Social Skills Interventions with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Quantitative Synthesis of Single-Subject Research
Title
Social Skills Interventions with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Quantitative Synthesis of Single-Subject Research
Author
Mathur, S.R., Kavale, K.A., Quinn, M.M., Forness, S.R., & Rutherford, R.B.
Source
Behavioral Disorders, 23(3), 193-201.
Year Published
1998
Background
One of the defining characteristics of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is a deficit in social skills. Their lack of interpersonal skills leads to problems forming and maintaining relationships with peers, and often start cycles of peer rejection, withdrawal, social isolation, and loneliness. Over the years many programs have been designed to teach social skills through direct instruction, modeling, role playing, and practice. Those who support these programs believe that, if students can master basic social skills such as greeting people, making conversation, or handling anger in the classroom, they will be able to generalize those skills to other situations they encounter in their daily lives. However, research on the effectiveness of social skills interventions has been mixed.
Research Questions
This synthesis sought to provide a clear and impartial evaluation of the size and effectiveness of social skills interventions for students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD).
Findings
- Overall, the data suggested that social skills instruction could enhance social interaction skills.
- However, many social skills interventions were only mildly effective for preschoolers.
- Students maintained their social skills across time, but were less successful at generalizing their social skills from one peer or setting to another.
- Social interaction skills were more responsive to interventions than were social communication skills.
- Students who were at risk for EBD or categorized as delinquents responded more positively to social skills interventions than did students identified as having either EBD or autism.
Conclusion/Recommendations
This meta-analysis found that social skills instruction has a modest effect on
social interaction skills (e.g., appropriate facial expression or voice tone, inviting someone to play, sharing, etc.) and
communication skills (e.g., asking and responding to questions, expressing one’s point of view, complimenting others) of students with EBD. Looking at the two categories of skills separately, researchers have found that instructing students in social interaction skills is more effective than teaching them communication skills.
A possible reason for this outcome may be the fact that social interaction interventions use student peers to prompt, initiate, and reinforce students, which does not occur in communication skills training. Alternatively, this outcome could be due to the complexity and variability of social communication, which makes it much more difficult to teach. Interestingly, students categorized as at risk for EBD or as delinquents appear to benefit more from social skills interventions than do students identified as having either EBD or autism.
More research needs to be conducted on which students benefit most from social skills interventions, looking at such variables as disability, age, and IQ, all of which appeared to have been influences in this study. More examination of how they influence outcomes, however, is necessary.