Effectiveness of social skills training for children with behavior problems : maintenance of skills

Abstract EN

-Objectives : The social skills training program for children with behavior problems attending inpatient/day care program was evaluated in term of maintenance of skills one year later.

Methods : Eight boys, aged 10-14 received 11 sessions of skills training twice weekly for 6 weeks.

The sessions included topics related to classroom behavior, effective communication, problem solving and coping with stress.

The study of participant skills performance was measured by parents and teachers prior to and one year following training.

Results : Both parents and teachers reported significant increase in the frequency of use of these skills at 6 weeks, while parents reported maintenance of improvement a year later.

Conclusion : Social skills training is an important additional treatment to children with conduct problems.

It is recommended that such training should be introduced in school curriculum as part of whole schools initiative designed to support the healthy psychosocial development of the child