Social Behavior and Skills in Children (eBook)

Johnny L. Matson, Ph.D., Professor and Distinguished Research Master and Director of the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. He is the author of more than 450 publications, including 34 books. In addition, he is the editor-in-chief of two research journals, Research in Developmental Disabilities and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. He has served as an expert for the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and is past president of the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Division of the American Psychological Association. His research and clinical interests are in autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities.

Social Behavior and Skills in Children 1
Contents 4
Contributors 5
History and Overview 9
Introduction 9
Conceptualization of Social Behavior 9
Basic Definitions 9
Social Skills Classification and Domains 11
Assessment of Social Skills 12
Traditional Assessment of Social Skills 12
Contextual Approach to Social Skills Assessment 13
Applications with Children 14
Types of Interventions 14
Operant Techniques 14
Social Skills Training 15
Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training 16
Multicomponent Interventions 16
Other Aspects of Intervention Delivery 17
Range of Populations 17
Current State of the Research 19
Meta-analyses of Social Skills Interventions 19
Classification of Evidence-Based Treatments Targeting Social Skills 21
Summary and Future Directions 22
References 24
Theories of Social Competence from the Top-Down to the Bottom-Up: A Case for Considering Foundational Human Needs 30
Top-Down Approaches to Social Competence 30
Culturally Valued Attributes and Skills 31
Peer Regard Approaches 31
Effective Goal Attainment and Balancing the Self and Other 32
Aggression 33
SDT: Theory Building from the Bottom Up 34
Innate Needs 34
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation 34
SDT and Attachment Theory 35
A Bottom-Up Approach to Social Competence 35
Resource Control Theory 36
RCT & Aggression
RCT, Competence, Relatedness, and Autonomy 39
Implications for Children’s Social Development and Fostering Social Competence 39
Conclusion 41
References 41
Etiology and Relationships to Developmental Disabilities and Psychopathology 45
Introduction 45
Developmental Disabilities 45
Intellectual Disability 45
Symptoms of Intellectual Disability 45
Relationship Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 46
Autism Spectrum Disorders 47
Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders 47
Relationship Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 47
Mood and Anxiety Disorders 48
Mood Disorders 48
Symptoms 48
Relationship Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 49
Anxiety Disorders 51
Symptoms 51
Relationship Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 51
Externalizing Behavior Disorders 53
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) 54
Symptoms 54
Relation Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 54
Disruptive Behavior Disorders 56
Symptoms 56
Relationship Between Symptomatology and Social Skills 57
Other Disorders Impacting Social Skills 59
Conclusion & Future Research
References 61
General Methods of Assessment 66
Introduction 66
History of Assessment 67
Assessment Methods 67
Role-Play 67
Direct Behavior Observation 69
Rating Scales 69
MESSY 70
Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) 71
Home and Community-Based Social Behavior (HCBSB) 72
School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS) 72
Waksman Social Skills Rating Scale (WSSRS) 72
Age-Specific Rating Scales 72
Social Skills Inventory 72
Teenage Inventory of Social Skills (TISS) 73
Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) 73
Sociometrics 73
Self-Report 74
List of Social Situation Problems (LSSP) 74
Child Characteristics 75
Social Validity 75
Current Trends and Future Directions 76
Conclusions 77
References 77
General Methods of Treatment 81
Social Skills Treatment Overview 81
Current Guiding Theory of Social Skills Interventions 82
Methodological Issues in Social Skills Research 82
Age 83
Symbolic Modeling 83
Coaching 84
Techniques Used in Combination 85
Self-Control Training 87
Outcome Measures 88
Research Design 89
Generalization 90
Social Validity 90
Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies 91
Intervention Providers 92
Parents and Family 92
Peer-Mediated Interventions 94
Teachers 94
Promoting Generalization and Maintaining Treatment Efficacy 94
Current Issues and Future Directions 95
References 95
Challenging Behaviors 100
Chap6Sec1 100
Comorbidity and Social Skills Deficits 100
The Relationship Between Social Skills Deficits and Challenging Behavior 101
Acquisition Deficits 102
Performance Deficits 102
Fluency Deficits 103
Interfering or Competing Behavior 103
Aggression 103
Peer Status 104
Self-Injury 105
Stereotypies 105
Functional Assessment of Challenging Behaviors 105
Indirect Methods 106
Direct (Descriptive) Methods 106
Experimental/Traditional Functional Assessment 106
Training of Social Skills as Replacement Behaviors 107
Behavioral Social Skills Training 108
Social Stories 109
Cognitive-Based Programs 110
Multimodal Interventions 110
Replacement Behavior Training 111
Methodological Limitations 112
Future Directions 113
Conclusion 114
References 115
Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders 120
Autism Spectrum Disorders 120
Assessment of Social Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders 120
Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised 121
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Generic 122
Autism Spectrum Disorders - Diagnostic 122
Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire 123
Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters 124
PDD Behavior Inventory 124
The Social Responsiveness Scale 125
The Social Skills Rating System 126
General Review of Assessments 126
Treatments for Social Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders 127
Social Behaviors Addressed 128
Social Initiations 128
Responses 128
Conversational Behaviour 128
Reciprocal Interactions 129
Sociodramatic Play 129
Offering Help 129
Perspective-Taking 129
Intervention Formats 130
Naturalistic Behavioral Approaches 130
Self-Management 130
Social Skills Groups 130
Procedural Components 131
Scripts 131
Video Modeling 131
Surreptitious Tactile Prompting 132
Social Stories 132
Locus of Intervention 133
Adult-Mediated Interventions 133
Ecological Manipulations 134
Comparison Studies 134
Intervention for Older Children with ASDs 134
Generalization 135
Maintenance 135
Social Validity 135
Directions for Future Research on Treatment of Social Skills 136
Social Skill Versus Social Motivation 137
Conclusion 138
References 138
Intellectual Disability and Adaptive-Social Skills 144
Definitions of Intellectual Disability 144
Intellectual Functioning 144
Adaptive Behavior Functioning 144
Classification of Intellectual Disability 145
Etiology 145
Severity of the Intellectual Disability 145
Levels of Support Required 146
Tools for Assessing Adaptive-Social Skills 147
Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER) 147
Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Youngsters (MESSY) 147
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) 148
AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale-School Second Edition 148
Checklist of Adaptive Living Skills (CALS) 148
Intervention for Promoting Adaptive-Social Skills 149
Conclusions 156
References 157
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder 161
Definition of the Population 161
Prevalence 162
Etiology 164
Assessment of Social Skills 165
Adult Informants 165
Self-Report Strategies 165
Peers as Informants 166
Observational Assessment Techniques 166
Summary 167
Social Skills Problems Unique to ADHD 167
Magnitude of Social Impairment 168
Social Impairment in Adolescence 169
ADHD Subtype, Comorbidity, and Sex Considerations 169
ADHD Symptomotology 171
Other Cognitive and Emotional Biases 172
Stigma and Reputational Bias 173
Summary 174
Treatment for Social Dysfunction 174
First-Line Treatments for ADHD 174
Social Skills Training 176
Novel Directions for Treatment 177
Summary 178
Current Status and Future Directions 178
References 179
Evidence-Based Methods of Dealing with Social Deficits in Conduct Disorder 188
Conduct Disorder Criteria 188
The Etiology of Conduct Disorder 189
Biological Factors 190
Genetics 190
Neurophysiological Factors 190
Prenatal Predispositions 190
Children’s Individual Characteristics 191
Temperament 191
Callous-Unemotional Traits 191
Low Verbal Intelligence 191
Comorbid Psychological Factors 192
Psychosocial Factors 192
Family 192
Peers 192
Neighborhood 193
Etiology Summary 193
Rationale for the Assessment and Treatment of Conduct Disorder 194
The Assessment of Conduct Disorder 195
Goals of Assessment in the Context of Treatment 195
Methods of Assessment 195
Clinical Interviews 195
Rating Scales 196
Observations 197
Important Considerations in the Assessment of Conduct Disorder 198
Dimensions of Conduct Disorder 198
Comorbidity 199
Age Considerations 199
Gender Considerations 199
Risk Factors 200
The Effects of Labeling 200
Assessment Summary 200
Treatment of Conduct Disorder 201
Treatments That Have Empirical Support 201
Treatments for Young Children 202
Treatments for Children 204
Treatments for Adolescents 206
Other Treatments (Not Based on Age) 207
Prevention 208
Commonalities Among EBTs: Why Are They Effective? 209
Potentially Problematic Treatments 209
Considerations for Successful Intervention 211
Conclusions 212
References 212
Anxiety Disorders and Phobias 220
Introduction 220
Definition of the Population 220
Etiology and Prevalence 222
Etiology 222
Genetics 223
Temperament 223
Parent-Child Interaction 223
Prevalence 224
Social Skills Problems Unique to the Population 224
Assessment 227
Structured Diagnostic Interviews 227
Self-Report and Other-Report Questionnaires 228
Analogue Behavioral Observation (ABO) 231
Measures Specific to Social Skills/Social Competence 232
Summary and Recommendations for Assessment 232
Treatment 233
Exposure 233
Systematic Desensitization 234
Modeling 234
Contingency Management 234
Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques 235
Coping Cat 235
FRIENDS 236
Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children (SET-C) 236
Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS) 236
Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment for Adolescents (CBGT-A) 237
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment with and Without Parent Involvement 237
Brief Group Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Social Phobia 238
Modular Treatment of Anxiety 238
Conclusion 238
Current Status and Future Directions 239
References 240
Major Depression 245
Definition of the Population 245
Etiology and Prevalence 246
Prevalence 246
Preschoolers 247
Children 247
Adolescents 247
Etiology 247
Biological Factors 248
Genetics 248
Neurobiology 249
Environmental and Psychosocial Factors 249
Learned Helplessness 249
Social Learning Theory 250
Social Skills Problems Unique to the Population 251
Assessment 251
Interviews 252
Checklist/Rating Scales 253
Child Depression Inventory (CDI) 253
Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) 254
Children’s Depression Scale (CDS) 254
Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS) 255
Behavioral Observations 255
Interpersonal and Social 257
Treatment 258
Current Status and Future Directions 260
References 261
Medical and Physical Impairments and Chronic Illness 266
Definition of the Population 266
Etiology and Prevalence 267
Social Skills Problems Unique to the Population 268
Theoretical Models of Psychosocial Adjustment 268
Psychosocial Adjustment 269
Correlates of Psychosocial Adjustment 271
Social Functioning 271
Correlates of Social Functioning 272
Cognitive Impairment 273
Physical Restrictions and Interruptions in Daily Activity 274
Physical Appearance 274
Mediators and Moderators 275
Social Functioning in Children with Hearing Loss 276
Social Functioning in Children with Visual Impairments 276
Assessment 277
General Measures Developed for the General Population of Children and Adolescents 278
Social Functioning Measures Developed for the General Population of Children and Adolescents 279
Quality of Life Measures 284
Treatment 284
Psychological Interventions 284
Social Skills Interventions 285
Peer Interventions Targeting Illness Factors 287
Social Skills Interventions in Children with Hearing Loss 288
Social Skills Interventions in Children with Visual Impairments 288
Current Status and Future Directions 289
References 290
Index 299