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School-based social-cognitive skills training for middle school students with school behavior problems
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School-Based Social-Cognitive Skills Training For Middle School Students With School Behavior Problems David R. Dupper
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Curtis H. Krishef Florida State University
There are currently few intervention options, outside of the suspension process, for middle school students with school behavior problems. This study evaluated the effects of a school-based social-cognitive skills training program for middle school students with behavior problems. A total of 35 subjects were randomly selected from three schools. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group at each school using a pretest-posttest control group design. Scores from the NowickiStrickland Locus of Control Scale (N-SLCS) and Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS) were used to assess subjects’ cognitive and behavioral changes before and immediately following the treatment program. Statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest scores from the N-SLCS and the TSCRS were found for the treatment group, but not for the control group. Them were no significant differences in outcomes among treatment subjects based upon their race, gender or treatment setting. The implications of these findings for school social work practice and future research are discussed.
In many middle schools in the United States, the typical school response to student misbehavior is suspension (Wheelock & Dorman, 1988). A study of Boston middle schools by the Massachusetts Advocacy Authors’ Note: We acknowledge the contribution of John Kackley who developed and wrote a “school survival course” as part of the Positive Alternatives to Student Suspensions Program in Pinellas County, FL. The training program developed for this study is based upon his original material. Further information about the training program described in this article can be obtained by contacting David R. Dupper, Ph.D. School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1207 W. Oregon St., Urbana, IL 61801.
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Center (1986) found that approximately 10% of all middle school students were suspended at least once every year and that approximately 40% of these students received multiple suspensions. This same study found that 30% of all students in one middle school were suspended at least once, in a single school year. During the middle school years many students are caught in a downward spiral of failure, alienation, and rejection which may result in dropping out of school (Wheelock & Dorman, 1988). Even more significant than the number of suspensions are the reasons why students are suspended from school. In some cases the use of suspension may be justified as an appropriate response to a major school offense such as students whose actions pose an immediate physical danger to themselves or to others in the school. Many suspensions, however, fall under the category of school disruption which includes behaviors related to problematic relationships with peers and authority figures such as name-calling and talking back to a teacher (Massachusetts Advocacy Center, 1986; Uchitelle, Bar& & Hillman, 1989). Unfortunately, there are currently few intervention options, outside of the suspension process, for many middle school students exhibiting school behavior problems. The group treatment utilized in this study was developed in response to this lack of positive alternatives to suspension. Ecosystems Perspective
of Malaahptive Behavior
According to an ecosystems perspective, maladaptive behavior is explained as the result of the interaction of individuals and their environments. This view contrasts sharply with the view that maladaptive behavior results from psychological problems or disorders within individuals. Within a school environment, an ecosystems perspective views maladaptive student behavior as resulting from a mismatch between the demands of the school environment and the competencies of individual students. In other words, maladaptive student behavior results from a discrepancy between the adaptive skills needed by students to survive within the school environment and those adaptive skills that they currently possess (Schinke & Gilchrist, 1984). In addition to meeting academic demands, students must also be able to interact successfully with peers and authority figures to survive in school. As a result, it is assumed that large numbers of students with school behavior problems could benefit from school-based interventions which emphasize the teaching of specific “school survival” skills.
Cognitive Skills Training for Middle School Students
Social-Cognitive
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Skills Training
Social-cognitive shills training attempts to address the skill deficits of individuals as they attempt to meet the demands of various environments. Social-cognitive skills training is an approach which combines cognitivebehavioral strategies with behavioral techniques to enhance the coping skills and problem-solving capacities of individuals. The goal of socialcognitive skills training is the enhancement of both social skills and cognitive skills. Cognitive skills “stress the importance of thoughts, perceptions and other covert mental events that affect social performance” (Gilchrist, 1981, p. 62). Barth (1986) stated that cognitive skills “enable people to know, to feel, to motivate themselves, and to solve problems” (p. 4). Social shills may be described as “overt and covert learned behaviors that maximize chances for obtaining positive reinforcement from social interactions while minimizing the cost to self and others” (Gilchrist, 1981, p. 63). The social-cognitive shills training approach is based upon the tenets of social learning theory and cognitive theory. According to social learning theorists, most behavior must be learned and this learning occurs either through direct experience or through the observation of others as they behave in certain social situations (Bandura, 1977). A central tenet of cognitive theory is that thinking shapes behavior (Werner, 1982). Cognitive theorists argue that it is not simply the specific events, interactions, or circumstances which cause individuals difficulty but rather it is how individuals feel and believe about these external events which cause them difficulty (Sherman, 1987). Social-cognitive skills training has been widely used to enhance the competencies of children and adolescents with behavior problems in a number of treatment settings. Review of Outcome Studies The majority of studies have evaluated the impact of social-cognitive skills training with juvenile delinquents. Jenson and Howard (1990) conducted an extensive review of social-cognitive skills training with juvenile delinquents and concluded that “skills training approaches may provide an effective way of teaching delinquents specific social and cognitive skills...and prevent or reduce their involvement in criminal and drug related activities.” (p. 225). A very limited number of studies have addressed the effectiveness of this interventive approach with youths experiencing problems in school settings. Samson and Samson (1981) conducted a study designed to strengthen the cognitive and social skills of high school students in a school with high dropout and delinquency rates.
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They found that both social skills and cognitive skills of low-achieving high school students “seem amenable to change through the behavioral methods of modeling and role-playing” (p. 916). Samson and Samson concluded that their study suggests a potentially useful and cost-effective approach to the prevention of behavioral problems within the school setting. The utility of social-cognitive skills training as a prevention strategy was further highlighted in a 1986 study by LeCroy and Rose. LeCroy and Rose (1986) investigated the relative effectiveness of social skills training and social-cognitive treatment as preventive interventions for early adolescents. They concluded that some evidence suggests that a treatment model which combines behavioral and cognitive approaches will enhance the effectiveness of treatment for early adolescents. Clearly, much more research needs to be conducted on the effectiveness of social-cognitive skills training as a school-based interventive This approach involving students with school behavioral problems. paucity of studies in this area is linked to the general lack of outcome studies on school-based interventions. For example, Claibom, Kerr, & Strong (1990) in their extensive review of group interventions within school settings found that “despite the great variety of group counseling interventions being used in the schools, relatively few appear with any frequency in the professional literature. While some of these may be effective and widely applicable, none have been thoroughly researched” (p. 714). Outcome studies of school-based interventions also suffer from a number of limitations. These limitations include relatively homogeneous samples, lack of control groups, and failure to include outcome measures which assessed the generalization of students’ cognitive and behavioral changes from the group setting to the classroom setting. This study was designed to address a number of these limitations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based social-cognitive skills training program for middle school students with school behavior problems. This group training program focused on the acquisition of specific “school survival” skills needed by students who were at-risk of being suspended from school. This training program was utilized as a secondary prevention strategy. Secondary prevention is defined as interventions which target vulnerable individuals and seek to remove them from their at-risk status or to improve their functioning to optimal levels (Barker, 1987; Caplan, 1964). The intent was to limit the extent or severity of student behavioral problems through early identification and early intervention and to reduce the risk of being suspended from school. The hypotheses developed for this study were designed to answer the following questions: 1) Will a social-cognitive group treatment program result in significant differences between treatment and control subjects
Cognitive Skills Training for Middle School Students
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following treatment? 2) Will there be any differential effects of group treatment based upon the race and gender of treatment subjects following treatment? 3) Will there be any differential effects of group treatment based upon the treatment settings following treatment? Methods
Participants The population of interest in this study was sixth and seventh grade students who exhibited school behavior problems which placed them atrisk of being suspended from school. Students enrolled in a full-time Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program or an in-school alternative education program were excluded from this study because they were already receiving assistance for their behavioral problems in a more individualized school setting. A random sample of students was selected from three middle schools following the first ten weeks of the 1990-91 school year. The locations of the three middle schools selected for this study reflected reasonably widespread geographical locations within a school district in north Florida. Students were selected for this study based upon the following criteria. First, students had to have received one or more disciplinary referrals for school behaviors which reflected problems with school authority figures or peers. These behaviors included defiance, disrespect, insubordination, tardiness or fighting with peers. Second, students had to have two or more conduct reports from teachers which indicated needs to improve or unsatisfactory. A pretest-posttest control group design was implemented at each of the three middle schools. A total sample of 35 students participated in this study. The middle schools each provided three treatment groups consisting of a combined total of 16 subjects and there were three control groups consisting of 19 subjects. To ensure that students randomly assigned to the treatment group would be comparable to students randomly assigned to the control group along the variables of race and gender, the sample at each school was stratified on these variables prior to randomization. Description of Group Treatment Program The social-cognitive skills training (i.e. school survival) program had three major process goals: 1) to provide group members with a greater cognitive awareness of provocative school situations and their unproductive verbal and nonverbal responses to such situations; 2) to teach a sequential problem-solving process to group members; and 3) to provide group members with an opportunity to discuss and practice specific school
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survival skills within the group through the use of modeling, role-playing,
group feedback, and homework. These three major goals were reflected in the three phases of the group training program. The first phase, sessions one through five, focused upon the acquisition of specific cognitive skills. A number of concepts from Transactional Analysis (Beme, 1961) provided the framework for discussion for phase one. Transactional Analysis concepts are important cognitive tools in helping early adolescents become more aware of interpersonal difficulties within the school environment. These concepts also assist students in developing more effective problemsolving strategies. T.A. concepts are especially useful with early adolescents because they: 1) are easy to understand, 2) allow insight into how past experiences affect present attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, and 3) provide a method for analyzing ineffective and often destructive interpersonal communication patterns by providing options for cognitive and behavioral change. The second phase of the group, sessions six and seven, focused upon learning and implementing a problem-solving process. The third phase of the group, sessions eight through ten, focused on the acquisition of specific school survival skills or adaptive school behaviors. Modeling, role-playing, group feedback, and homework were utilized during phase three to enable group members to acquire more adaptive and productive school behaviors. The group treatment program was carried out concurrently at the three middle schools beginning in late January, 1991 and ending in mid-April, 1991. Group sessions were led by the principal researcher and were conducted during one class period each week (approximately 45 minutes) over ten consecutive weeks. No-Treatment
Control Group
Students randomly assigned to the control group at each school completed the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale before and immediately following the treatment program. A list of all students selected for this study was given to the Assistant principal(s) responsible for student discipline at each school. The assistant principal(s) and teachers were not told which students were randomly assigned to the treatment or control groups in each school. Measures Two standardized scales were selected to measure cognitive changes within subjects and overt behavioral change. To assess cognitive changes within subjects, the locus of control construct was considered important.
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Cognitive theorists contend that it is not actual external events that cause people difficulty but rather how people perceive external events (Sherman, 1987). Differences in locus of control reflect whether people feel outside forces are responsible for what happens to them (higher external locus of control) or whether they believe themselves to be personally responsible (higher internal locus of control). The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (N-SLCS) was selected to evaluate changes in students’ perceptions of locus of control before and after treatment. The N-SLCS is a 40-item rapid assessment instrument that determines the degree to which children (9-18 years of age) believe they have control over their lives. NSLCS scores range from O-40 with higher scores reflecting more external locus of control. The N-SLCS has been used extensively and has been found to be a reliable and valid measure of the locus of control construct with children and adolescents. The appropriateness of the N-SLCS for this study is further based upon the finding that the locus of control dimension appears to be a variable of significant impact on children’s behaviors, and the “Nowicki-Strickland scale appears to be an appropriate instrument for assessing this variable” (Nowicki 8z Strickland, 1973, p. 154). The splithalf reliability for grades six through eight is 58 and a six-week test-retest correlation of A6 for seventh grade. To assess cognitive and behavioral changes of students, as reported by teachers, the construct of self-control is an important measure of adaptive behavior. Self-control reflects the extent to which students are able to restrict impulses or behaviors and behaviors that reflect greater selfcontrol are essential school survival skills. The Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS) was selected to assess changes in cognitive and behavioral dimensions of student self-control as reported by classroom teachers before and after treatment. Because this measure is based upon a teacher-report of student self-control, it also provides an important measure of ski11generalization from the treatment setting to the classroom setting. The TSCRS is a 15item teacher-report scale describing cognitive and personal components of student self-control and overt student behavior in specific situations (Humphrey, 1982). Higher scores on the TSCRS reflect greater student self-control. The scale’s reliability is reported in terms of test-retest correlations over a two to three week period with total scores correlated at .94. Total scores on the TSCRS for each subject in this study are the average scores across three randomly chosen teachers at both pretest and posttest. Observation Checklists To ensure that the group treatment program was carried out in an accurate and consistent manner, a student services professional (e.g.,
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school guidance counselor, social worker, psychologist) from each school was asked to observe the group leader and to complete an Observer Checklist after each group session. Interobserver agreement was 8 1%. Equivalency of Treatment and Control Groups The Mann-Whitney U test was performed using the pretest scores from both measures to determine whether any significant differences existed between the treatment group or control group before the initiation of treatment. Based on this testing, the two groups were considered to be statistically equivalent on both dependent measures prior to treatment.
RlSUltS
The major hypotheses addressed the question of whether a socialcognitive group treatment program would result in significant differences between treatment and control subjects following treatment. There were statistically significant differences between the pretest and posttest scores of treatment subjects on the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale in the direction of more internal locus of control (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, T = 19.5, p c.05, N = 16) and on the Teachers SelfControl Rating Scale in the direction of more teacher-reported self-control (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, T = 30, p c.05, N = 16). No statistically significant differences were found between the pretest and posttest scores on either the N-SLCS (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, T = 46, p > .05, N = 19) or the TSCRS (Wilcoxon matchedpairs signed ranks test, T = 73.5, p > .05, N = 19) for subjects in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the posttest scores of the treatment group and the control group on the Nowicki-Strickhuid Locus of Control Scale. The value of U on this measure was 113.5. A LI of 92 or less would have been significant at the .05 level. No statistically significant differences were found between the posttest scores of the treatment group and the control group on the Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale. The value of U on this measure was 151. A U of 92 or less would have been significant at the .05 level. In addition, no significant differences were found among black males, white males or black females who participated in treatment on the N-SLCS (x;! = 5.99, df = 2,p > .OS) or on the TSCRS (x;! = 5.99, df = 2, p > .05) and no significant differences were found among treatment subjects based upon the treatment setting on the N-SLCS ($ = 5.99, df = 2, p b.05) or on the TSCRS (x2 = 5.99, df = 2,~ x05).
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Discussion
Significant differences between the pre- and posttest scores on the NSLCS provides evidence that subjects who participated in treatment experienced significant shifts in locus of control. Treatment subjects demonstrated shifts from a more external locus of control before treatment to a more internal locus of control after treatment. No significant shifts in locus of control were reported by control subjects. The finding of statistical significance on the TSCRS provides evidence that subjects who participated in treatment were reported to be more able to restrict their impulses or behaviors following treatment than they had prior to treatment. No significant changes in self-control were reported for control subjects. Moreover, since the TSCRS is a teacher-reported measure, changes on this measure reflected changes in subjects’ self-control which could be generalized from the treatment setting to the classroom setting following treatment. In addition, findings indicate that outcomes were not correlated with the race and gender of participants nor were they correlated with the setting where the treatment occurred. The failure to find statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups based on a comparison of their respective posttest scores from the N-SLCS and TSCRS resulted from unanticipated improvements in the control subjects. Two factors could have produced these unanticipated improvements in control subjects and suppressed the true effects of the treatment program. Cook and Campbell (1979) have labeled these factors “compensatory rivalry by respondents receiving less desirable treatments” and “diffusion or imitation of treatments”. Since control subjects were aware of the fact that they were not chosen to participate in the group treatment program, they may have exerted additional effort to compensate for not being selected to participate in treatment. In addition, students randomly assigned to the control group had the opportunity to regularly interact with students randomly assigned to the treatment group. For example, some of them rode the school bus together and ate lunch together. These opportunities for control subjects to regularly communicate with treatment subjects may have exposed students assigned to the control group to certain aspects of the treatment program. Implications For School Social Workers
The findings of statistical significance between the pre- and posttest scores on the N-SLCS and the TSCRS for the treatment group but not the control group have several important implications for school social work practice. First, there are few outcome studies in the literature which have reported on the effectiveness of school-based interventions involving
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middle school students with school behavior problems. This study provides evidence that a social-cognitive skills training program is effective as a secondary prevention strategy. That is, there is evidence that the social-cognitive skills training program evaluated in this study is an effective alternative to suspension. Second, the results of this study address a major limitation of previous studies of social-cognitive skills training with children and adolescents. Most previous studies have been limited to an assessment of cognitive and/or behavioral change within the treatment setting (Urbain & Savage, 1989). The current study provides evidence that improvements in selfcontrol for treatment subjects were observed by their classroom teachers. Consequently, these improved behaviors were generalizable from the treatment setting to the classroom setting. Moreover, since the pretest and posttest scores from the TSCRS were based upon the average scores from three of their teachers, these improvements in treatment subjects’ selfcontrol were observed across several different classrooms following treatment. Third, these findings support a sequential approach of group treatment with early adolescents. Specifically, there is support for the notion that it is advantageous to begin such treatment at a cognitive level by providing group members with awareness and insight into their feelings and actions. Once this has been carried out, group members are taught a problemsolving process which allows them to apply what was learned. The utility of Transactional Analysis concepts as cognitive tools within a socialcognitive skills training program are also supported by these findings. Although there was no direct measure of the extent to which specific TA concepts were acquired during the course of the training program, it may be inferred that Transactional Analysis concepts were an important component of the over-all training program. For example, these concepts may have helped the participants to understand their ineffective and unproductive school behaviors and led to the acquisition of more effective problem-solving skills and specific school survival skills.
Conclusion School social workers must address problems of importance facing our public schools and demonstrate that their interventions are effective in producing desired changes. As greater numbers of students are suspended from school as a result of their misbehavior, school administrators will continue to search for effective alternatives to suspension. The results from this study indicate that this social-cognitive skills training program shows promise as a school-based positive alternative to suspension.
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The results from this study lend empirical support to the short-term effectiveness of a social-cognitive treatment program for middle school students with school behavior problems. This study provides evidence that early identification and early treatment of at-risk students results in more adaptive school behaviors. Rather than waiting for the behavioral difficulties to reach the point where students are repeatedly suspended from school, this program provides school social workers with an effective means of minimizing the damage. By teaching at-risk students a number of cognitive and social skills necessary for survival within the middle school, school social workers are able to assume a more proactive and preventive approach to practice. There is a critical need to develop school-based alternatives to suspension. Much more research needs to be conducted on both the short and long-term effects of social-cognitive skills training programs as a school-based alternative to suspension. In addition to targeting students with behavior problems, future alternative to suspension programs should also include interventions with teachers, administrators, and parents. This study is a beginning effort in the development, implementation, and evaluation of such programs.
References
Bandnra, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. Barker, R.L. (1987). The social work dicrionury. Silver Spring, MD: National Association Of Social Workers. Barth, R. (1986). Social and cognitive treatment of children and adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Beme, E. (1961). Transactional Analysis in psychotherapy. New York: Grove press.
Caplan, Cl. (1964). Principles of prevenrive psychiatry. New York: Basic Books. Claibom, C.D., Kerr, B.A., & Strong, S.R. (1990). Group interventions in the schools. In C.R. Reynolds & R.W. Kamphaus @is.), Handbook of psychological and educational assessment of children: Persona& behavior, and context (pp.703-732). New York: Guilford Press. Cook, T.D., & Campbell, D.T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design und analysis issues forfield settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gilchrist, L.D. (1981). Social competence in adolescence. In S.P. Schinke (Ed.), Behavioral methods in social welfare: Helping children, adults, and families in community settings (pp. 61-80). New York: Aldine Publishing Co.
Humphrey, L.L. (1982). Children’s and teachers’ perspectives on children’s selfcontrol: The development of two rating scales. Journal Of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50,624-633.
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Jenson, J.M., & Howard, M.O. (1990). Skills deficits, skills training, and delinquency. Children and Youth Services Review, 12, 213-228. LeCroy, C.W., & Rose, SD. (1986). Evaluation of preventive interventions for enhancing social competence in adolescents, Social Work Research ana’ Abstracts, 22, 8-16.
Massachusetts Advocacy Center.
(1986). The way out: Student exclusion Boston: Author. Nowicki, S. Jr., & Strickland, B.R. (1973). A locus of control scale for children. practices
in Boston middle schools.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
40, 148- 154.
Samson, LG., & Samson, B.R. (1981). Teaching cognitive and social skills to high school students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 908918.
Schinke, S.P., & Gilchrist, L.D. (1984). Life skills counseling with adolescents. Baltimore: University Park Press. Sherman, E. (1987). Cognitive therapy. In A. Minahan (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work (Vol. I, 18th ed., pp. 288-291). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers. Uchitelle, S., Bar& D., & Hillman, L. (1989). Strategies for reducing suspensions. Urban Education, 24, 163-l 76. Urbain, ES., & Savage, P. (1989). InterpersonaI cognitive problem-solving training with children in the schools. In J. Hughes & R.J. Hall (Eds), Cognitive-behavioral psychology in the schools (pp. 466-497). New York: Guilford Press. Werner, H.D. (1982). Cognitive therapy: A humanistic approach. New York: Free Press.
Wheelock, A., & Dorman, G. (1988). Before it’s too late: Dropout prevention in rhe middle grades. Carrboro, NC: Center for Early Adolescence and Boston: Massachusetts Advocacy Center.
cq+#Jlt
019cL74%93 s6.00 + M 0 1993R#pm Pm8 Lad.
School-Based Social-Cognitive Skills Training For Middle School Students With School Behavior Problems David R. Dupper
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Curtis H. Krishef Florida State University
There are currently few intervention options, outside of the suspension process, for middle school students with school behavior problems. This study evaluated the effects of a school-based social-cognitive skills training program for middle school students with behavior problems. A total of 35 subjects were randomly selected from three schools. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group at each school using a pretest-posttest control group design. Scores from the NowickiStrickland Locus of Control Scale (N-SLCS) and Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS) were used to assess subjects’ cognitive and behavioral changes before and immediately following the treatment program. Statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest scores from the N-SLCS and the TSCRS were found for the treatment group, but not for the control group. Them were no significant differences in outcomes among treatment subjects based upon their race, gender or treatment setting. The implications of these findings for school social work practice and future research are discussed.
In many middle schools in the United States, the typical school response to student misbehavior is suspension (Wheelock & Dorman, 1988). A study of Boston middle schools by the Massachusetts Advocacy Authors’ Note: We acknowledge the contribution of John Kackley who developed and wrote a “school survival course” as part of the Positive Alternatives to Student Suspensions Program in Pinellas County, FL. The training program developed for this study is based upon his original material. Further information about the training program described in this article can be obtained by contacting David R. Dupper, Ph.D. School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1207 W. Oregon St., Urbana, IL 61801.
131
132
Dupper and Krishef
Center (1986) found that approximately 10% of all middle school students were suspended at least once every year and that approximately 40% of these students received multiple suspensions. This same study found that 30% of all students in one middle school were suspended at least once, in a single school year. During the middle school years many students are caught in a downward spiral of failure, alienation, and rejection which may result in dropping out of school (Wheelock & Dorman, 1988). Even more significant than the number of suspensions are the reasons why students are suspended from school. In some cases the use of suspension may be justified as an appropriate response to a major school offense such as students whose actions pose an immediate physical danger to themselves or to others in the school. Many suspensions, however, fall under the category of school disruption which includes behaviors related to problematic relationships with peers and authority figures such as name-calling and talking back to a teacher (Massachusetts Advocacy Center, 1986; Uchitelle, Bar& & Hillman, 1989). Unfortunately, there are currently few intervention options, outside of the suspension process, for many middle school students exhibiting school behavior problems. The group treatment utilized in this study was developed in response to this lack of positive alternatives to suspension. Ecosystems Perspective
of Malaahptive Behavior
According to an ecosystems perspective, maladaptive behavior is explained as the result of the interaction of individuals and their environments. This view contrasts sharply with the view that maladaptive behavior results from psychological problems or disorders within individuals. Within a school environment, an ecosystems perspective views maladaptive student behavior as resulting from a mismatch between the demands of the school environment and the competencies of individual students. In other words, maladaptive student behavior results from a discrepancy between the adaptive skills needed by students to survive within the school environment and those adaptive skills that they currently possess (Schinke & Gilchrist, 1984). In addition to meeting academic demands, students must also be able to interact successfully with peers and authority figures to survive in school. As a result, it is assumed that large numbers of students with school behavior problems could benefit from school-based interventions which emphasize the teaching of specific “school survival” skills.
Cognitive Skills Training for Middle School Students
Social-Cognitive
133
Skills Training
Social-cognitive shills training attempts to address the skill deficits of individuals as they attempt to meet the demands of various environments. Social-cognitive skills training is an approach which combines cognitivebehavioral strategies with behavioral techniques to enhance the coping skills and problem-solving capacities of individuals. The goal of socialcognitive skills training is the enhancement of both social skills and cognitive skills. Cognitive skills “stress the importance of thoughts, perceptions and other covert mental events that affect social performance” (Gilchrist, 1981, p. 62). Barth (1986) stated that cognitive skills “enable people to know, to feel, to motivate themselves, and to solve problems” (p. 4). Social shills may be described as “overt and covert learned behaviors that maximize chances for obtaining positive reinforcement from social interactions while minimizing the cost to self and others” (Gilchrist, 1981, p. 63). The social-cognitive shills training approach is based upon the tenets of social learning theory and cognitive theory. According to social learning theorists, most behavior must be learned and this learning occurs either through direct experience or through the observation of others as they behave in certain social situations (Bandura, 1977). A central tenet of cognitive theory is that thinking shapes behavior (Werner, 1982). Cognitive theorists argue that it is not simply the specific events, interactions, or circumstances which cause individuals difficulty but rather it is how individuals feel and believe about these external events which cause them difficulty (Sherman, 1987). Social-cognitive skills training has been widely used to enhance the competencies of children and adolescents with behavior problems in a number of treatment settings. Review of Outcome Studies The majority of studies have evaluated the impact of social-cognitive skills training with juvenile delinquents. Jenson and Howard (1990) conducted an extensive review of social-cognitive skills training with juvenile delinquents and concluded that “skills training approaches may provide an effective way of teaching delinquents specific social and cognitive skills...and prevent or reduce their involvement in criminal and drug related activities.” (p. 225). A very limited number of studies have addressed the effectiveness of this interventive approach with youths experiencing problems in school settings. Samson and Samson (1981) conducted a study designed to strengthen the cognitive and social skills of high school students in a school with high dropout and delinquency rates.
134
Dupper and Krishef
They found that both social skills and cognitive skills of low-achieving high school students “seem amenable to change through the behavioral methods of modeling and role-playing” (p. 916). Samson and Samson concluded that their study suggests a potentially useful and cost-effective approach to the prevention of behavioral problems within the school setting. The utility of social-cognitive skills training as a prevention strategy was further highlighted in a 1986 study by LeCroy and Rose. LeCroy and Rose (1986) investigated the relative effectiveness of social skills training and social-cognitive treatment as preventive interventions for early adolescents. They concluded that some evidence suggests that a treatment model which combines behavioral and cognitive approaches will enhance the effectiveness of treatment for early adolescents. Clearly, much more research needs to be conducted on the effectiveness of social-cognitive skills training as a school-based interventive This approach involving students with school behavioral problems. paucity of studies in this area is linked to the general lack of outcome studies on school-based interventions. For example, Claibom, Kerr, & Strong (1990) in their extensive review of group interventions within school settings found that “despite the great variety of group counseling interventions being used in the schools, relatively few appear with any frequency in the professional literature. While some of these may be effective and widely applicable, none have been thoroughly researched” (p. 714). Outcome studies of school-based interventions also suffer from a number of limitations. These limitations include relatively homogeneous samples, lack of control groups, and failure to include outcome measures which assessed the generalization of students’ cognitive and behavioral changes from the group setting to the classroom setting. This study was designed to address a number of these limitations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based social-cognitive skills training program for middle school students with school behavior problems. This group training program focused on the acquisition of specific “school survival” skills needed by students who were at-risk of being suspended from school. This training program was utilized as a secondary prevention strategy. Secondary prevention is defined as interventions which target vulnerable individuals and seek to remove them from their at-risk status or to improve their functioning to optimal levels (Barker, 1987; Caplan, 1964). The intent was to limit the extent or severity of student behavioral problems through early identification and early intervention and to reduce the risk of being suspended from school. The hypotheses developed for this study were designed to answer the following questions: 1) Will a social-cognitive group treatment program result in significant differences between treatment and control subjects
Cognitive Skills Training for Middle School Students
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following treatment? 2) Will there be any differential effects of group treatment based upon the race and gender of treatment subjects following treatment? 3) Will there be any differential effects of group treatment based upon the treatment settings following treatment? Methods
Participants The population of interest in this study was sixth and seventh grade students who exhibited school behavior problems which placed them atrisk of being suspended from school. Students enrolled in a full-time Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program or an in-school alternative education program were excluded from this study because they were already receiving assistance for their behavioral problems in a more individualized school setting. A random sample of students was selected from three middle schools following the first ten weeks of the 1990-91 school year. The locations of the three middle schools selected for this study reflected reasonably widespread geographical locations within a school district in north Florida. Students were selected for this study based upon the following criteria. First, students had to have received one or more disciplinary referrals for school behaviors which reflected problems with school authority figures or peers. These behaviors included defiance, disrespect, insubordination, tardiness or fighting with peers. Second, students had to have two or more conduct reports from teachers which indicated needs to improve or unsatisfactory. A pretest-posttest control group design was implemented at each of the three middle schools. A total sample of 35 students participated in this study. The middle schools each provided three treatment groups consisting of a combined total of 16 subjects and there were three control groups consisting of 19 subjects. To ensure that students randomly assigned to the treatment group would be comparable to students randomly assigned to the control group along the variables of race and gender, the sample at each school was stratified on these variables prior to randomization. Description of Group Treatment Program The social-cognitive skills training (i.e. school survival) program had three major process goals: 1) to provide group members with a greater cognitive awareness of provocative school situations and their unproductive verbal and nonverbal responses to such situations; 2) to teach a sequential problem-solving process to group members; and 3) to provide group members with an opportunity to discuss and practice specific school
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survival skills within the group through the use of modeling, role-playing,
group feedback, and homework. These three major goals were reflected in the three phases of the group training program. The first phase, sessions one through five, focused upon the acquisition of specific cognitive skills. A number of concepts from Transactional Analysis (Beme, 1961) provided the framework for discussion for phase one. Transactional Analysis concepts are important cognitive tools in helping early adolescents become more aware of interpersonal difficulties within the school environment. These concepts also assist students in developing more effective problemsolving strategies. T.A. concepts are especially useful with early adolescents because they: 1) are easy to understand, 2) allow insight into how past experiences affect present attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, and 3) provide a method for analyzing ineffective and often destructive interpersonal communication patterns by providing options for cognitive and behavioral change. The second phase of the group, sessions six and seven, focused upon learning and implementing a problem-solving process. The third phase of the group, sessions eight through ten, focused on the acquisition of specific school survival skills or adaptive school behaviors. Modeling, role-playing, group feedback, and homework were utilized during phase three to enable group members to acquire more adaptive and productive school behaviors. The group treatment program was carried out concurrently at the three middle schools beginning in late January, 1991 and ending in mid-April, 1991. Group sessions were led by the principal researcher and were conducted during one class period each week (approximately 45 minutes) over ten consecutive weeks. No-Treatment
Control Group
Students randomly assigned to the control group at each school completed the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale before and immediately following the treatment program. A list of all students selected for this study was given to the Assistant principal(s) responsible for student discipline at each school. The assistant principal(s) and teachers were not told which students were randomly assigned to the treatment or control groups in each school. Measures Two standardized scales were selected to measure cognitive changes within subjects and overt behavioral change. To assess cognitive changes within subjects, the locus of control construct was considered important.
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Cognitive theorists contend that it is not actual external events that cause people difficulty but rather how people perceive external events (Sherman, 1987). Differences in locus of control reflect whether people feel outside forces are responsible for what happens to them (higher external locus of control) or whether they believe themselves to be personally responsible (higher internal locus of control). The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (N-SLCS) was selected to evaluate changes in students’ perceptions of locus of control before and after treatment. The N-SLCS is a 40-item rapid assessment instrument that determines the degree to which children (9-18 years of age) believe they have control over their lives. NSLCS scores range from O-40 with higher scores reflecting more external locus of control. The N-SLCS has been used extensively and has been found to be a reliable and valid measure of the locus of control construct with children and adolescents. The appropriateness of the N-SLCS for this study is further based upon the finding that the locus of control dimension appears to be a variable of significant impact on children’s behaviors, and the “Nowicki-Strickland scale appears to be an appropriate instrument for assessing this variable” (Nowicki 8z Strickland, 1973, p. 154). The splithalf reliability for grades six through eight is 58 and a six-week test-retest correlation of A6 for seventh grade. To assess cognitive and behavioral changes of students, as reported by teachers, the construct of self-control is an important measure of adaptive behavior. Self-control reflects the extent to which students are able to restrict impulses or behaviors and behaviors that reflect greater selfcontrol are essential school survival skills. The Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS) was selected to assess changes in cognitive and behavioral dimensions of student self-control as reported by classroom teachers before and after treatment. Because this measure is based upon a teacher-report of student self-control, it also provides an important measure of ski11generalization from the treatment setting to the classroom setting. The TSCRS is a 15item teacher-report scale describing cognitive and personal components of student self-control and overt student behavior in specific situations (Humphrey, 1982). Higher scores on the TSCRS reflect greater student self-control. The scale’s reliability is reported in terms of test-retest correlations over a two to three week period with total scores correlated at .94. Total scores on the TSCRS for each subject in this study are the average scores across three randomly chosen teachers at both pretest and posttest. Observation Checklists To ensure that the group treatment program was carried out in an accurate and consistent manner, a student services professional (e.g.,
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school guidance counselor, social worker, psychologist) from each school was asked to observe the group leader and to complete an Observer Checklist after each group session. Interobserver agreement was 8 1%. Equivalency of Treatment and Control Groups The Mann-Whitney U test was performed using the pretest scores from both measures to determine whether any significant differences existed between the treatment group or control group before the initiation of treatment. Based on this testing, the two groups were considered to be statistically equivalent on both dependent measures prior to treatment.
RlSUltS
The major hypotheses addressed the question of whether a socialcognitive group treatment program would result in significant differences between treatment and control subjects following treatment. There were statistically significant differences between the pretest and posttest scores of treatment subjects on the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale in the direction of more internal locus of control (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, T = 19.5, p c.05, N = 16) and on the Teachers SelfControl Rating Scale in the direction of more teacher-reported self-control (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, T = 30, p c.05, N = 16). No statistically significant differences were found between the pretest and posttest scores on either the N-SLCS (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, T = 46, p > .05, N = 19) or the TSCRS (Wilcoxon matchedpairs signed ranks test, T = 73.5, p > .05, N = 19) for subjects in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the posttest scores of the treatment group and the control group on the Nowicki-Strickhuid Locus of Control Scale. The value of U on this measure was 113.5. A LI of 92 or less would have been significant at the .05 level. No statistically significant differences were found between the posttest scores of the treatment group and the control group on the Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale. The value of U on this measure was 151. A U of 92 or less would have been significant at the .05 level. In addition, no significant differences were found among black males, white males or black females who participated in treatment on the N-SLCS (x;! = 5.99, df = 2,p > .OS) or on the TSCRS (x;! = 5.99, df = 2, p > .05) and no significant differences were found among treatment subjects based upon the treatment setting on the N-SLCS ($ = 5.99, df = 2, p b.05) or on the TSCRS (x2 = 5.99, df = 2,~ x05).
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Discussion
Significant differences between the pre- and posttest scores on the NSLCS provides evidence that subjects who participated in treatment experienced significant shifts in locus of control. Treatment subjects demonstrated shifts from a more external locus of control before treatment to a more internal locus of control after treatment. No significant shifts in locus of control were reported by control subjects. The finding of statistical significance on the TSCRS provides evidence that subjects who participated in treatment were reported to be more able to restrict their impulses or behaviors following treatment than they had prior to treatment. No significant changes in self-control were reported for control subjects. Moreover, since the TSCRS is a teacher-reported measure, changes on this measure reflected changes in subjects’ self-control which could be generalized from the treatment setting to the classroom setting following treatment. In addition, findings indicate that outcomes were not correlated with the race and gender of participants nor were they correlated with the setting where the treatment occurred. The failure to find statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups based on a comparison of their respective posttest scores from the N-SLCS and TSCRS resulted from unanticipated improvements in the control subjects. Two factors could have produced these unanticipated improvements in control subjects and suppressed the true effects of the treatment program. Cook and Campbell (1979) have labeled these factors “compensatory rivalry by respondents receiving less desirable treatments” and “diffusion or imitation of treatments”. Since control subjects were aware of the fact that they were not chosen to participate in the group treatment program, they may have exerted additional effort to compensate for not being selected to participate in treatment. In addition, students randomly assigned to the control group had the opportunity to regularly interact with students randomly assigned to the treatment group. For example, some of them rode the school bus together and ate lunch together. These opportunities for control subjects to regularly communicate with treatment subjects may have exposed students assigned to the control group to certain aspects of the treatment program. Implications For School Social Workers
The findings of statistical significance between the pre- and posttest scores on the N-SLCS and the TSCRS for the treatment group but not the control group have several important implications for school social work practice. First, there are few outcome studies in the literature which have reported on the effectiveness of school-based interventions involving
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middle school students with school behavior problems. This study provides evidence that a social-cognitive skills training program is effective as a secondary prevention strategy. That is, there is evidence that the social-cognitive skills training program evaluated in this study is an effective alternative to suspension. Second, the results of this study address a major limitation of previous studies of social-cognitive skills training with children and adolescents. Most previous studies have been limited to an assessment of cognitive and/or behavioral change within the treatment setting (Urbain & Savage, 1989). The current study provides evidence that improvements in selfcontrol for treatment subjects were observed by their classroom teachers. Consequently, these improved behaviors were generalizable from the treatment setting to the classroom setting. Moreover, since the pretest and posttest scores from the TSCRS were based upon the average scores from three of their teachers, these improvements in treatment subjects’ selfcontrol were observed across several different classrooms following treatment. Third, these findings support a sequential approach of group treatment with early adolescents. Specifically, there is support for the notion that it is advantageous to begin such treatment at a cognitive level by providing group members with awareness and insight into their feelings and actions. Once this has been carried out, group members are taught a problemsolving process which allows them to apply what was learned. The utility of Transactional Analysis concepts as cognitive tools within a socialcognitive skills training program are also supported by these findings. Although there was no direct measure of the extent to which specific TA concepts were acquired during the course of the training program, it may be inferred that Transactional Analysis concepts were an important component of the over-all training program. For example, these concepts may have helped the participants to understand their ineffective and unproductive school behaviors and led to the acquisition of more effective problem-solving skills and specific school survival skills.
Conclusion School social workers must address problems of importance facing our public schools and demonstrate that their interventions are effective in producing desired changes. As greater numbers of students are suspended from school as a result of their misbehavior, school administrators will continue to search for effective alternatives to suspension. The results from this study indicate that this social-cognitive skills training program shows promise as a school-based positive alternative to suspension.
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The results from this study lend empirical support to the short-term effectiveness of a social-cognitive treatment program for middle school students with school behavior problems. This study provides evidence that early identification and early treatment of at-risk students results in more adaptive school behaviors. Rather than waiting for the behavioral difficulties to reach the point where students are repeatedly suspended from school, this program provides school social workers with an effective means of minimizing the damage. By teaching at-risk students a number of cognitive and social skills necessary for survival within the middle school, school social workers are able to assume a more proactive and preventive approach to practice. There is a critical need to develop school-based alternatives to suspension. Much more research needs to be conducted on both the short and long-term effects of social-cognitive skills training programs as a school-based alternative to suspension. In addition to targeting students with behavior problems, future alternative to suspension programs should also include interventions with teachers, administrators, and parents. This study is a beginning effort in the development, implementation, and evaluation of such programs.
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