Direct observation and sequential analytic techniques were used to analyze rates, antecedents, and predictive sequences of aggressive behavior for 28 elementary school-aged children with emotional/behavioral disorders. Results indicated that low rates of positive social interactions characterized the daily classroom ecology of students displaying…

This study represents an attempt to build a home-based intervention package wherein caregivers encourage positive interactions between young children with autism and their siblings. Using a previously validated, classroom-based social skills intervention package, caregivers in three homes were able to produce substantial improvements in sibling…

Two experiments examined the effects of rewards alone, rewards plus discussion, and self-evaluation plus rewards on peer interactions of elementary level students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Observational data on eight students showed the self-evaluation procedures to be effective in improving peer interactions when implemented in a…

The Association of the Physically Handicapped of Haifa and the North Haifa, Israel, (AHVA) initiated a desktop publishing and self-employment venture. Questionnaire results after the first year of operation indicated that participants developed new technical skills, learned work-related behaviors, and expanded interpersonal competencies and…

Investigated associations of family processes and self-perceptions with adjustment and self-esteem following the transition to junior high school. Students' positive self-concepts in academic and social domains resulted in positive adjustment, whereas self-consciousness proved detrimental. Adolescents' perceptions of their parents as…

This article explains how cooperative learning techniques can be used to teach interpersonal social skills, describes the cognitive-behavioral model for treating deficits in social problem-solving skills, and outlines the critical steps for using peers as social skills trainers in classrooms with antisocial students. (DB)

Negative attitudes toward disabled people are fostered by society's body-beautiful ethic, success orientation, nondisabled guilt, the concept of "spread," and media stereotypes. Strategies for improving camper and staff attitudes toward disabled people include precamp training, social skills training, role playing, a positive camp…

Proposes a model in which parental social status (PSS) affects school achievement and self-concept in the academic domain. Also studied how perceived PSS affects self-concept in social domains. Findings supported the model with one exception: PSS was unrelated to academic self-concept in the urban setting. (RJM)

Presents a 15-month follow-up to a study comparing inductive social skills training to skill assembly social skills training and cognitive-relaxation coping skills interventions for general anger reduction in college students. Compared to control group, counseled groups reported lower trait anger, general anger, anger across many situations, and…

Presents research from a recently completed study investigating the relationship between college-age offsprings' perceptions of several dimensions of interparental conflict and indicants of adjustment. Analysis revealed that frequency of interparental conflict was the most important predictor of depression, externalizing behavior problems, and…

Social interaction skills are an important part of leisure behavior. Many people with disabilities and/or illness lack adequate social interaction skills and require direct intervention. The article provides a background and explanation of social competence and a listing of commercially available resources for social skills intervention. (SM)

Examines the advice being given to today's college graduating classes in commencement speeches and compares it to that given in early premodern society. It shows how the old advice centered on basic skills and virtues that empowered youth to create an independent and worthy life, but today, youth are mostly getting adults' guilty conscience and…

Contrasts prevailing attitudes with new research that presents a new portrayal of young children's social disposition: children are social and sensitive to the needs of others and take other viewpoints into consideration, aggression is a rare form of conflict resolution, and children negotiate and compromise with peers in the absence of adults at…

This study examined response to treatment with methylphenidate (Ritalin) across 6 measures of cognitive, academic, and social functioning in 71 boys (ages 7-11) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Response ranged from 18 percent to 71 percent across the six measures, suggesting that classifying a child as a responder to methylphenidate…

Twenty-five adolescents with behavioral disorders in residential treatment participated in a 10-week aggression replacement training program. Comparison with 14 controls indicated that treatment affected participants' social skills knowledge but did not impact their observable behavior. (Author/JDD)