Material Information

Cost:

Approximately $600 to implement program with groups of students at one site. Note: Cost information is subject to change. Confirm current costs with publisher.

Description:

In this ten-lesson small group intervention, students who have immature social skills, who experience rejection and teasing, and who are socially anxious learn and practice basic social skills such as communication, self-control, perspective taking, conflict management, and initiating activities. Group members also learn to set goals and assess the consequences of their actions; build pro-social attitudes and character traits such as respect, responsibility, perseverance, and empathy; combat negative assumptions about themselves and others; and build coping skills for stressful social situations like teasing, rejection, and peer pressure. Included in the teaching materials are recommendations and resources for selecting students to participate in the small intervention groups.

Download Fidelity Guidelines & Checklist for S.S. GRIN - Social Skills Group Intervention

Research

These two studies tested the effectiveness of S.S.GRIN, a social-skills program for peer-rejected, victimized, and socially anxious children. Children in third grade students in public elementary schools were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 187) or control (n = 194) groups. Immediately following the intervention and one year after the intervention, children in the treatment group were liked more by their peers than before the intervention, reported greater self-esteem and self-efficacy, and reported decreased social anxiety compared to children in the control group. Children with all subtypes of peer problems (i.e., students who had immature social skills, students who have few close friends or who experience rejection and teasing by peers, and students who are socially anxious or awkward with their peers) benefited from the program, but children who were identified as aggressive before being exposed to the intervention, in particular, showed greater declines in aggression and bullying behavior and fewer anti social affiliations than aggressive control group children.

DeRosier, M.E. (2004). Building relationships and combating bullying: Effectiveness of a school-based social skills group intervention. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 125-130.

DeRosier, M.E. & Marcus, S.R. (2005). Building relationships and combating bullying: Effectiveness of S.S.GRIN at one-year follow-up. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,34, 140-150.