A Group Social Skills Intervention Program for Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a social skills group intervention program for child brain tumor survivors. Methods Participants were 32 survivors (14 females) aged 8–18 years. Medulloblastoma (28%) was the main diagnosis. The intervention consisted of eight 2-hr weekly sessions focused on social skills including friendship making and assertion. Survivors and parents completed measures of social skills, quality of life, behavior and depression, at baseline, pre- and post-intervention, and 6 months later. Results Feasibility analyses revealed promising acceptability, retention, recruitment, and treatment fidelity. Significant improvement was found after intervention based on parents' reports of self-control [F(1,27) = 5.97, p <.05], social skills [F(1,28) = 5.70, p <.05], and quality of life [F(1,15) = 17.98, p <.01]. Conclusions The intervention is feasible and outcomes based on parental reports provide preliminary support for the efficacy of the program.