Teaching social skills to isolated children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Social Development
• Intervention Studies

Background:

• Socially isolated children often lack crucial social skills.
• Previous research identified specific social skills differentiating popular from unpopular children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a social skill training program on socially isolated children.
• To assess changes in sociometric position and peer interaction quality, frequency, and distribution.

Main Methods:

• A social skill training program was developed based on prior research.
• Time-series analyses examined peer interaction frequency and distribution.
• Two isolated children received training; two control children had equivalent adult time.

Main Results:

• Treated children showed significant improvement in sociometric position 9 weeks post-intervention.
• No significant change in total peer interaction frequency was observed in the treatment group.
• Treated children redistributed their social interactions, while control children tended to withdraw.

Conclusions:

• Social skill training can positively impact the social standing of isolated children.
• Redistribution of social interaction, not just frequency, is a key indicator of successful intervention.
• Total peer interaction frequency may be an insensitive measure for assessing social skill intervention outcomes.