice Severl mjor reviews hve been written concerning the effectiveness of socil skills trining proceures with chilren (see rtlege n Milburn, 1986 ; Greshm, 1985 ; L n Mize, 1983 ; Schneier n Byrne, 1985). With regr to chil chrcteristics, Schneier n Byrne, who conucte lrge met nlysis of socil skills trining stuies, inicte tht socil skills interventions were more effective for pre-schoolers n olescents thn elementry chilren. o gener ifferences in the effect sizes were note (lthough few stuies hve trete gener s n inepenent vrible). In ition, socil skills trining; ws foun to be more effective for withrwn n lerning Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining isble stuents thn for ggressive stuents. onverse to wht often is expecte, the urtion of interventions ws relte negtively to the outcome. Tht is, interventions of fewer thn five ys were, on the verge, more effective thn interventions lsting more thn fifty ys. This result ws interprete s consistent with the overll fining tht moeling n opernt proceures were more effective thn socil-cognitive proceures, since the former proceures re usully much briefer n re likely to involve smller number of stuents. Bse on reviews of reserch by Greshm (1981, 1985), Schneier n Byrne (1985) n Mstropieri n Scruggs (1985-6), there ppers to be substntil support for the effectiveness of socil skills trining proceures in generl, n in prticulr for opernt n moeling proceures. Socil-cognitive proceures were foun to be less effective, especilly with young chilren. The focus of most socil-cognitive proceures on generlizble problem solving strtegies s oppose to more iscrete, observble behviorl skills mkes it ifficult to mesure post-intervention improvements in socil performnce ccurtely. Prcticl suggestions from the reserch literture for techers, prents n other iniviuls intereste in fcilitting the evelopment of socil skills in chilren inclue the extensive use of opernt methos to reinforce existing socil skills. The bsic opernt tctics inclue (1) the mnipultion of environmentl conitions to crete opportunities for socil interctions which prompt/cue socilly esire behvior in trget chil n (2) the mnipultion of consequences so tht socilly pproprite behvior is reinforce n socilly inpproprite behvior, whenever possible, is ignore rther thn punishe. In ition, moeling of pproprite socil behvior supplemente with some coching, feebck n reinforcement shoul be primry tctic in eveloping new socil behviors in chilren. Fcilitting generliztion of socil skills Berler et l. (1982) recommene tht socil skill interventions not be consiere vli unless generliztion to the nturl environment coul be emonstrte. Stokes n Ber (1977) n Michelson et l. (1983) ientifie severl proceures, referre to s generliztion fcilittors, which enhnce generliztion beyon the specific spects of n intervention. Exmples of generliztion fcilittors inclue : (1) teching behviors tht re likely to be mintine by nturlly occurring contingencies ; (2) trining cross stimuli (e.g. persons, setting) common to the nturl environment ; (3) fing response contingencies to pproximte nturlly occurring consequences ; (4) reinforcing ppliction of skills to new n pproprite situtions ; n (5) incluing peers in trining. By incorporting s mny of these fcilittors s possible into socil skill interventions, n by offering

9 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 intervention `booster' sessions t regulr intervls, mintennce n generliztion of skills will be enhnce. lssifying socil skill ifficulties n selecting interventions Most uthors gree tht socil incompetencies observe in chilren cn result from ifficulties in response cquisition or response performnce (Bnur, 1977). Greshm n Elliott (199) extene this two-wy clssifiction scheme to inclue res of socil skills problems, socil skills strengths n possible concurrent interfering problem behviors. As shown in Figure 1, this scheme of socil skill ifficulties istinguishes between whether or not chil knows how to perform the trget skill n the presence of interfering behviors (e.g. nxiety, ggressiveness). In ition, embee in Figure 1 re lists of tretments tht often hve been foun effective for the vrious problem types. This clssifiction scheme n its suggeste tretments re prt of Greshm n Elliott's (199) Socil Skills Rting System. The components of this clssifiction scheme re s follows : Socil skills cquisition eficits This socil skill problem chrcterizes chilren who hve not cquire the necessry socil skills to interct ppropritely with others or those who hve file to lern criticl step in the performnce of the skill. Direct instruction, moeling, behviorl rehersl n coching re frequently use to remeite socil skill cquisition eficits. Socil skills performnce eficits hilren with socil skills performnce eficit hve pproprite socil skills in their behvior repertoires, but fil to perform them t cceptble levels or t pproprite times. Typiclly, socil skills performnce eficit hs been moifie by mnipulting nteceents n consequences. Interventions hve inclue peer inititions, contingent socil reinforcement n group contingencies. Socil skills cquisition eficits with interfering problem behviors This socil skills problem escribes chil for whom n emotionl (e.g. nxiety, sness) n/or behviorl (e.g. verbl ggression, excessive movement) response(s) prevents skill cquisition. Anxiety is one such emotionl rousl response shown to prevent cquisition of pproprite coping behviors, prticulrly with respect to fers n phobis (Bnur, 1977). Hence, chil my not lern to interct effectively with others becuse socil nxiety inhibits socil pproch behvior. Impulsivity ( tenency towr short response ltencies) is nother emotionl rousl response tht cn hiner socil skill cquisition (Kenl) n Brswell, 1985). Interventions esigne to remeite r i Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining nxiety tht interferes with socil skills primrily involve emotionrousl reuction techniques, such s esensitiztion or flooing, pire with self-control strtegies, such s self-tlk, self-monitoring n self-reinforcement (Kenl) n Brswell, 1985 ; Meichenbum, 1977). Interventions tht cn help reuce overt behviors such s physicl or verbl ggression, inttentiveness or excess movements re often referre to s reuctive proceures (Lentz, 1988). These o interfering problem behviors Socil skills Direct instruction Moeling cquisition eficits Moeling oching Behviorl rehersl oching Interfering problem behviors Differentil reinforcement of low rte of response (DRL) Differentil reinforcement of other behvior (DR) Reuctive proceures to ecrese interfering problem behviors Socil skills pernt methos to pernt methos to performnce mnipulte nteceent or mnipulte nteceent or eficits consequent conitions to consequent conitions to increse the rte of increse the rte of existing behviors existing prosocil behviors Differentil reinforcement of low rte of response (DRL) Differentil reinforcement of other behvior (DR) i Reuctive proceures to f ecrese interfering problem i behviors i Socil skills Reinforcement proceures Reinforcement proceures strengths to mintin esire to mintin i esire t socil behvior socil behvior i se stuent s moel Reuctive proceures to for other stuents ecrese interfering problem i. behviors i Figure 1 A scheme for clssifying socil behvior problems n suggesting tretment techniques for such problems

10 School Psychology Interntionl (1991), ol. 12 inclue the use of reinforcement techniques (e.g. DR n DRL), groupcontingencies n mil versive techniques (e.g. reprimns, time-out, response cost, overcorrection). Thus, for socil skills cquisition eficits tht re ccompnie by significnt interfering behviors, the intervention objectives re to tech n increse the frequency of prosocil behvior n concurrently to ecrese or eliminte the interfering problem behvior. Socil skills performnce eficits with interfering problem behviors hilren with socil skill performnce eficit ccompnie by interfering problem behviors hve given socil skill in their behvior repertories, but performnce of the skill is hinere by n emotionl or overt problem behvior response n by problems in nteceent or consequent control. Self-control strtegies to tech inhibition ofinpproprite behvior, stimulus control trining to tech iscrimintion skills n contingent reinforcement to increse isply of pproprite socil behvior re often use to meliorte this socil skill problem. ccsionlly, when the interfering behviors persist, reuctive methos my lso be necessry. An implementtion frmework for socil skills ssessment n intervention A generl frmework for socil skills trining cn be escribe by the cronym DATE (Define-Assess-Tech-Evlute). First, behviors re efine n stte in observble terms. In ition, the conitions (nteceent n consequent) surrouning the behvior re lso efine. Secon, behviors re ssesse, preferbly vi multiple methos, incluing rting scles, irect observtions of the chil, interviews with techers n/or prents n occsionlly structure role ply to confirm eficits n to refine intervention plns. Thir, teching strtegies re prescribe to fit the stuent's nees s etermine by the ssessment results n the clssifiction tht best chrcterizes the socil skills eficit(s). Fourth, the effects of the teching proceures re evlute empiriclly with the ssessment methos use to select stuents n trget behviors. The DATE moel is pplie continuously to ech eficient socil behvior tht the stuent exhibits. The DATE moel cn be implemente by techer, psychologist or other specilist through five steps : (1) estblishing the nee for performing the behvior, (2) ientifying the specific behviorl components of the skill or tsk nlysis, (3) moeling the behvior using either live or filme proceures, (4) behvior rehersl n response feebck n (5) generliztion trining. These five steps represent n esilv implemente n generic pproch to teching socil behvior Elliott n Busse: Socil Skills Trining using the intervention proceures which hve consistently been foun to be most effective. The intervention options vilble for young chilren with socil skills eficit re numerous, but the mjority of effective interventions combine the mnipultion of nteceents or consequences with moeling/coching proceures. When chil's socil ifficulty results from lck of knowlege of prticulr skill, it is generlly necessry to use irect intervention tht involves moeling, coching n role plying techniques. onversely, when chil fils to perform socil behvior he/she is cpble of, it is likely tht interventions involving the mnipultion of nteceents n/or consequences will be successful. Summry In this rticle, we hve outline- how one's ssessment of socil skills cn be linke conceptully n prcticlly to n intervention pln, n hve escribe n reviewe reserch on three pproches to socil skills intervention or trining. These pproches were the behviorl pproch, the socil lerning pproch n the cognitive-behviorl pproch. The behviorl n socil lerning bse pproches hve been shown to le to the most effective interventions for eveloping skill builing interction behviors. The rticle conclue with the presenttion of moel, the DATE (Define-Assess-Tech-Evlute) moel, for implementing socil skills interventions. References Achenbch, T.M., Mconughy, S.H. n Howell,.T. (1987) 'hil/ Aolescent Behviorl n Emotionl Problems : Implictions of rossinformnt orreltions for Situtionl Specificity', Psychologicl Bulletin 11: Allen, K.E., Hrt, B.M., Buell, J.S., Hrris, F.R. n Wolf, M.M. (1964)'Effects of Socil Reinforcement on Isolte Behvior of ursery School hil', hil Development 35 : 7-9. Bnur, A. (1977) Socil Lerning Theory. Englewoo liffs, J : Prentice- Hll. Bnur, A. n Wlters, R.H. (1963) Socil Lerning n Personlity Development. ew York : Holt, Rhinehrt n Winston. Berler, E.S., Gross, A.M. n Drbmn, R.S. (1982) 'Socil Skills Trining with hilren : Procee with ution', Journl ofapplie Behvior Anlysis 15 : rtlege, G. n Milburn, J.F. (1986) Teching Socil Skills to hilren : Innovtive Approches, 2n en. ew York : Pergmon Press. Dietz, S. n Repp, A. (1973) 'Decresing lssroom Misbehvior through the se of DRL Scheules of Reinforcement', Journl of Applie Behvior Anlysis 6 : Elliott, S.. (1988) 'Acceptbility of Behviorl Tretments in Euctionl

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