Social Skills Training and Assessment with Children: A Cognitive-Social Learning Approach

Adolescence is a difficult period for many youth, and deficits in social skills may exacerbate the myriad of problems these youth must confront. One recent approach to dealing with youth problems is social skills training. This approach emphasizes training adolescents in specific prosocial alternative responses for problematic situational interactions. Research has demonstrated that social skills training (SST) can lead to behavioral and cognitive change in youth. However, people do not know whether an emphasis on the cognitive might enhance maintenance and generalization effects. In fact, it may be that direct skill training, problem solving, and role taking do not lead to different outcomes. The Institutional programs have found SST a successful adjunct to the regular program and given the high rate of necessary social interaction, SST would seem important for reducing peer and staff conflicts. Increasingly, family skill training is being seen as an important approach to helping adolescents and parents.