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Social Skills for Children: Training Empirically-derived Target Behaviours

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Mark D. Weist ,
M. Christopher Borden ,
Jack W. Finney  and
Thomas H. Ollendick
Mark D. Weist
Affiliation:
University of Maryland School of Medicine
M. Christopher Borden
Affiliation:
Brown University Program in Medicine
Jack W. Finney
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University
Thomas H. Ollendick*
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University
*
Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute andStateUniversity, Blacksburg VA 24061-0436, USA
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Abstract

We evaluated the empirical validation model of target selection for two boys with interpersonal problems. Behaviours previously identified as distinguishing popular from rejected boys on a role-play measure of social behaviour were targeted for change in these boys who had histories of peer rejection. We trained three of these empirically-derived behaviours — appropriate body orientation, adequate speech intonation, and providing reasons for denying unreasonable requests — in a multiple-baseline-across-behaviours design. On a role-play measure of social behaviour, improvements in the targeted behaviours occurred upon, but not before, introduction of the intervention, confirming the controlling effects of the intervention. Behavioural improvements generalised to untrained role-play scenes and to a novel role-play partner, and were maintained for two of the three behaviours at 4- and 6-month follow-up assessments. The boys also showed improvements in parent-reported child behaviour from pre- to post-training. The study demonstrates use of an empirical approach to the selection of treatment targets for children.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 174 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1991

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References

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