Social Skills Across the Life Span

Theory, Assessment, and Intervention

1st Edition - May 20, 2020
Editors: Douglas W. Nangle, Cynthia A. Erdley, Rebecca Schwartz-Mette
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 7 7 5 2 - 5
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 7 7 5 3 - 2

Social skills are critical to psychological adjustment across the lifespan. These skills are necessary for attaining a variety of important social, emotional, and interpersonal go… Read more

Purchase options

LIMITED OFFER

Save 50% on book bundles

Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code is needed.

Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect

Request a sales quote

Social skills are critical to psychological adjustment across the lifespan. These skills are necessary for attaining a variety of important social, emotional, and interpersonal goals. Social skill definits and resulting negative social interactions are associated with a wide variety of adjustment problems and psychological disorders. Social Skills across the Life Span: Theory is a comprehensive social skills volume providing in-depth coverage of theory, assessment, and intervention. Divided into three major sections, the volume begins with the definition of social competence, developmental factors, and relations to adjustment. This is followed by coverage of general assessment and intervention issues across the lifespan. In the third section, program developers describe specific evidence-based interventions.

Part I: Theory

1. Defining Social Skills
Rachel L. Grover, Douglas W. Nangle, Michelle Buffie, and laura A. Andrews

2. Developing Social Skills
Julie Newman Kingery, Cynthia A. Erdley, and Emily Scarpulla

3. Linking Social Skills and Adjustment
Kimberly E. Kamper-DeMarco, Jessica Shankman, Eliot Fearey, Hannah R. Lawrence, and Rebecca A. Schwartz-Mette
Part II: Assessment and Intervention

4. Assessing Youth
Cynthia A. Erdley and Melissa S. Jankowski

5. Assessing Adults
Sarah Fischer, Peter J. Norton, William Spaulding, and James A. Courtney

6. Intervening with Youth
Laura A. Andrews, Rachel L. Grover, Michelle L. Buffie, and Douglas W. Nangle

7. Intervening with Adults
Samantha J. Gregus, Elissa R. Failes, Elizabeth Ramirez, Raegan Harrington, Phoebe Welcome, and Rebecca A. Schwartz-Mette
Part III: Social Skills Interventions
Section A: Children and Adolescents

8. Play Skills for Shy Preschoolers: A Social Skills Training and Facilitated Play (SST-FP) Early Intervention Program
Robert J. Coplan

9. The Fast Track Friendship Group Program
Karen L. Bierman

10. The PATHS Curriculum: Thirty-Five Years and Counting
Carol A. Kusché

11. Superheroes Social Skills
Keith C. Radley and Kate A. Helbig

12. School-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder
Samantha Coyle, Farah Mahmud, Cody Weeks, and Carrie Masia Warner

13. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS)
Emily Moulton and Elizabeth Laugeson
Section B: Adults

14. Emotional and Social Competence (ESC) for Adults: Keys for Health, Happiness, and Success
Carol A. Kusché, Anna-Lisa Mackey, and Julian B.R. Kusché

15. Charisma™: A virtual Reality Training to Promote Social BrainHealth in Adults
Tandra T. Allen, Lara Ashmore, Shelly Gordon, Aaron Tate,Lori G. Cook, and Sandra Bond Chapman

16. PREP4Work: A Social Skills Intervention to Prepare Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual
Disabilities to Access the Workplace
Jennifer Holloway, Helena Lydon, and Edith Walsh

17. Social Skills Training for Persons with Schizophrenia
Julia Browne, Kim T. Mueser, and Sarah I. Pratt

Douglas W. Nangle

Douglas W. Nangle, PhD, is Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine. He has published extensively in the areas of social skills assessment and treatment, child and adolescent peer relations, and cognitive-behavioral treatments. An award-winning teacher and mentor, he has advised, taught, and provided clinical supervision for doctoral students for more than 20 years. His research examines the influence of close peer relationships on the psychological adjustment of children and adolescents. Ongoing investigations include the further validation of a measure of adolescent heterosocial competence, a short-term longitudinal examination of the effects of three dyadic interaction processes (i.e., negative feedback seeking, excessive reassurance seeking, and co-rumination) within girl friendships on the onset and worsening of depressive symptoms, and a developmental test of the protective value of children’s friendships. Other areas of interest include social skills assessment and intervention, ADHD, aggression, and cognitive behavioral treatments. As a licensed psychologist, Dr. Nangle also provides supervision for students in the doctoral program, directs an ADHD clinic, and maintains a forensic psychology practice, in which he serves as a consultant for the Maine State Forensic Service, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Child Abuse and Neglect Evaluators Project.

Affiliations and expertise

Professor and Director, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

Cynthia A. Erdley

Dr. Cynthia A. Erdley is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Maine. For over 20 years, she has mentored students in the Developmental-Clinical track of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and has taught courses focused on child and adolescent development. Her research has investigated the ways in which children’s and adolescents’ peer experiences relate to their adjustment, including depression. She has also examined the role of social-cognitive processes in behavior and psychological adjustment. Her work has been published in leading child clinical and developmental psychology journals.

Affiliations and expertise

Professor of Developmental Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

Rebecca Schwartz-Mette

Dr. Schwartz-Mette’s research focuses on the intersection of emotional adjustment and peer relationships in childhood and adolescence. This work has two primary aims: a) to understand the ways in which distress and health-related behaviors impact the important context of youths’ friendships and vice versa, and b) to understand the mechanisms of positive and negative peer influence. She is also a licensed clinician working with children, families, adults and couples struggling with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating and body image issues, adjustment problems, behavior issues, self-injury and suicidality, grief, and trauma.

Affiliations and expertise

Director, Peer Relations Lab, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA