A multicomponent intervention package that included providing information to classmates about a communication system and adapted curriculum and materials, utilizing various media designed to foster interaction, and teacher facilitation of social exchanges, increased the social inclusion of three elementary-aged students with disabilities in…

Discusses a cognitive-social learning model of social skills training to assist young children to greater levels of peer acceptance. Details the model's three components: enhancing skill concepts, promoting skill performance, and fostering skill maintenance and generalization. Emphasizes that trainers must understand the model as well as the…

This study examined ethnic and sex differences in children's depressive symptoms, along with hypothesized mediators of those differences (academic achievement, peer acceptance), in a follow-up of African American (n = 179) and Euro-American (n= 462) children in Grades 3 to 5. African American boys reported more depressive symptoms than African…

This article uses an ecological approach to predict students' peer acceptance within junior high school classes. The authors investigate whether various characteristics (self-perception of physical attractiveness and athletic competence, cognitive ability, agreeableness, extraversion, age, parents education, number of siblings, siblings at same…

This collection of annotated bibliographies focuses on the social skills of adolescents, and is drawn from a national database of current programs and literature regarding adolescents with chronic illnesses and other disabilities. Bibliographic materials listed include documents and articles selected from the database of the National Center for…

The effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral interpersonal problem solving (IPS) training program was evaluated with 35 poorly accepted second, third, and fourth graders. Group 1 received instruction in IPS and included only Ss low in peer acceptance; group 2 consisted of Ss low in peer acceptance who participated in IPS with same sex and grade Ss…

Twelve educable and three trainable mentally retarded fifth and sixth grade students were trained in techniques to allow them to tutor nonhandicapped students in sign language. Observers noted free play interaction between handicapped and nonhandicapped children at lunch hours. Results indicated that the mean percentage of interaction between…

The concurrent and predictive validity of four qualitative behavioral classes of social interaction (initiating and receiving positive and negative social interaction) was investigated using sociometric measures of peer acceptance (ratings) and friendship (nominations). Forty children (18 boys and 22 girls) selected from 14 third- and fourth-grade…

In this study, each of 33 middle class children from grades 3 and 4 was administered one of three experimental conditions designed to test in what ways coaching in social play skills improves the sociometric status of the children with their peers. The subjects were selected because of their low ratings on sociometric questionnaires. Condition 1…

Evaluation of a peer-mediated intervention which promoted communicative interaction by handicapped preschoolers through the teaching of facilitative strategies to three handicapped and three nonhandicapped students revealed increases in response rates of handicapped subjects during free play and maintenance (without initial prompting) of peer…

Thirty-two boys rejected by their peers in grades one through three, identified on the basis of negative sociometric nominations and negative social behavior, were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions (a) instructions to promote positive social behavior, (b) prohibitions to reduce negative social behavior, (c) a combination of…

Measures humor appreciation (including mirth, subjective ratings, and response sets), comprehension, and production in children between the ages of 10 and 14. Relates humor to several areas of competence manifested at school. (HOD)

Six third-grade subjects who were selected by peers' sociometric ratings, teacher rating, and observation of six social skills, received social skills training, and individual and group intervention. Ss' behavior were shaped in skill areas to approximate average peer rate, with resulting increase in sociometric ranking and teacher rating.…

Examined the relationship among four measures of third- grade children's social competence (behavioral, sociometric, teacher completed, and child self-report) and their relationship to Metropolitan Achievement Test grade- equivalent scores. Among the results it was found that children with high academic achievement scores were liked by and…

Examined changes in low-accepted children's behavior and peer acceptance resulting from a social learning approach to social skill training. Three social skills were taught: asking questions, leading, and offering peer support. Trained children performed significantly better at follow-up than did control children. Results generalized to classroom…