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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this research by Graves et al. was to examine the effectiveness of a social skills training program in the treatment of a group of outpatient adolescent sex offenders.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed an experimental pre- and post-test control group design with a non-probability sample of 30 adolescent males who had been referred to the Intermountain Sexual Abuse Treatment Center in Salt Lake City, UT for various sexual offenses including rape, attempted assault and child molestation. Subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental group receiving general therapy as well as the social skills training, or to the control group which received the general therapy only. The Adolescent Social Skills Effectiveness Training Program was used for the experimental group. This program consisted of four educational elements: modeling, rehearsal, encouragement and homework assignments. Participants observed an expert perform particular social skills, discussed the skill and its application, practiced performing the skill and received encouragement and feedback, and completed assignments at home to allow for continued practice. Eight social skills were centered upon in the training: giving positive feedback, giving negative feedback, accepting negative feedback, resisting peer pressure, problem solving, negotiation, following instructions and conversation. Techniques for assessing social competence on these skills were included in the program, and concerned behavioral assessment through responses to vignettes. Communication and problem solving within each participant's family were measured via use of the Parent-Adolescent Relationship Inventory with both the parent and the subject. The communication scale measured the levels of effective and satisfying communication, and the problem solving scale measured the negotiation skills of the subjects in situations where there existed some disagreement. Internal consistencies for the two scales had been established as acceptable by prior research. The Child Behavior Checklist, with adequate reliability, was employed as a measure of changes in problem behavior, as well as the number of social interactions, and the subject's competence in these activities. The 80-item Piers-Harris Self Concept Scale, also with established reliability, measured how participants felt about themselves in six areas: behavior, intellectual and school status, physical attributes, anxiety, popularity and satisfaction. Pre-testing took place about one week before the start of the social skills training program, with post-testing being held in week ten of the study. Parents in the control group did not respond in sufficient rates to the post-test questionnaires, so these responses had to be dropped form the study. Social skills training centered upon one social skill each week for eight weeks, with a review session being held in the ninth week. Subjects in the experimental group were included in the analysis if they had completed both tests and 7 of the 9 training sessions, and those in the control group were included only if they had completed both tests. Analysis included ANOVA and t-tests.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The authors found that the participants who had received the social skills training exhibited significantly more frequent use of the eight social skills presented in the program than did those who did not receive any training. However, the control group's behavior also improved significantly for skills negotiation and conversation, even without the training. The authors suggested that general therapy alone also encourages the development and refinement of various social skills, without direct social skills training. Examination of the results from the Parent-Adolescent Relationship Inventory suggested that the social skills training significantly improved communication between subjects and their parents, although the training did not seem to have a significant impact upon problem solving skills within the family context. Whilst the experimental group significantly improved over the control group on the communication measure, no significant difference was found for problem solving. Parent perceptions also indicated an improvement in communication skills with their children, although no improvement was reported to be perceived in problem solving skills. According to the subjects' version of the Child Behavior Checklist, problem behaviors decreased and social competence increased for the experimental group after they had completed their training. Whilst parents' reports on this Checklist did not indicate an improvement in these children's problem behaviors, they did suggest some increase in levels of social competence. In order to examine the effects of the social skills training upon subjects' self concept, the authors examined results from the Piers-Harris measure. They found that those individuals who had completed the training recorded significant improvements on the physical attributes scale and the popularity scale, with increases on the total score approaching significance. The authors suggested that the increase in physical self-esteem, an unexpected finding, might be due to the improved social competence, leading to an increase in perceptions of social desirability and therefore to a promotion of feelings of attractiveness. The authors concluded that social skills development is more likely to be successful when a training program is designed to incorporate general therapy and social skills training in combination, than when a treatment program consists of general therapy alone. However, whilst social skills training can improve social competence, the authors suggested that the generalizability of this effect to problem solving skills remained uncertain. They suggested that this finding might be due to the situational factors involved in the parent-adolescent dyad, to the fact that parents were not trained in receptive social skills, or to the diverse and heterogeneous range of sexual offenders that were involved in the program. Results for peer relationships were somewhat more encouraging, with both adolescents and their parents reporting improved social competence and an increase in social interactions with peers after the training was completed. The success of social skills improvement with peers was thought to stem from the peer-group context of the therapy, and the necessarily supportive nature of the groups.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that further replication of their study should be conducted in order to evaluate the reliability of their findings. The long-term consequences of social skills training programs should be assessed, with reference to various subgroups of adolescent sexual offenders. Larger and more homogeneous samples were recommended, coming from different treatment agencies that use a variety of intervention models. Evaluation of other social skills training programs were also thought to be useful, and empirical research should be conducted to examine if adolescent sex offenders require a different approach than do other delinquents.
EVALUATION:
The authors present an interesting examination of the effectiveness of social skills training for a group of adolescent sex offenders. However, a number of methodological drawbacks suggest that the results be interpreted with some caution. The small sample size, and the willingness and high motivation of the subjects, suggest that the generalizability of the findings might be questionable, with the training only being effective for those adolescents who are keen to change their ways. The Parent-Adolescent Relationship Inventory and the Adolescent Social Skills Effectiveness Training Program, two of the primary measures employed, are both, according to the authors, not well researched. This problem leads to questionable internal validity of the research. Despite these limitations, the authors provide a sophisticated analysis of the data, and they present an interesting discussion of the implications of their findings for future research and evaluation of social skills training for adolescent sex offenders. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Utah
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Treatment
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Program Evaluation
KW - Prosocial Attitudes and Behavior
KW - Social Skills Training
KW - Sexual Assault Treatment
KW - Sexual Assault Offender
KW - Offender Treatment
KW - Treatment Program
KW - Training Program
KW - Outpatient Treatment
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Violence Against Women |