TRAINING OUTPATIENT BOYS TO CONFORM WITH THE SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF POPULAR PEERS - EFFECTS ON PARENT AND TEACHER RATINGS

Evaluated the effects of a 12-week social skills program presented to 36 nonpsychotic outpatient boys who were referred for socialization pr oblems. Seventeen boys served as wait-list controls. Major features of this program were parent involvement, group training, demonstrated so cial validity for the skills taught, and demonstrated discriminative a nd/or convergent validity for outcome measures. Results showed a signi ficant mean increase iii mothers' ratings of their boys' social skills as a result of treatment. Significant mean decreases in teacher ratin gs of aggression and withdrawal due to treatment were evident for boys without oppositional defiant disorder. Interpretations and future dir ections are discussed.