Examining the effectiveness of social skills training and parenting skills training in the rural schools

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of school-based social skills training (SST) and parenting skills training (PT) groups in a rural community. Further, the study examined the relationship of parenting stress and parent psychological functioning to child outcome variables. Participants for the study were 14 students attending regular or special education classes in the third or fourth grade in a rural Oklahoma school district, their parents, and their teachers. Dependent variables included the BASC, ECBI, SESBI-R, SSRS, BSI, PSI, and observational data. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either SST-only or SST/PT and completed assessment measures pre and post intervention. It was hypothesized that children in the SST/PT condition would demonstrate more behavioral improvements across time as compared to the SST-only children.

Findings and Conclusions: Results indicated that families with younger parent participants and children who had a stepparent in the home were less likely to complete the study than families with older parents and children living with one or both of their biological parents. Although analyses for the main hypotheses were generally not statistically significant, moderate effect sizes were found for several main effects of time and intervention, as well as some intervention by time interactions. Notably, the increase in parent reported prosocial skills pre to post intervention was significant. Also, parenting stress was found to be correlated with parent reports of child behavior on several measures. Strengths of the study included a clinical intervention in a highly underserved rural community and use of multi-informant, multi-modal assessments. Limitations of the current study, barriers to treatment in rural communities, and directions for future research are also considered.