Frank M. Gresham

Interpreting Outcomes of Social Skills Training for Students with High-Incidence Disabilities

Social competence is particularly salient for students who are classified into one of the high-incidence disability groups such as specific learning disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Among the most popular of the instructional approaches for these students has been social skills training (SST). Various meta-analyses of the literature suggest that SST has not produced large, socially important, long-term, or generalized changes in social competence of students with high-incidence disabilities. Probable explanations for the weak effects in some meta-analyses are discussed and specific recommendations are offered for designing and producing more effective SST interventions.

Misguided Mainstreaming: The Case for Social Skills Training with Handicapped Children

This paper asserts that mainstreaming is based in part upon three faulty assumptions: (a) placement of handicapped children in regular classrooms will result in increased social interaction between handicapped and nonhandicapped children; (b) placement of handicapped children in regular classrooms will result in increased social acceptance of handicapped children by their nonhandicapped peers; and (c) mainstreamed handicapped children will model the behavior of their nonhandicapped peers because of increased exposure to them. A large body of research is reviewed which refutes these three assumptions. An alternative approach is suggested whereby handicapped children would be taught the requisite social skills for effective social interaction and peer acceptance. Social skills curricula for use by both special and regular education teachers are suggested for accomplishing this end.

Social Skills Training with Handicapped Children: A Review:

Behavioral techniques derived from social learning theory to training social skills are reviewed. Studies using both handicapped and nonhandicapped populations are included. The literature is divided into four broad areas for review purposes: (1) manipulation of antecedents, (2) manipulation of consequences, (3) modeling, and (4) cognitive-behavioral techniques. Issues such as conceptualization and definition of social skills, social skills assessment, and components of social skills are also considered. It is concluded that social skills training represents a potentially effective approach to successful mainstreaming of handicapped children. More research using between-groups designs, technique comparisons, discriminant analysis, and social validation of behavior changes is needed. The issues of generalization and maintenance are also discussed.

Social Competence and Affective Characteristics of Students With Mild Disabilities

Empirical research examining the social competence and affective functioning of children with mild disabilities was reviewed. Mild-disability groups included children variously classified as having specific learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, behavior disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Social competence was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that included social skills, adaptive behavior, and peer relationship variables. Children with mild disabilities were shown to have difficulties in negotiating both peer-related and teacher-related adjustments in school settings. Consistent with previous reviews, this review showed that children with mild disabilities had poorer social skills, exhibited more interfering problem behaviors, and were poorly accepted or rejected by peers. Conflicting evidence in the literature exists as it relates to the general self-esteem levels of various groups of students with mild disabilities. These findings were interpreted in terms of social comparison theory. The review concludes with a discussion of the methodological issues that should be addressed before the social competence and affective characteristics of children with mild disabilities can be understood more fully. These issues include sampling designs, heterogeneity of samples, influences of demographic variables, nosological error, and the paucity of available longitudinal research on these and related questions.

Social Skills Training: Should We Raze, Remodel, or Rebuild?.

The degree to which children and youth establish and maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers is the defining feature of social competence. Difficulties in social competence play a substantial role in social, psychological, and educational adjustment and often serve as the basis for intervention and remediation strategies. This article reviews past and present conceptualizations and summarizes narrative and meta-analytic reviews of social skills training (SST) outcome studies. Overall, modest effect sizes are reported in the meta-analytic literature (M = .35) suggesting that SST is a relatively weak intervention strategy, leading to only a 14% improvement in social functioning over chance (64% versus 50%). Three recommendations are offered as a blueprint for rebuilding SST: (1) improving assessment by considering the social validity and sensitivity of outcome measures; (2) matching social skills intervention strategies to specific social skills deficits; and (3) programming for functional rather than topographical generalization by adopting a contextual approach to teaching social behavior within a competing behaviors framework.

Comorbidity of Hyperactivity-Impulsivity-Inattention and Conduct Problems: Risk Factors in Social, Affective, and Academic Domains

Children showing a comorbid behavior pattern of hyperactivity-impulsivity-inattention and conduct problems (HIA + CP) were contrasted to children having only an internalizing and externalizing behavior pattern (I + E) and matched controls. Children displaying the HIA + CP behavior pattern were at greater risk on a number of outcome measures in social and academic domains beginning in Grade 3 and continuing into Grade 4. The most marked differences among the three groups were found on peer measures of rejection and friendship and teacher ratings of social skills. On average, almost two-thirds of the HIA + CP group were rejected by their peers compared to one-third of the I + E group and only 12.5% controls. Over 70% of the HIA + CP group had no reciprocated friendships from Grade 3 to Grade 4 compared to less than half of the I + E group and approximately one-fourth of controls. Contrary to much theorizing in the literature, the HIA + CP and I + E groups showed average levels of academic self-concept and did not differ from controls in on measures of social self-concept and academic self-concept and general self-esteem. These findings were interpreted in light of positive illusory biases and the established link between aggressive behavior and egotism. The current article offers partial support for Lynams (1996) notion of the “fledgling psychopath.”

Social Skills Interventions for Children

Children who exhibit social skills deficits experience short-term, and often long-term, negative consequences. Reasons for such deficits, which have treatment utility, are reviewed and a number of procedures for treating childrens social skills deficits are examined. In this article, these procedures are categorized into one of three broad and somewhat overlapping treatment approaches: operant conditioning, social learning, or cognitive-behavioral procedures. Descriptions of specific treatment procedures are provided, along with an examination of the effectiveness data, to support the various approaches to enhancing childrens social behavior. The research literature provides strong support for the use of operant and social learning techniques, particularly with preschool and elementary school children.

Social skills training for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: Validity considerations and future directions

This article provides an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This knowledge base is evaluated with respect to issues regarding construct, internal, external, and social validity of the SST literature. Research syntheses investigating construct validity suggest that the three domains of social interaction, prosocial behavior, and social-cognitive skills adequately represent the social skills construct. Internal validity analyses based on the results of six meta-analyses suggested that SST is an effective intervention strategy for students with EBD, showing a 64% improvement rate relative to controls using the Binomial Effect Size Display. External validity analyses showed that SST is effective across a broad range of behavioral difficulties, such as aggression externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, and antisocial behavior patterns. Some weaknesses were noted in the social validity of SST outcome measures, and recommendations are made for improvement in this area. Overall, SST is an effective and essential part of a comprehensive intervention program for students with EBD.

The Relationship Between Adaptive Behavior and Social Skills Issues in Definition and Assessment

Social skills and adaptive behavior represent two subdomains of the superordinate construct of social competence. Adaptive behavior is viewed as the effectiveness and degree to which an individual meets social/cultural standards of personal independence and social responsibility. Social skills represent behaviors which, in specific situations, predict important social outcomes for children and youth. This article presents a conceptualization of social competence relevant for school settings. Relationships between adaptive behavior and social skills are documented and a classification system for social competence deficits is provided. Assessment procedures for classification and intervention purposes will be described with special reference to commonly used adaptive behavior measures.

Full Inclusion: An Empirical Perspective.

It is argued that educational treatments of children with disabilities should be empirically validated. From this perspective the current press for full inclusion is examined against empirical evidence bearing on the major assertions of advocates for full inclusion. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are among the most difficult to include, and the unique problems presented by such children often are ignored by advocates for full inclusion. Arguments for full inclusion, particularly as they apply to children with emotional and behavioral disorders suffer from: (a) the failure to specify what constitutes full inclusion, (b) the weakness of relying on anecdotal reports and single case studies to validate the utility of full inclusion of all children with disabilities, and (c) the fact that the evidence that does exist fails to include children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Finally, evidence is summarized that contradicts the position that “more restrictive” placements are never beneficial and that regular class placement is always beneficial to all children with disabilities.