Maeda J. Galinsky

Social Information-Processing Skills Training to Promote Social Competence and Prevent Aggressive Behavior in the Third Grades.

This article describes a school-based study designed to promote social competence and reduce aggressive behavior by strengthening childrens skills in processing social information and regulating emotions. Three successive cohorts of 3rd graders (N = 548) from 2 schools participated. In 2000-2001, children received a routine health curriculum; in 2001-2002, students received the Making Choices: Social Problem Solving Skills for Children (MC) program; and in 2002-2003, children received MC supplemented with teacher and parent activities. Compared with children in the routine condition, children in both MC conditions were rated lower on posttest social and overt aggression and higher on social competence. Moreover, they scored significantly higher on an information-processing skills posttest. The findings suggest that prevention programs can strengthen social- emotional skills and produce changes in aggressive behavior.

Steps in intervention research: Designing and developing social programs

This article describes a 5-step model of intervention research. From lessons learned in our work, we develop an outline of core activities in designing and developing social programs. These include (a) develop problem and program theories; (b) design program materials and measures; (c) confirm and refine program components in efficacy tests; (d) test effectiveness in a variety of practice settings; and (e) disseminate program findings and materials. Last, using a risk and protective factor perspective, we discuss the adaptation of interventions for new settings and populations.

Conduct Problems and Peer Rejection in Childhood: A Randomized Trial of the Making Choices and Strong Families Programs

This article discusses the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention designed to disrupt developmental processes associated with conduct problems and peer rejection in childhood. Compared with 41 children randomized to a wait list control condition, 45 children in an intervention condition received a social skills training program. At the same time, their parents participated in an in-home family intervention. Compared with control group children, intervention children demonstrated significant improvements on five of six outcome measures. Differences between the experimental and control groups suggest the programs strengthen children’s prosocial behavior, promote their ability to regulate emotions, and increase social contact with peers. Intervention also was associated with significant improvements in classroom comportment and decreases in relational aggression, a measure of coercion in peer relationships. The findings are consistent with those of other programs effective in interrupting risk processes associated with conduct problems in childhood and early adolescence.

School-Based Skills Training to Prevent Aggressive Behavior and Peer Rejection in Childhood: Evaluating the Making Choices Program

This paper reports findings from an evaluation of a school-based prevention program, called Making Choices, which was designed to decrease childhood aggression and peer rejection by teaching children social problem solving and relationship enhancement skills. Using a pre- to post-test control group design, 51 third graders received the intervention program and 50 received the no-intervention control condition. Controlling for pretest scores, children who received the Making Choices intervention had significantly higher scores on social contact, cognitive concentration, and displayed significantly lower overt aggression. Important moderation effects surfaced, indicating that the intervention differentially benefitted high-risk children.

Meeting Practice Needs: Conceptualizing the Open-Ended Group

Open-ended groups are an important part of the everyday practice of social workers. In many settings, clients join groups in progress and attend as many sessions as their needs warrant. Professionals lead openended groups in general and psychiatric hospitals, social services departments, mental health centers and family service agencies, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, residential treatment facilities, nursing and maternity homes, and prisons. Further, many self-help endeavors such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Parents Anonymous, and Recovery, Inc. take place in open-ended groups. The professional literature and conversations with practitioners attest to the number and variety of open-ended groups. 1 Patterns of implementation and attendance vary from waiting-room groups with almost a complete turnover every session to groups that endure for years with occasional revisions in composition. The important theme of changing membership does, however, serve to link these groups together conceptually.

Introducing Students to Computer-Based Group Work Practice

Given the increasing use of technology for linking individuals and groups, it is imperative that educators consider how to teach students about the potential of computers for conducting social group work practice. This article describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a class session aimed at increasing the comfort and competence of students with computer-based client and task groups. The session was centered on a simulation of a computer group, supplemented with lecture, class discussion, and readings. Results indicated that this combination of experiential and cognitive instruction increased students’ knowledge, comfort, and likelihood of using computer groups.

A Primer for the Design of Practice Manuals: Four Stages of Development.

Treatment manuals are increasingly being used to guide interventions with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. However, little is known about best practices in designing manuals. We describe a process that provides for the development of manuals and specifies the means by which manuals can be adapted for practice conditions and constraints. Manual development is conceptualized as comprising four systematic and recursive stages: (a) formulation, (b) revision, (c) differentiation, and (d) translation. We discuss issues and challenges in developing manuals that are responsive to a range of factors that influence social work practice, including advances in knowledge, the influence of evidence-based practice, the needs of individual clients, and contingencies linked to organizational policies, procedures, and leadership.

Early Development and Pilot Testing of a Problem-Solving Skills-Training Program for Children

This pilot study examined the impact of a prototype problem-solving skills-training program, Making Choices, on proximal outcomes in 70 6th-grade students. Method: Students received three components of Making Choices and completed pretest and posttest measures of skills on each component. Paired-sample t tests were used to assess proximal effects. Baseline measures were used to identify four subgroups of children, and differences in skill acquisition across subgroups were assessed. Results: Students displayed significantly higher scores at posttest on measures of two of three proximal skills. Nonaggressive-accepted and aggressive-accepted students displayed stronger skills at posttest, and aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-rejected students failed to show significant gains. Conclusions: Results provided preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of Making Choices and guided refinement of the prototype program.

Creating Community Through Telephone and Computer Groups: Theoretical and Practice Perspectives

ABSTRACT Telephone and computer groups are a productive way to conduct groups, especially when barriers to attending face-to-face groups exist. The literature, however, offers few guidelines for facilitating these groups and little is known about how extensively they are used. This article discusses conceptual differences among face-to-face, telephone conference call, and computer-assisted groups. It reports the results of a survey of members of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups about their experiences with telephone and computer groups and their views about these groups. Finally, it discusses the implications of the findings and suggests guidelines for practice.

Can Open-Ended Groups Move Beyond Beginnings?

Practitioners often question whether open-ended groups can move beyond formative issues. A survey of 116 open-ended groups suggests some open-ended groups do have potential for development beyond an initial stage. A toolfor assessing accomplishment of beginning tasks and survey results are presented with discussion of implications for clinical practice.