A Meta-Analysis of Social Skill Interventions for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

TLDR

Programs for children with emotional or behavioral disorders often include social skill training, and this review addresses key issues for interpreting such interventions. The authors performed a quantitative meta‑analysis of 35 studies on social skill interventions for students with EBD, grouping results by intervention characteristics, participant factors, and assessment procedures. The meta‑analysis yielded a modest pooled effect size of 0.199, corresponding to an average gain of eight percentile ranks, with slightly larger effects for interventions targeting specific social skills such as cooperation or problem solving.

Abstract

Many programs designed for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) include a social skill training component. Using quantitative methods of meta-analysis, the findings from 35 studies investigating the effects of social skill interventions for students with EBD were synthesized. The pooled mean effect size (ES) was 0.199, from which the average student with EBD would be expected to gain a modest eight percentile ranks on outcome measures after participating in a social skill training program. Studies were further grouped and analyzed according to different variables (e.g., similarities of the intervention, participants, and assessment procedures). Slightly greater ESs were found for interventions that focused on teaching and measuring specific social skills (e.g., cooperating, or social problem solving) compared to more global interventions. Several pertinent issues for reviewing the results of this research synthesis are addressed.