Social skills training for aggressive adolescents

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Problematic peer relations, particularly when chronic, can have a tremendous impact on children's functioning and mental health. Interpersonal aggression is a substantial peer problem among our youth. A history of aggressive behavior with peers is associated with a myriad of later negative outcomes, including delinquency and criminality. Intervention research supports the use of social skills training for decreasing aggression and antisocial behavior problems in aggressive youth as well as for improving their peer relations and social behavior. The primary aim of this project is to develop a new social skills intervention, entitled Project Forward (PF), for use with Middle and High school students. PF will build on an established group social skills intervention, S.S.GRIN (Social Skills GRoup INtervention) that has been particularly successful working with aggressive elementary students. PF will not only extend S.S.GRIN to older students, but also incorporate innovative treatment strategies so that PF will offer professionals a significant advancement over what is currently available for use with this population. The first task of Phase I will be to develop a prototype of the Project Forward (PF) intervention. PF will build on S.S.GRIN and extend skill training for decreasing antisocial and impulsive behavior and more directly address social triggers for aggression, such as bullying. Innovative treatment strategies (video segments and Internet-based homework) will also be integrated into the curriculum. Separate developmental versions will be created for Middle and High school, each including a Facilitator's Manual, session scripts, and youth and parent handouts. The second task of Phase I will be to conduct a test of PF's feasibility within two primary targeted markets (school counselors and community agency professionals). Based on Phase I findings, Phase II funding will be sought to revise and refine these products in order to maximize quality and create Spanish translations. A Phase II scientific evaluation of the use and efficacy of PF will also be conducted predicting changes in social and behavioral functioning. This project will establish PF as an efficacious competitor in the intervention marketplace.