Exploring the Moderating Effects of Cognitive Abilities on Social Competence Intervention Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Social competence deficits are prevalent in special education populations, impacting students with autism, emotional impairments, and those not ready to learn.
• Early adolescents (ages 11-14) with scholastic potential but social deficits require targeted interventions.
• Establishing the efficacy of social competence interventions is crucial for educational and developmental outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the efficacy of the Social Competence Intervention-Adolescents (SCI-A) program.
• To compare SCI-A's effectiveness against Business As Usual (BAU) school-based programming.
• To assess the impact of SCI-A on social competence behaviors in early adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A four-year cluster randomized trial (CRT) involving 146 students in SCI-A and 123 students in BAU.
• Intervention and BAU programming delivered by educational personnel.
• Student functioning assessed pre-, mid-, and post-intervention using direct observation and teacher ratings, analyzed with multilevel models.

Main Results:

• SCI-A students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in social performance compared to BAU students, controlling for baseline behavior and IQ.
• Medium effect sizes (d > .50) were observed for improvements in social cue awareness and appropriate interactions with peers and teachers.
• The intervention positively impacted students' ability to understand social cues and engage effectively with others.

Conclusions:

• The SCI-A program is an effective school-based intervention for enhancing social competence in early adolescents with identified deficits.
• Results indicate a medium effect size, suggesting practical significance for social skill development.
• Further research should explore moderators, mediators, and power for detecting subtler effects.