Social skills training (SST) is an evidence-based intervention to help increase social competence for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), but there is limited research that addresses SST for students identified as experiencing EBD at alternative campuses. A mixed methods design was utilized to examine SST at an alternative…

The authors report the development of an assessment process for distinguishing between higher and lower risk youth offenders through the use of 3 measures. Preliminary results and applications for practice are included. (Contains 2 tables.)

This authoritative volume provides state-of-the-art practices for supporting the approximately 20% of today's K-12 students who have emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) that hinder school success. Leading experts present evidence-based approaches to screening, progress monitoring, intervention, and instruction within a multi-tiered framework.…

This review describes four major hypotheses related to aggressive behavior and reviews current means for assessment. Hypotheses suggest that aggressive behavior is the result of a social skills deficit, positive or negative reinforcement, environmental deficits, or deficits in the cognitive processing of social stimuli. Changes in assessment…

This article discusses the process of assessing social skills with students who have emotional and/or behavioral disorders. It describes a three-stage problem-solving model of problem identification, problem analysis, and treatment evaluation. Specific social skills assessment strategies are described and linked to a classification system of…

This paper examines data from three survey activities conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes for specific relevance to social/behavioral outcomes development and assessment. Findings suggest that little effort is being directed to the measurement of the extent to which students with behavioral disorders are meeting such outcomes.…

This article reviews research conducted by the author and colleagues over a 27-year period on enhancement of peer-related social skills in young children with behavioral disorders or autism. It argues that a logical positivist approach has yielded significant quality-of-life benefits to participants while effectively challenging many outdated…

This paper identifies factors possibly influencing long-term effectiveness of social skills training with students having emotional or behavioral disorders. These include: lack of a sound conceptual framework, questionable social validity of target skills, controversies surrounding the nature of social skills deficits, imprecise assessment…

The "Handbook of Youth Prevention Science" describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g. substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced "silos" of isolated knowledge about the…

Reviews and evaluates approaches to the assessment of social skills of children, including sociometric approaches, behavior rating scales, interviews, behavioral observation, and analog role plays. The advantages and disadvantages of each assessment method are discussed, along with questions that need to be answered in any assessment. (CR)

This article emphasizes the assessment and intervention of the academic side of social skills in elementary and middle schools students. It examines the role that social skills play in facilitating learning and the creation of a positive school environment. An instructional approach called the responsive classroom is highlighted. (Contains…

Two measures of community-based social behavior for adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral disorders, the male and female forms of the Test of Community-Based Social Skill Knowledge and the Scale of Community-Based Social Skill Performance, were examined. Results found the measures yielded acceptable reliabilities and exhibited…

This article provides an overview of some of the recent developments in assessing social skills of children, as well as best practices in conducting assessment and linking assessment to effective intervention. Naturalistic behavioral observation and behavior rating scales are proposed as first-line choices for social skills assessment. (Contains…

This paper examines antisocial behavior in children and youth in relation to the biosocial personality theory of Hans Eysenck. It explains Eysenck's theory, which includes a significant role for biological factors in the development of antisocial behavior. The theory holds that three temperament traits--Psychoticism (P), Extroversion (E), and…

This article provides an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This knowledge base is evaluated with respect to issues regarding construct, internal, external, and social validity of the SST literature. Research syntheses investigating…