Abstract
The present study investigated the hypothesis that social skills training is more effective in increasing socially acceptable behaviour in adolescents than is a generalized or non-specific form of group therapy. Forty-two subjects were selected to participate in the study from among adolescents referred for group therapy at two youth guidance clinics in Brisbane, Australia. The 23 males and 19 females were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: a social skills training group, a non-specific therapy group and a waiting-list-for-therapy (control) condition. All subjects were assessed before and after treatment on five measures of social skills. Subjects in the social skills training group showed significant improvements on three of these measures while the non-specific therapy and waiting-list control groups showed no specific changes on any of the measures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Braukmann, G.J., Maloney, D.M., Fixen, D.L. & Wolf, M.M. (1974). Analysis of a selection interview training package for predelinquents at Achievement Place. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 1, 30–42.
Freedman, B.J., Rosenthal, L., Donahoe, C.P., Schlundt, D.G. & McFall, R.M. (1978). A social-behavioral analysis of skill deficits in delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent boys. Journal of Consul ting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 1448–1462.
Gaffney, l.R. & McFall, R.M. (1981). A comparison of social skills in delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent girls using a behavioral role-playing inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 959–967.
Kifer, T.E., lewis, M.A., Green, D.R. & Phillips, E.L. (1974). Training predelinquent youths and their parents to negotiate conflict situations, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7, 357–364.
lindsay, W.R., Symons, R.S. & Sweet, T. (1979). A programme for teaching social skills to socially inept adolescents: description and evaluation. Journal of Adolescence, 2, 215–218.
Iowe, M.R. & Cautela, J.R. (1978). A self-report measure of social skill. Behavior Therapy, 9, 535–544.
Maloney, D.M., Harper, T.M., Braukmann, C.J., Fixen, D.L., Phillips, E.L. & Wolf, M.M. (1976). Effects of training predelinquent girls on conversation and posture behaviors by teaching-parents and juvenile peers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 127–139.
Ollendick, T. H. & Hersen, M. (1979). Social skills training for juvenile delinquents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 547–554.
Sarason, I.G. & Ganzer, V.J. (1973). Modeling and group discussion in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 20, 442–449.
Spence, S. H. & Marzillier, J.S. (1981). Social skills training with adolescent male offenders. IT. Short-term, long-term and generalized effects. Behavior Research and Therapy, 19, 349–368.
Thorndike, R. M. (1978). Correlational Procedures for Research. New York: Gardner Press.
Trower, P. (1978). Skills training for adolescent social problems: a viable treatment alternative? Journal of Adolescence, 1, 319–329.
Werner, J.S., Minkin, N. & Minkin, B. (1975). Intervention package: an analysis to prepare juvenile delinquents for encounters with police officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2, 22–36.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mckenna, J.G., Gaffney, L.R. An evaluation of group therapy for adolescents using social skills training. Current Psychological Research 2, 151–159 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03186755
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03186755