Social Skills Training Program Research Articles

Social skills training program to prevent alcohol consumption in university students

In the University of Oriente (UO) of Santiago de Cuba, recent diagnoses made by specialists of the Department of Psychology demonstrated in the last years an increase in the index of students that consume alcoholic beverages, the objective of this investigation was to develop a program of training in social skills that would contribute to the prevention of alcohol misuse, the methods used were intervention, where 16 students participated and was carried out through three stages. In the first, the initial diagnosis was made by applying the Goldstein social skills questionnaire, the questionnaire for the Identification of alcohol-related disorders and a group interview, then the program was designed and applied and the final phase was evaluated. The changes that emerged in the group after the intervention. The pattern of alcohol risk consumption was initially obtained, there was a prevalence in the low level of development of social skills and a limited knowledge about the harmful effects of their consumption. After the intervention, the majority of the students reached a high level of social skills development and the social consumption pattern prevailed in the group. Favorable results were obtained for the reduction of undue alcohol consumption, where adolescents reached a high level of skill development and managed to reduce the amount and frequency of their consumption.

Effect of social skills training program on self- esteem and aggression among children in residential institutions in Port Said City

There is now an abundance of global evidence demonstrating serious developmental and psychological problems associated with placement in residential care which reflected in the form of poor self-esteem, aggressive behavior, academic failure and later on, personality disorder.

Effect of social skills training program on self- esteem and aggression among children in residential institutions in Port Said City

Effect of social skills training program on self- esteem and aggression among children in residential institutions in Port Said City

Social Cognitive Reinforcement Program for Children with Social Communication Disorders

Objectives The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a social cognitive reinforcement program for children with social communication disorders and to substantiate its effects by comparing it with social skills training programs. Methods Twenty-one children with social communication disorders were selected through CCC-2, K-SCQ, K-WISC-III and clinical interviews. Children were randomly assigned to each of two experimental groups, and control group. Experimental group 1 received 10 sessions of the social cognitive reinforcement program, whereas experimental group 2 received 10 sessions of a social skills training program. No interventions were provided to the control group. Results and Conclusion The results of this study are as follows. First, when compared to the results of the other groups' post-tests by groups, experimental group 1 displayed significant differences in Stroop, digit span and Reading the Mind in the Eyes tests, as well as comprehension, nonverbal communication, self-assertion, and self-control. Experimental group 1 was also demonstrated a significant increase in the scores for CCTT-2, picture arrangement, read the mind, and picture completion. Second, in a three-month follow-up, the experimental group 1 showed a significant differences in executive function, Reading the Mind in the Eyes test results, picture arrangement, mind reading, picture completion, pragmatic communication, and social skills. Keywords: social communication disorders, social cognitive reinforcement program, social cognition, executive function, communication skill, children

The acceptability and feasibility of a novel virtual reality based social skills training game for schizophrenia: Preliminary findings

Social impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia that presents a major barrier toward recovery. Some of the psychotic symptoms are partly ameliorated by medication but the route to recovery is hampered by social impairments. Since existing social skills interventions tend to suffer from lack of availability, high-burden and low adherence, there is a dire need for an effective, alternative strategy. The present study examined the feasibility and acceptability of Multimodal Adaptive Social Intervention in Virtual Reality (MASI-VR) for improving social functioning and clinical outcomes in schizophrenia. Out of eighteen patients with schizophrenia who enrolled, seventeen participants completed the pre-treatment assessment and 10 sessions of MASI-VR, but one patient did not complete the post-treatment assessments. Therefore, the complete training plus pre- and post-treatment assessment data are available from sixteen participants. Clinical ratings of symptom severity were obtained at pre- and post-training. Retention rates were very high and training was rated as extremely satisfactory for the majority of participants. Participants exhibited a significant reduction in overall clinical symptoms, especially negative symptoms following 10 sessions of MASI-VR. These preliminary results support the feasibility and acceptability of a novel virtual reality social skills training program for individuals with schizophrenia.

Changes and Growth of Asperger Syndrome Children and Parents Participating in Social Skills Training Program

Changes and Growth of Asperger Syndrome Children and Parents Participating in Social Skills Training Program

グローバル社会に求められる理系人材のソーシャル・スキル養成を目指したプログラムに関する研究―プログラムの開発と評価に着目して―

グローバル社会に求められる理系人材のソーシャル・スキル養成を目指したプログラムに関する研究―プログラムの開発と評価に着目して―

노년기 사회기술향상 프로그램의 효과

본 연구는 노인을 대상으로 사회기술향상 프로그램의 효과를 알아보기 위해 수행되었다. 사회기능은 노화가 진행되면서 인지기능과 함께 감퇴하는 양상을 보이는데, 본 연구에서는 정서 및 마음 읽기, 공감하기, 표현하기, 인지훈련 등으로 구성된 총 10회기의 사회기술향상 프로그램을 실시하여 사회기술의 기반이 되는 인지기능만 다룬 프로그램을 시행한 비교집단 및 아무런 처치를 하지 않은 통제집단과 그 효과를 비교하였다. 참가자는 총 86명으로, 실험집단 30명(M=72.17세, SD=4.02), 비교집단 29명(M=75.00세, SD=5.78), 통제집단 27명(M=70.67세, SD=3.23)이었고, 사전, 사후, 추후검사를 실시하여 정서지능, 공감, 감정표현, 정서상태, 정서 및 마음 읽기에 대한 평가 점수 차이를 분석하였다. 프로그램 종료 직후에 실시한 사후검사와 종료 한 달 후에 실시한 추후검사를 통해 실험집단은 비교 및 통제집단에 비해 정서지능의 일부 하위 영역, 공감능력 및 마음 읽기 척도 점수가 향상되었으며 주관적 행복감이 증가하고 우울감이 감소한 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구결과는 본 프로그램이 노년기 사회기술의 향상 및 유지에 도움이 될 수 있음을 시사한다. 논의에서 본 연구의 의의, 제한점, 추후연구에 대해 기술하였다.

ELT MENTORS’ AND MENTEES’ AWARENESS LEVELS OF SOCIAL SKILLS IN THEIR PROFESSION

The debate over the qualifications that a teacher should have has long been going on and the discussions among scholars have gone far beyond academic skills of teachers as a result of emerging concepts, one of which is the social skills. In the field of English language teaching, these skills seem crucial as the learning environment additionally causes difficulty for the learners since they both try to learn a language and try to overcome their fears and anxiety at the same time. It becomes more crucial for the language teachers to provide a fruitful and most importantly relaxing environment in which social and lifelong learning can take place. Similarly, for the English teacher mentors and mentees who continuously hold conversations and are in the process of planning and decision making about building self- esteem and boosting motivation; setting goals and finding the best ways to achieve goals; coping with every possible situation in the language classroom, having social skills seem to be of great importance. The purpose of this study is to deal with the first step of a social skills training program for English mentors and mentees; and specifically search into the level of awareness of English teacher mentors and mentees towards social skills in teaching. The study aims to shed light on how to integrate social skills development training into teacher training curriculum in the field of English Language Teaching Article visualizations:

Internalizing behavior disorders symptoms reduction by a social skills training program among Chinese students: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a social skills training program for Chinese students' internalizing behavior disorders symptoms reduction. Additionally, the study aimed to clarify whether the use of social skills training program would lead to better outcome than the use of daily usual program. Methods: Our RCT study randomly assigned 29 students who were suspected of internalizing behavior disorders to an intervention group in which students received a cognitive- behavioral approach-based social skills training program (n = 16) or to a control group with daily usual program during the period (n = 13). Results: The analyses suggest that students receiving the social skills training program reported a significantly decrease of anxiety, depression and withdrawal symptoms during the end of the intervention and follow-up interval than did students in the control group. Conclusion: cognitive- behavioral approach-based social skills interventions may help increase the sustainability of outcome after treatment for internalizing behavior disorders symptoms.

F213. THE EFFECTS OF GROUP INTEGRATIVE ARTS THERAPY BASED ON SOCIAL SKILL TRAINING ON THE SOCIAL ADAPTIVE FUNCTION, EMPOWERMENT AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN INPATIENTS WITH CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA

BackgroundThe object of this study was to investigate the effects of group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training on communication, social adaptive function, and subjective well-being in inpatients with chronic schizophrenia.MethodsAmong the 125 patients who had been hospitalized in the H mental hospital in S city after being diagnosed with schizophrenia by psychiatrists according to DSM-IV, 72 patients were selected by inclusion criteria and 48 patients were randomly assigned into an experimental group(n=16), comparative group(n=16), and control group(n=16). During this study, 4 patients from each group dropped out. The final subjects of each groups were 12 patients. The experimental group followed a 60 minutes long social skill training based on group integrative arts therapy program for twice a week and 20 times in total. The Comparative group followed a social skill training program only for 60 minutes twice a week for 20 times in total. The control group received no treatment. To assess the social adaptive function, empowerment, subjective well-being of the subjects, Communication Competence Scale(CCS), Empowerment Scale(ES) and Korean Modification of Subjective Well-Being Scale(KmSWN) were used as subjective measuring. Assertiveness Observation Evaluation Scale(AOES), Social Adaptive Functioning Scale(SAFS), and Nurses’ Observation Scale of Inpatient Evaluation-30(NOSIE-30) were also used as objective measuring that were rated by nurses or social workers at the mental hospital. One-way ANOVA and Chi-Square Test were performed to check differences among groups homogeneity. Mixed ANOVA and Sheffe test were used to find the effect of group integrative arts therapy in the differences among groups.ResultsFirst, there was no statistically significant difference except non-verbal communication of CCS among three groups in homogeneity test of sociodemographic and clinical variables.2nd, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found to significantly increase the communication of experimental group more than comparative group, and that of comparative group more than the control group.3rd, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found to significantly increase the assertiveness of the experimental group and comparative group more than control groups.4th, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found to significantly increase the social adaptive functioning of the experimental group more than comparative group, and that of the comparative group more than the groups.5th, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found to significantly increase the NOSIE-30 of the experimental group and the comparative group more than control group. NOSIE-positive and irritability of NOSIE-30 in the comparative group was increased more than those of the experimental and the control groups.6th, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found to significantly increase the empowerment of the experimental group more than that of the comparative and the control group.7th, the group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training was found not to significantly increase the subjective well-being in all of the experimental, comparative and control groups.DiscussionThe group integrative arts therapy based on social skill training is found to significantly enhance the social adaptive function and empowerment of inpatients with chronic schizophrenia than social skill training. These results suggest that group integrative arts therapy could be utilized as effective mental rehabilitation intervention program for inpatients with chronic schizophrenia.

Increasing Behavioral Variability and Social Skill Accuracy in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Although social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often addresses deficits in social communication, restricted and repetitive social behaviors are less frequently targeted in the literature. The present study evaluated a manualized social skills training program, modified to incorporate lag schedules of reinforcement, to promote appropriate and variable responding in three children in a school setting. Participants attended social skills once weekly, with probes of social skills taking place daily. A multiple baseline design across target skills was used to determine intervention efficacy. Results of the study indicated that the social skills curriculum incorporating lag schedules of reinforcement resulted in substantial increases in the number of appropriate and variable responses demonstrated by participants during each probe session, as well as the number of appropriate and variable responses demonstrated overall.

Effects of theory of mind performance training on reducing bullying involvement in children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.

Bullying involvement is prevalent among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the effects of theory of mind performance training (ToMPT) on reducing bullying involvement in children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD. Children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD completed ToMPT (n = 26) and social skills training (SST; n = 23) programs. Participants in both groups and their mothers rated the pretraining and posttraining bullying involvement of participants on the Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire. The paired t test was used to evaluate changes in bullying victimization and perpetration between the pretraining and posttraining assessments. Furthermore, the linear mixed-effect model was used to examine the difference in the training effect between the ToMPT and SST groups. The paired t test indicated that in the ToMPT group, the severities of both self-reported (p = .039) and mother-reported (p = .003) bullying victimization significantly decreased from the pretraining to posttraining assessments, whereas in the SST group, only self-reported bullying victimization significantly decreased (p = .027). The linear mixed-effect model indicated that compared with the SST program, the ToMPT program significantly reduced the severity of mother-reported bullying victimization (p = .041). The present study supports the effects of ToMPT on reducing mother-reported bullying victimization in children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD.

Effect of School-Based Social Skills Training Program on Peer Relationships: Preliminary Study.

Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a school-based social skills training program on peer relationships in children and adolescents and to assess the plan for effective school-based mental health services.Methods:The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Promotion Team of Bugok National Hospital conducted 7-sessioned school-based social skills training for elementary and middle school students (n=90). Changes in peer relationships were evaluated before and after application of the program using a name generator question.Results:The social skills training program increased peer relations, indicating significant changes in social network indices.Conclusion:The social skills training program positively influenced peer relationships. The school-based social skills training program can be expected to have positive effects on school-based mental health services. Future investigation is needed to validate the long term effects of this program.

Consideration of Constructs for the Social Skill Training Program Development for Children with ADHD Tendency

Consideration of Constructs for the Social Skill Training Program Development for Children with ADHD Tendency

Social Cognitive Skills Training for Psychosis With Community-Based Training Exercises: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Impairments in social cognition are key determinants of poor functioning in psychosis and an important new target for treatment development. Initial studies support the feasibility and efficacy of training interventions for social cognition, but have been small and have had substantial methodological limitations. This report describes the largest rigorously controlled study of a social cognitive treatment to date. We evaluated the efficacy of a refined version of the 24-session Social Cognitive Skills Training (SCST) program, and whether adding in vivo training sessions in community settings would enhance generalization to functional improvements. One hundred thirty-nine outpatients with psychotic disorders were randomly assigned to one of 3 time- and format-matched conditions: (1) SCST plus in vivo community-based training, (2) SCST plus clinic-based training, or (3) Illness management control condition. SCST targeted the domains of emotion processing, social perception, attributional bias, empathy, and mentalizing. Assessments of social cognition, nonsocial cognition, symptoms, and functioning were completed at baseline, mid-treatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up. On the primary social cognitive outcome measures, there was significant, durable SCST-related improvement in facial emotion identification. There was also a significant SCST benefit for emotional intelligence and an in vivo training effect for empathy, though these improvements were not durable. Further, there were no overall or in vivo-related changes in functioning. This study bolsters and extends support for the efficacy of SCST in a relatively large and rigorously controlled trial, although our effort to enhance generalization to functional improvements through in vivo community-based training was not successful.

Factors associated with return to work in patients with long-term disabilities due to neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders

ABSTRACTThe current study explores factors predicting return to work in a sample of patients with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders who have attended a prevocational readiness and social skills training programme many years after trauma. Participants were community-dwelling adults with long-term disabilities (N = 67). Results of univariate analyses followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that both pre-injury (prior) and post-injury (current) factors influenced the likelihood of employment in our sample: prior employment, current employment readiness, current cognitive competence (particularly memory and executive functioning) and emotional adjustment. Our findings demonstrate that both pre-trauma and current factors interact in predicting return to work not only for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but also for a broader group of patients with long-term disabilities due to a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. Thus, our findings provide preliminary support for ongoing long-term management of individuals with long-term disabilities and warrant close attention of future investigators to potential benefits of cognitive remediation, psychotherapy and vocational rehabilitation in terms of maintenance of initial gains and increased probability of return to work many years after trauma.

Effects of Social Skill Training Program on Social Skills of Young People

This research was done in order to investigate the effects of the social skill training program on the social skill levels of young people in the age of military service in Cyprus. The sample of the investigation consists of 68 young people, who were applied to the military service in 2015. In order to determine social skill levels of the participants, Social Skill Inventory (SSI) was used. And the effects of the social skill training program on the social skill levels of participants were analyzed by the experimental method, which was based on pre-test and post-test model. As a result of the comparison, there were significant differences found between the pre-test scores of the test group before the execution of social skill training program and post-test scores after the execution of social skill training program. In the light of the data, it was concluded that the social skill training program has a positive impact on the social skill level of participants.

Razlike u socijalnim vještinama i kompetenciji prosvjetnih radnika u školama i dječjim vrtićima u odnosu na odabrane socio-demografske varijable

Uspješan prosvjetni radnik mora, uz profesionalnu (stručnu), posjedovati i socijalnu kompetenciju(emocionalne i socijalne vještine). Cilj istraživanja je utvrđivanje razlika u socijalnim vještinama ikompetencijama prosvjetnih radnika Srednjobosanskog i Zeničko-dobojskog kantona u odnosuna: dob, radni staž, stupanj obrazovanja te vrstu zanimanja prosvjetnog radnika. Ispitana su272 sudionika različitih prosvjetnih profila iz privatnih ili javnih odgojno-obrazovnih ustanova,primjenom Upitnika odgojiteljskih kompetencija te Inventara socijalnih vještina. Utvrđeno jepostojanje statistički značajnih razlika u skupu socijalnih vještina i kompetenciji, prema sociodemografskimobilježjima: stupnju obrazovanja sudionika, dobi, radnom iskustvu i vrstizanimanja. Sudionici dobne grupe u rasponu 31 - 40 godina imaju najveću emocionalnu kontrolu.U emocionalnoj i socijalnoj kontroli prednjače sudionici s visokom stručnom spremom. Radnonajneiskusniji sudionici superiorni su u vještinama emocionalne kontrole i socijalne izražajnosti.Direktori su superiorni u odnosu na ostale profile zanimanja u socijalnoj izražajnosti i socijalnojkontroli. Stoga programe treninga socijalnih vještina treba prilagoditi socio-demografskomprofilu prosvjetnog radnika.

Addressing social skills deficits in adults with Williams syndrome

BackgroundIndividuals with Williams syndrome (WS) are hypersocial; yet, they experience social difficulties and trouble with relationships. This report summarizes findings from three studies examining the social functioning of adults with WS and the feasibility of a social skills training program for adults with WS (SSTP-WS) through the examination of performance on initial lesson plans. MethodStudy 1: 114 parents of adults with WS completed the Social Responsiveness Scale-2. Study 2: 10 adults with WS and 12 of their parents participated in focus groups to further describe the deficits identified in Study 1 and to discuss a SSTP-WS. Study 3: 30 adults with WS were randomly assigned to 2 lessons on either conversations or relationships and pre-post change in social skills knowledge was assessed. ResultsStudy 1 indicates adults with WS experience severe social impairments in social cognition, and mild-moderate impairments in social awareness and social communication. Qualitative results in Study 2 indicate a SSTP-WS should address conversation skills and relationships. In Study 3, participants showed gains in social skills knowledge following completion of lessons. ImplicationsA SSTP-WS may be beneficial for adults with WS. Future research should describe the social needs of individuals with WS at different ages and should further develop a SSTP-WS.