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Developing Social Competence Through a Resilience Model

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Abstract

Social deficits are ubiquitous across childhood psychopathology, and impaired social functioning in childhood is associated with a multitude of negative outcomes throughout youth and into adulthood. In contrast, social competence, a key component of resilience, is associated with multiple positive outcomes. In this chapter, we discuss the nature of childhood resilience and how psychotherapeutic interventions may enhance resilience. The primary components of resilience, including proactive orientation, self-regulation, connections and attachments, special interests and talents, community, and proactive parenting, are reviewed. We then describe the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP®), a comprehensive resilience-based manualized group therapy for children and adolescents with prominent social competence deficits. Finally, we discuss efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of the RBP® in a private clinical practice, and we present pilot data in youth with ADHD, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorders.

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... Prior studies of the RBP in the private practice setting, which include a subset of the current sample, have documented that following participation in the RBP intervention, youth display significant improvement in domains including resilience (i.e., relatedness, trust, comfort, tolerance, resourcefulness, and self-efficacy; Alvord et al., 2014), social skills (Goolsby et al., 2019), self-regulation and emotional control (Goolsby et al., 2018), depression, behavior problems (Senior et al., 2020), and family functioning . The current study first aimed to expand upon prior effectiveness studies of the RBP by focusing on outcomes in internalizing problems using a broad, transdiagnostic sample, and to clarify the role of comorbid diagnoses in RBP outcomes as comorbidity likely increases the complexity of symptomatology and affects treatment outcomes (Jensen et al., 2001). ...
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The Resilience Builder Program® (RBP) is a cognitive-behavioral based group therapy for children with psychosocial deficits. Previous studies in children with varied diagnoses (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorders) have provided evidence for its effectiveness in emotion regulation, positive emotions, social skills, and resilience. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which specific therapeutic components of the RBP may reduce internalizing problems in children. The current study examined pre- to post-therapy change in self-regulation, resilience, and internalizing problems, and investigated the therapeutic pathways of the RBP for reducing children’s internalizing problems by accounting for resilience improvement. Children (N = 244) between 7 to 15 years old with diverse diagnoses and heterogeneous symptoms who completed the RBP were assessed with parent-report measures of executive functioning, emotion regulation, resilience, and internalizing problems prior to and following the RBP. Results found that improvement in self-regulation and resilience predicted significant reductions in internalizing problems in children following the RBP. In addition, the change in resilience was found to be a significant predictor of the relationship between the change in self-regulation and internalizing problems. These findings clarify the therapeutic mechanisms of RBP, and more broadly speak to the value of targeting self-regulation and resilience as a means of reducing internalizing problems in youth receiving psychotherapeutic interventions.
... Prior studies of RBP, conducted in a private clinical practice setting, found the intervention to significantly improve functioning across varied clinical domains. Transdiagnostic preadolescent youth with prominent psychosocial deficits had significant improvements following participation in RBP in child-reported (Alvord et al., 2014) and parent-reported resilience (Goolsby et al., 2018), parent-reported social skills (Goolsby et al., 2019(Goolsby et al., , 2018, and parent-reported emotional regulation (Goolsby et al., 2018). The generalizability of these results is limited given that participants were primarily from middle to high-SES families and White. ...
Article
Enhancing resilience is valuable to youth from economically marginalized communities given that they often face greater challenges and hardships than their peers from more affluent communities. Efforts to increase resilience skills in these youth are hampered because they disproportionately encounter barriers in access to mental health interventions. Implementing school-based services may be optimal to address these inequalities. This project explores the effectiveness of a school-based group intervention (the Resilience Builder Program®) related to resilience and academic functioning in a sample of children from economically marginalized communities. Students (N = 169) with social-emotional difficulties were recruited from five elementary schools and randomly assigned to participate in the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP) immediately or following a semester delay. Participants, their parents, and teachers completed measures of resilience (BASC-2, RSCA) and academic functioning (ACES). Results found a significant relationship between resilience and stronger academic functioning (i.e., engagement and motivation). RBP participants, their parents, and teachers reported greater increases in resilience compared to the delay group. Teachers reported significant increases in students’ study skills, academic engagement, interpersonal skills, and academic motivation compared to the delay group. RBP participants reported significantly greater study skills and academic engagement, compared to the delay group. Findings indicate school-based RBP effectively promotes resilience skills and academic functioning in children who often face significant barriers to accessing mental health care.
... Resilience is a dynamic process broadly defined as the set of skills, attributes, and abilities that enable positive adaptation to life challenges (Alvord & Grados, 2005). While resilience has traditionally been conceptualized as a set of emotional and behavioral responses to significant adversity and trauma, a current conceptualization of resilience now views this construct as an adaptive response to everyday challenges, many of which are common to youth with ADHD including impulsive and disruptive behaviors, emotion dysregulation, and peer problems (Alvord, Rich, & Berghorst, 2014;Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). Resilience skills encompass behavioral and emotional self-regulation processes, proactive thinking orientations (e.g., self-efficacy, taking initiative), and adaptability in the face of stressors . ...
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Social deficits are highly impairing in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interventions incorporating cognitive-behavioral and emotion regulation techniques may prove more effective than traditional social skills training (SST). This study examined the effectiveness of a manualized resilience-based group intervention and aimed to identify the mediators of social functioning improvement for children with ADHD. One hundred and fifty-nine children (ages 7–13 years) with an ADHD diagnosis participated in the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP) in a private clinical setting. Findings indicated significant pretest-posttest improvement across informants and multiple domains of functioning (e.g., behavior problems, hyperactivity/inattention, internalizing problems, social skills, resilience). Mediation analyses did not render significant results. RBP demonstrated effectiveness in numerous behavioral, emotional, and social domains in children with ADHD. Continued investigation of the mediators of social functioning improvement is needed to better understand RBP effectiveness for this population.
... El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la validez y confiabilidad de un instrumento que midiera la resiliencia como un proceso en mujeres indígenas de México, de manera general, se mantuvo la estructura original en las dimensiones apoyo familiar y apoyo social, y se respetó en su mayoría las preguntas pertenecientes a las dimensiones de competencia social, fortaleza y confianza en sí mismo; las preguntas que se agruparon de manera diferente estaban inmersas en la dimensión de fortaleza y confianza De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos del análisis factorial, el componente más importante está determinado por aquellos factores que le permiten al individuo interactuar con su ambiente, de mantener redes sociales y sobre los cuales los individuos desarrollan percepciones de su propio comportamiento y le permiten actuar en un contexto de constante cambio, tal como lo define Serud-Clikema 18 , la competencia social es un concepto integrado con una diversidad de elementos como: la necesidad de adaptación, la autoeficacia, la autorregulación de emociones, entre otros 19 . Estos factores representan un punto crítico para el desarrollo de la resiliencia, ya que involucran un buen funcionamiento psicosocial, al ser analizado como un factor protector 20 , o como un resultado de la resiliencia, si se es analizado desde una perspectiva en el cuidado que se les da durante el desarrollo de las personas 21,22 . ...
Article
A resiliência inclui uma série de capacidades e habilidades, as quais são adquiridas como resultado da interação do individuo com seu contexto, conseguindo superar seus próprios limites de resistência, através da geração de mecanismos, processo de defesa e proteção mais eficientes do que antes, diante da exposição a eventos adversos. A medição da resiliência é feita por meio da medição da adversidade, adaptação exitosa e o processo, o que tem gerado na atualidade várias ferramentas. Na literatura não existe um instrumento que considere a resiliência desde uma perspectiva cultural indígena ao respeito das mulheres, portanto, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a validade e confiabilidade das pontuações obtidas com esta escala, a serem aplicadas em mulheres indígenas. A mostra foi integrada por 180 participantes, pertencentes a diversas municipalidades indígenas do México, onde foi aplicada a Escala de Resiliência Mexicana (RESI-M) de Palomar Lever & Gómez Valdez 2010. Foi avaliada a consistência interna por meio do coeficiente de confiabilidade alfa de Cronbach e foi determinada a estrutura interna de cada uma das dimensões por meio de uma análise fatorial de componentes principais com rotação Varimax. A idade media das participantes foi de 33±9,4 anos de idade. Depois das análises de confiabilidade e validade estatística, foi obtida uma versão final do instrumento com 34 perguntas, das 43 originais; com uma confiabilidade aceitável de 0,942 (alfa de Cronbach) e com 6 fatores que explicam o 56,34% da variância total. A versão é válida e confiável, com uma estrutura que permite avaliar a resiliência como um processo em mulheres indígenas.
... A series of within-sample pilot studies provided preliminary evidence of the RBP's effectiveness. Comparing pretherapy with posttherapy functioning, outcome data examined independent of the child's diagnostic status indicated that RBP leads to a significant improvement in overall resilience, as well as subdomains including relatedness, trust, and self-efficacy, as measured by the Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents (Alvord, Rich, & Berghorst, 2014). When differentiated by diagnosis, for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for example, the RBP results in improved parent report of social skills and peer interactions; reduced parent, child, and teacher report of behavior problems (including hyperactivity and inattention); reduced parent and child report of internalizing symptoms; and increased child report of emotion regulation . ...
Chapter
What accounts for the wide range in human response to life challenges and adversities? How can we intervene to shift the trajectory of a life course in a positive direction? As the study of resilience has evolved, it has become clear that the answer to both of these questions is more nuanced than may be apparent at face value. This chapter describes resilience and identifies factors that contribute to its complexity, underscoring the dynamic process of resilience. Interventions that promote resilience are outlined, highlighting their application and evidence base. We conclude by forecasting future directions for theory, research, practice, and training in resilience interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Chapter
This chapter focuses on resilience in relation to self-control—within the context of impulsivity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The core problems in ADHD are defined at the outset in relation to neuropsychological correlates and latent factor structure of observable symptoms; changes proposed by DSM-5 and ICD-11 revisions are summarized. The application of personal recovery theories has recently been developed in ADHD, yielding a novel concept of recovernance. Recovernance represents a specific kind of recovery—as a portmanteau by merging ‘recovery’ and ‘maintenance’—denoting that ongoing adjustments are required to maintain functional optimization in ADHD. This is an iterative and unending process, which can be at times exhausting, demoralizing and frustrating for individuals with ADHD. Resilience is hard-earned. As such, resilience in the context of ADHD is a lifelong effortful process, which also requires acquisition and accumulation of knowledge about ADHD, ensuing limitations as well as self-awareness; nevertheless, recovernance can yield mastery, flourishing, and rewards. Parents’ roles in fostering resilience are highlighted. Instead of determinism, resilience in ADHD underscores multifinality by considering different developmental life trajectories—influenced by predictors of interventional, functional, and resilience adjustments. Resilience-based intervention and new research avenues of psychosocial determinants are also discussed.
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Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience a variety of unique challenges that may be compounded for individuals pursuing postsecondary education. Particular difficulties identified for college students with ASD include variability in social skills, social isolation, and reduced access to appropriate support and services. Research on effective interventions supporting college students with ASD is considerably lacking. This pilot study sought to address this area of need by modifying the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) for Young Adults, a social skills training program for young adults with autism, for use on a college campus. Following the intervention, participants showed improvements in areas of social functioning that are particularly important for college students with ASD, including overall social functioning, social awareness, social motivation, social cognition, and knowledge of social skills. This study is an important step toward the development of effective interventions that address social competence specifically for young adults with autism in postsecondary educational environments.
Article
Resilience and emotion regulation are crucial for optimal psychosocial functioning in children. This study assessed whether a group-based intervention, the Resilience Builder Program (RBP), improved student report of emotion regulation when administered in elementary schools. Sixty-seven students aged 9–12 years (M = 10.50, SD =.74; 82.1% male, 98.5% ethnic/racial minority) were randomly assigned to receive the RBP intervention immediately or following a semester delay. Participants reported their emotional control using the How I Feel scale. Students who received the RBP reported a significant increase in their emotional control and a significant decrease in negative emotion compared to those students in the delayed treatment sample who had not yet received the intervention. Further, students indicated a strongly positive perception of the therapy.
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Background Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often carry co-morbid diagnoses and present with impairing heterogeneous symptomatology (Leyfer et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 36(7): 849–861, 2006. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0123-0). However, research from controlled laboratory settings often fails to examine the vast number of co-occurring clinical challenges that are seen in youth with ASD treated in “real-world” clinical service settings (Ehrenreich-May et al. in Adm Policy Ment Health 38(5): 398–411, 2011. doi:10.1007/s10488-010-0328-6). Objective This study aimed to better understand this heterogeneity in children with ASD receiving services in clinical service settings and to assess the effectiveness of a group therapy intervention targeting these symptoms. Methods Thirty-nine children with ASD were treated in a large private practice with the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP). Pre- and post-treatment questionnaires assessing social, emotional and behavioral functioning were collected. ResultsYouth with ASD showed clinically elevated or at-risk pre-treatment levels of multiple behavioral and emotional symptoms. Children showed improvements in emotional control as well as a reduction in aggression and autistic symptomatology following treatment. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of understanding heterogeneity in ASD and indicates that the RBP is a promising intervention to improve overall emotional and behavioral functioning in children with ASD in a clinical service environment.
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This chapter highlights a strengths-based social psychological approach to resiliency to further clarify critical cultural diversity, ecological and life span development considerations. The chapter is organized around four major sections with particular emphasis on the importance of resiliency research on marginalized racial–ethnic populations. First, the chapter focuses on the complexity of the resiliency concept and related research perspectives on psychopathology, vulnerability, risk, protection, and strengths. Second, an integrative role strain and adaptation approach to resiliency is outlined including major theoretical propositions, assessment issues, and implications for preventive intervention. Third, we emphasize the importance of understanding the socio-cultural context of resiliency including diversity, multilevel, and life span issues. Finally, a reciprocal translation model is presented to promote the importance of bridging strengths-based resiliency scholarship with policy-relevant intervention research and assessment systems. Reciprocal translation can help to better understand and prevent complex resiliency challenges among marginalized racial–ethnic populations faced with intergenerational poverty, environmental threats, and chronic adversity in major life roles. In the twenty-first century, such resiliency challenges among marginalized populations are increasingly exacerbated by globalization, immigration, and growing economic disparities within diversifying nations, communities, and organizations.
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Complex aspects of human functioning are not always neatly deconstructed by researchers or neatly reconstructed for intentional application. Such is the case for the construct of “resilience.” Over the past 50+ years, definitions of resiliency have been numerous and research has operated at different levels of analysis, each with its own language and caveats. This complexity has made standardized use and application of the construct more difficult. According to a critical review by (Wald, Taylor, Asmundson, Jang, & Stapleton, 2006) there are several existing definitions of resilience that share in common a number of features all relating to human strengths, some type of disruption and growth, adaptive coping, and positive outcomes following exposure to adversity (e.g., Bonanno, 2004; Connor & Davidson, 2003; Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen, 2003; 2005; Masten et al., 1999; Richardson, 2002). There are also a number of distinctions made in attempts to define this construct. For example, some investigators assume that resilience is located “within the person” (e.g., Block & Block, 1980; Davidson et al., 2005). Other investigators (e.g., Friborg et al., 2003; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; Masten, 2001) propose that there are multiple sources and pathways to resiliency, including social context (e.g., family, external support systems). Luthar et al. (2000) have provided clarification by distinguishing between resilience as a dynamic developmental process or phenomenon that involves the interaction of personal attributes with environmental circumstances and resiliency (Block & Block, 1980) as a personality characteristic of the individual.
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The construct of perceived self-efficacy is the belief that one can perform novel or difficult tasks and attain desired outcomes, as spelled out in the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997). This “can do”-cognition reflects a sense of control over one’s environment and an optimistic belief of being able to alter challenging environmental demands by means of one’s own behavior. Hence, it represents a self-confident view of one’s capability to deal with certain stressors in life.
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Background: Impaired social functioning has been shown to be the most persistent and permeating challenge for youth with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD) throughout development; therefore various interventions have been developed to target these social deficits. Research examining the efficacy of manualized social skills intervention programs remains limited and treatment outcome has been predominantly studied in academic research settings. Moreover, conclusions regarding the efficacy of social skills training programs have been mixed; suggesting therapy must address more than just social skills. The present study aimed to address the above research limitations by exploring the effectiveness of the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP), a manualized, 12-week resilience-based group therapy program, for children with HFASD within a clinical service setting. RBP addresses social competence deficits by targeting skills such as emotion regulation, resilience and social problem solving. Methods: Data was collected from children ages 7-12 years who presented at a large private practice for treatment. Our sample was comprised of 17 children with HFASD (12 male; mean age = 11.04). Children were assessed on multiple domains of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning using measures given before beginning RBP and again after treatment ended. Results: Findings revealed that parents endorsed significant improvement in their children's general social skills and in specific social domains such as responsibility, communication and engagement after participating in RBP. Children reported an increased ability to communicate with adults and endorsed less negative emotion as well as increased emotion control. Conclusion: Results suggest that after undergoing the 12-week RBP group therapy, children with HFASD showed improvement in social skills, mood and emotion regulation. Despite aiming to treat heterogeneous social deficits, RBP successfully addressed core ASD social impairments. Results have important implications for expanded access to empirically-based treatments for HFASD youth in the clinical service settings in which they most frequently receive treatment.
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The purpose of this paper is to review and critique the variety of definitions, concepts, and theories of psychological resilience. To this end, the narrative is divided into three main sections. The first considers how resilience has been defined in the psychology research literature. Despite the construct being operationalized in a variety of ways, most definitions are based around two core concepts: adversity and positive adaptation. A substantial body of evidence suggests that resilience is required in response to different adversities, ranging from ongoing daily hassles to major life events, and that positive adaptation must be conceptually appropriate to the adversity examined in terms of the domains assessed and the stringency of criteria used. The second section examines the conceptualization of resilience as either a trait or a process, and explores how it is distinct from a number of related terms. Resilience is conceptualized as the interactive influence of psychological characteristics within the context of the stress process. The final section reviews the theories of resilience and critically examines one theory in particular that is commonly cited in the resilience literature. Future theories in this area should take into account the multiple demands individuals encounter, the meta cognitive and -emotive processes that affect the resilience-stress relationship, and the conceptual distinction between resilience and coping. The review concludes with implications for policy, practice, and research including the need to carefully manage individuals’ immediate environment, and to develop the protective and promotive factors that individuals can proactively use to build resilience.
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Background There is a lack of research examining the feasibility of group psychotherapy interventions for anxious children in private clinical service settings. Furthermore, no research to date has examined the effectiveness of resilience-based interventions for helping children with anxiety disorders. Objective The present study aims to examine the effectiveness of a resilience-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group psychotherapy, the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP), for improving the social, emotional, and family functioning of anxious children in a private clinical setting. Methods Participants consisted of 22 children with an anxiety disorder aged 7–12 (81.8 % generalized anxiety disorder; M age = 9.93; 63 % male) enrolled at a private psychotherapy practice in RBP, a 12-week manualized group treatment that targets social competence using resilience skills (i.e., affect and behavior regulation, flexibility/adaptability, social problem-solving, proactive orientation) Results Following the completion of RBP, results showed that parents and teachers reported significant decreases in problem behavior. In addition, parents reported significant decreases in depressive symptoms and improved family functioning domains of problem behaviors and communication. Teachers reported reduced internalizing symptoms, somatic problems, and socially odd behaviors, as well as improvements in communication skills and resilience. Moreover, children reported significant improvement in their positive and negative emotions, as well as their emotional control. Conclusions Findings from the present study suggest preliminary support for the effectiveness of RBP for improving anxious children’s social, emotional, and family functioning.
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Made psychiatric and intellectual assessments of 140 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 120 normal controls, and their 303 siblings. The index children were White, non-Hispanic boys. ADHD children were more likely to have had learning disabilities, repeated grades, been placed in special classes, and received academic tutoring. They also did worse on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R). Among ADHD probands, comorbid conduct, major depressive, and anxiety disorders predicted school placement more than school failure or WISC—R scores. However, the neuropsychological disability of all ADHD children could not be attributed to comorbid disorders because those without comorbidity had more school failure and lower WISC—R scores than normal controls. Intellectual impairment was also increased among siblings of ADHD children. This provides converging evidence that the ADHD syndrome is familial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This article describes an evidence-based preventive group intervention, Incredible Years Parent Training Program (IY). Decades of research have shown that IY strengthens parent and child competencies and in turn reduces child risks for developing conduct problems and other negative life outcomes. The purpose of this article is to examine IY through a resilience lens and highlight how it capitalizes on group process mechanisms to serve as a model preventive group intervention. Future directions and implications for research, practice, and training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Many clinical practitioners today are interested in helping children be more resilient. The authors briefly review the literature and identify protective factors that are related to or foster resilience in children. After discussing individual and family intervention strategies currently in use, the authors present a practical, proactive, resilience-based model that clinicians may use in a group intervention setting. The model entails interactive identification of protective factors with children, free play and behavioral rehearsal, training in relaxation and self-control techniques, practice in generalizing skills acquired, and active parent involvement. Implications of this group intervention model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Parent-child acculturation discrepancy is a risk factor in the development of children in immigrant families. Using a longitudinal sample of Chinese immigrant families, the authors of the current study examined how unsupportive parenting and parent-child sense of alienation sequentially mediate the relationship between parent-child acculturation discrepancy and child adjustment during early and middle adolescence. Acculturation discrepancy scores were created using multilevel modeling to take into account the interdependence among family members. Structural equation models showed that during early adolescence, parent-child American orientation discrepancy is related to parents' use of unsupportive parenting practices; parents' use of unsupportive parenting is related to increased sense of alienation between parents and children, which in turn is related to more depressive symptoms and lower academic performance in Chinese American adolescents. These patterns of negative adjustment established in early adolescence persist into middle adolescence. This mediating effect is more apparent among father-adolescent dyads than among mother-adolescent dyads. In contrast, parent-child Chinese orientation discrepancy does not demonstrate a significant direct or indirect effect on adolescent adjustment, either concurrently or longitudinally. The current findings suggest that during early adolescence, children are more susceptible to the negative effects of parent-child acculturation discrepancy; they also underscore the importance of fathering in Chinese immigrant families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
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Suggests that a number of children, many with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities, are at high risk for developing long-lasting problems affecting many areas of their lives, including their social relationships, academic and later professional success, tolerance of frustration and failure, and self-esteem. Factors that contribute to resiliency in these high-risk children are examined, including the areas of internal resources, family climate, the social environment, and self-esteem. Intervention strategies are discussed, including encouraging contributions, enhancing decision-making skills, positive feedback, developing self-discipline, and dealing with mistakes and failure.
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The effects of symbolic modeling in the form of stories were examined in changing young children's sharing behavior and knowledge of sharing. Nursery school and kindergarten children who displayed a low frequency of sharing were assigned to experimental and control conditions. The experimental group heard stories and viewed slide tape shows of modeled sharing. The control group heard animal stories and viewed slide tape shows with no modeled sharing. The results were as follows: (a) The modeling group shared significantly more than the control group. (b) The modeling group increased their sharing across the three experimental days, and shared significantly more than the control group on both the second and third days. (c) The modeling group acquired significantly more knowledge about sharing. The findings provide strong evidence for the efficacy of models in both book and slide formats for young children.
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Recent research in the field of positive psychology emphasises the important role positive emotions play, not only in overall human well-being, but also in the development of resilience. In this paper, we use Barbara Fredrickson’s ‘broaden and build’ theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2003) to explain the importance of generating positive emotions in the therapy room in addition to attending to the problems that our clients bring. We illustrate this with some examples of school-based therapeutic group work which aims to build and cultivate resilience through an ‘upward spiral’ of positive emotions. These examples also demonstrate the importance of including the child’s community in this work: their family, peers and school.
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Resilience in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: Translating Research into Practice recognizes the growing need to strengthen the links between theory, assessment, interventions, and outcomes to give resilience a stronger empirical base, resulting in more effective interventions and strength-enhancing practice. This comprehensive volume clarifies core constructs of resilience and links these definitions to effective assessment. Leading researchers and clinicians examine effective scales, questionnaires, and other evaluative tools as well as instructive studies on cultural considerations in resilience, resilience in the context of disaster, and age-appropriate interventions. Key coverage addresses diverse approaches and applications in multiple areas across the lifespan. Among the subject areas covered are: • Perceived self-efficacy and its relationship to resilience. • Resilience and mental health promotion in the schools. • Resilience in childhood disorders. • Critical resources for recovering from stress. • Diversity, ecological, and lifespan issues in resilience. • Exploring resilience through the lens of core self-evaluation. Resilience in Children, Adolescents, and Adults is an important resource for researchers, clinicians and allied professionals, and graduate students in such fields as clinical child, school, and developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, education, counseling psychology, social work, and pediatrics.
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The authors examined academic task persistence, pretask expectancies, self-evaluations, and attributions of boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as compared with control boys. Participants were 83 ADHD boys and 66 control boys, all normally achieving. Prior to the task, performance expectancies were assessed. After a success-failure manipulation with find-a-word puzzles, performance on subsequent trials, self-evaluations, and attributions were evaluated. Compared with controls, ADHD boys solved fewer test puzzles, quit working more often, and found fewer words on a generalization task. Consistent with these behavioral findings, research assistants rated ADHD boys as less effortful and less cooperative than control boys. Although ADHD boys did not differ significantly from controls in their posttask self-evaluations, they did differ significantly from controls in some aspects of their attributions. Attributional data indicated that ADHD boys endorsed luck as a reason for success more strongly and lack of effort as a reason for failure less strongly than controls.
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This clinical practice guideline provides recommendations for the assessment and diagnosis of school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This guideline, the first of 2 sets of guidelines to provide recommendations on this condition, is intended for use by primary care clinicians working in primary care settings. The second set of guidelines will address the issue of treatment of children with ADHD. The Committee on Quality Improvement of the American Academy of Pediatrics selected a committee composed of pediatricians and other experts in the fields of neurology, psychology, child psychiatry, development, and education, as well as experts from epidemiology and pediatric practice. In addition, this panel consists of experts in education and family practice. The panel worked with Technical Resources International, Washington, DC, under the auspices of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to develop the evidence base of literature on this topic. The resulting evidence report was used to formulate recommendations for evaluation of the child with ADHD. Major issues contained within the guideline address child and family assessment; school assessment, including the use of various rating scales; and conditions seen frequently among children with ADHD. Information is also included on the use of current diagnostic coding strategies. The deliberations of the committee were informed by a systematic review of evidence about prevalence, coexisting conditions, and diagnostic tests. Committee decisions were made by consensus where definitive evidence was not available. The committee report underwent review by sections of the American Academy of Pediatrics and external organizations before approval by the Board of Directors. The guideline contains the following recommendations for diagnosis of ADHD: 1) in a child 6 to 12 years old who presents with inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, academic underachievement, or behavior problems, primary care clinicians should initiate an evaluation for ADHD; 2) the diagnosis of ADHD requires that a child meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria; 3) the assessment of ADHD requires evidence directly obtained from parents or caregivers regarding the core symptoms of ADHD in various settings, the age of onset, duration of symptoms, and degree of functional impairment; 4) the assessment of ADHD requires evidence directly obtained from the classroom teacher (or other school professional) regarding the core symptoms of ADHD, duration of symptoms, degree of functional impairment, and associated conditions; 5) evaluation of the child with ADHD should include assessment for associated (coexisting) conditions; and 6) other diagnostic tests are not routinely indicated to establish the diagnosis of ADHD but may be used for the assessment of other coexisting conditions (eg, learning disabilities and mental retardation). This clinical practice guideline is not intended as a sole source of guidance in the evaluation of children with ADHD. Rather, it is designed to assist primary care clinicians by providing a framework for diagnostic decisionmaking. It is not intended to replace clinical judgment or to establish a protocol for all children with this condition and may not provide the only appropriate approach to this problem.
Article
Children identified as highly anxious and withdrawn by their teachers were compared to nonanxious children on independent measures of adjustment. From a sample of 325 children, 24 were identified who received extremely high teacher ratings on the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) Anxiety-Withdrawal factor. When contrasted with children receiving low teacher ratings on the RBPC Anxiety-Withdrawal subscale, teacher-identified anxious children were found to demonstrate a broad range of psychosocial difficulties. As assessed by peer, teacher, and self-reports, anxious-withdrawn children showed impairment in peer relations and in levels of depression, self-esteem, attention, school performance, and social behavior when compared to nonanxious children. Overall, the present findings lend empirical support to the forms of psychopathology purported to be associated with childhood anxiety disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1980).
Article
We investigated gender differences of children and adolescents on positive social and emotional competencies using a new strength-based measure of positive social–emotional attributes and resilience—the Social–Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales (SEARS) cross-informant system. Caregivers, teachers, and students in grades kindergarten through 12 from schools across several U.S. states completed SEARS rating scales and self-report forms. Females were consistently rated as having significantly higher total scores on all versions of the SEARS assessment system (p < .01), indicating consistent perceptions of females' higher levels of social–emotional competencies by all raters. These differences were not impacted by the grade students were in or the gender of the parent or teacher rater. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Book
Recent years have seen tremendous advances in understanding and treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Now in a revised and expanded third edition, this authoritative handbook brings the field up to date with current, practical information on nearly every aspect of the disorder. Drawing on his own and others' ongoing, influential research - and the wisdom gleaned from decades of front-line clinical experience - Russell A. Barkley provides insights and tools for professionals working with children, adolescents, or adults. Part I presents foundational knowledge about the nature and developmental course of ADHD and its neurological, genetic, and environmental underpinnings. The symptoms and subtypes of the disorder are discussed, as are associated cognitive and developmental challenges and psychiatric comorbidities. In Parts II and III, Barkley is joined by other leading experts who offer state-of-the-art guidelines for clinical management. Assessment instruments and procedures are described in detail, with expanded coverage of adult assessment. Treatment chapters then review the full array of available approaches - parent training programs, family-focused intervention for teens, school- and classroom-based approaches, psychological counseling, and pharmacotherapy - integrating findings from hundreds of new studies. The volume also addresses such developments as once-daily sustained delivery systems for stimulant medications and a new medication, atomoxetine. Of special note, a new chapter has been added on combined therapies. Chapters in the third edition now conclude with user-friendly Key Clinical Points. This comprehensive volume is intended for a broad range of professionals, including child and adult clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, school psychologists, and pediatricians. It serves as a scholarly yet accessible text for graduate-level courses. Note: Practitioners wishing to implement the assessment and treatment recommendations in the Handbook are advised to purchase the companion Workbook, which contains a complete set of forms, questionnaires, and handouts, in a large-size format with permission to photocopy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)(jacket)
Article
This study examined the predictors of aggressive offending that persisted from adolescence into young adulthood in an initial sample of 622 African American youth who were interviewed every 2 years between the ages of 12 and 22. Participants were classified as persistent aggressive offenders (n = 27) if they reported committing a felony assault during adolescence and young adulthood; as adolescent-only aggressive offenders (n = 65) if they reported a felony assault during adolescence but not during young adulthood; and as never aggressive ( n = 102) if they never reported a felony assault. (Participants with missing data who could not be accurately classified were excluded from the sample.) Compared to aggressive offenders, persistent aggressive offenders were more likely to be male and to have been rejected by peers in late childhood.They also reported more attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in late childhood.Compared to participants who never reported an aggressive offense,adolescent-only aggressive offenders were rated as more aggressive by peers and reported more ADHD symptoms but were not more likely to have been rejected.
Article
The present study investigated the relationship between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and emotion appraisal skills in children and their parents. Eighty children, 44 of whom had ADHD, and at least one of each of their parents participated in a study of appraisal skills for themselves and others as related to psychopathology. Results found support for previous research demonstrating that children with greater ADHD symptomatology are less adept at identifying emotion in both themselves and in others in different contexts. Contrary to the hypothesis, parental emotion appraisal skills were unrelated to greater ADHD symptoms in children. Overall, however, child and parent emotion appraisal skills were moderately related when psychopathology was not a factor.
Article
This study replicated, in the subsequent academic year, teacher-reported prevalence rates for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on DSM-IV. Teachers in grades K-5 in a Tennessee county (10 schools, 214 teachers, and 4323 children) completed questionnaires on all their students consisting of the DSM-IV symptoms for disruptive behavior disorders, except for eight conduct disorder symptoms, seven symptoms screening for anxiety or depression, ratings of performance, and questions about the presence of ADHD, stimulant medication treatment, and behavioral or academic problems. The prevalence rates were 16.1% for ADHD-all types, 8.8% for ADHD-inattentive type (AD), 2.6% for ADHD-hyperactive/impulsive type (HI), and 4.7% for ADHD-combined type and 6.8, 3.2, 0.6, and 2.9%, respectively, when impairment was taken into consideration. The rates of problems differed mostly between ADHD-AD and ADHD-HI (30% vs. 68%) for behavior and (56% vs. 16%) for academics. Few (11-33%) had an ADHD diagnosis or were treated with stimulant treatment (8-26%). DSM-IV criteria are likely to increase the prevalence but may better characterize the heterogeneity of this disorder.
Article
In laboratory studies, praising children's effort encourages them to adopt incremental motivational frameworks-they believe ability is malleable, attribute success to hard work, enjoy challenges, and generate strategies for improvement. In contrast, praising children's inherent abilities encourages them to adopt fixed-ability frameworks. Does the praise parents spontaneously give children at home show the same effects? Although parents' early praise of inherent characteristics was not associated with children's later fixed-ability frameworks, parents' praise of children's effort at 14-38 months (N = 53) did predict incremental frameworks at 7-8 years, suggesting that causal mechanisms identified in experimental work may be operating in home environments.
Article
This study examined research attrition in clinical service settings by comparing psychotherapy research completers and dropouts in a private therapy practice. Seventy-seven children 7-12 years old enrolled in the Resilience Builder Program(®) (RBP), a manualized group therapy created and administered in a private practice. Children had social impairments, and most were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or anxiety disorders. Results found that compared to completers, research dropouts had significantly greater social deficits, disruptive behavior problems, affective problems, medication use, and were more likely to be ethnic minorities. We discuss implications for research recruitment and retention in clinical service settings.
Article
Discusses Primary and Secondary Control Enhancement Training (PASCET) for youth depression. The authors present a psychosocial model of depression and a psychological model of change. The skills-and-thoughts depression framework focuses on skill deficits and habits of thought that set the stage for, and may prolong, depression in young people. The skills-and-thoughts perspective holds that, in part, that characteristic skill deficits and cognitive habits can generate sad affect and make the child vulnerable to depressive symptoms in response to adverse, stressful, or ambiguous life events. PASCET is the model of change. In this model, primary control involves efforts to cope by making objective conditions conform to one's wishes. In contrast, secondary control involves efforts to cope by adjusting oneself to fit objective conditions, to influence their subjective impact without altering the events themselves. The model holds that depression may be addressed, in part, by learning to apply primary control to distressing conditions that are modifiable, and secondary control to those conditions that are not. The PASCET program focuses on treatment of depressed youngsters (aged 8-15 yrs). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Of long-standing interest to the field of developmental psychology has been the significance of early emotional and cognitive skills for later socioemotional functioning, academic achievement, and mental health. Implicit in such interest is the notion that early skills, abilities, and tendencies may forecast a child's success or failure in the larger worlds of school and peers. In this chapter we consider the early emergence of two hallmarks of emotional and cognitive development, emotion regulation and executive functioning, each of which appears to be fundamental to later adaptive behavior. Given the functional characterization of both of these processes as control mechanisms, we examine the degree to which their emergence is a consequence of shared foundational biological and psychological mechanisms, and we suggest a framework for integrating them that may be informative of the developmental processes through which they emerge. Within this framework we examine evidence for differential growth in these domains and suggest possible mechanisms through which these processes influence one another mutually and transactionally over the course of early development. Finally, we pose unresolved questions and offer directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Book
Over the past 30 yrs, the self-esteem movement has promoted the credo in American homes and classrooms that unconditional positive feedback is what children need to make them feel better about themselves. But even though we are raising our children to feel good, the hard truth is that they have never been more depressed. In fact, depression strikes a quarter of all children today. To examine and reverse this trend, [the author] developed a long-term research study with his colleagues called the Penn Depression Prevention Project. Their startling findings prove that teaching children to challenge their pessimistic thoughts can "immunize" them against depression. "The Optimistic Child" offers parents and teachers the tools developed in this study to teach children of all ages life skills that transform helplessness into mastery and bolster genuine self-esteem. Learning the skills of optimism not only reduces the risk of depression but boosts school performance, improves physical health, and provides children with the self-reliance they need as they approach the teenage years and adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Background. Recently, several studies have shown that strength of self-control is a crucial factor in determining positive outcomes in individuals’ lives. Most attention has been directed to the relationships that self-control has with learning and academic achievement. Aims. This article analyses the effects of self-control not only on school grades but also on the experience of life balance and flow. It is theorized that students with a higher level of self-control are better able to distribute their time in a satisfying way over academic and leisure matters, and are better able to shield their studying against distractions. Samples. A total of 697 eighth graders with a mean age of 13.4 years participated in the longitudinal study. Method. Students completed a questionnaire containing measures of self-control, school grades, subjective life balance, and flow while studying at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the relationships between the constructs. Results and conclusions. Results of cross-lagged analyses show that self-control predicted school grades, life balance, and flow. The findings suggest that self-control may assist adolescents to be better prepared, not only for school, but also for coordinating their investments in different areas of their lives.
Article
The effects of symbolic modeling in the form of stories were examined in changing young children's sharing behavior and knowledge of sharing. Nursery school and kindergarten children who displayed a low frequency of sharing were assigned to experimental and control conditions. The experimental group heard stories and viewed slide tape shows of modeled sharing. The control group heard animal stories and viewed slide tape shows with no modeled sharing. The results were as follows: (a) The modeling group shared significantly more than the control group. (b) The modeling group increased their sharing across the three experimental days, and shared significantly more than the control group on both the second and third days. (c) The modeling group acquired significantly more knowledge about sharing. The findings provide strong evidence for the efficacy of models in both book and slide formats for young children.
Article
A preliminary investigation of the Turtle Technique, a procedure for helping emotionally disturbed children control their own impulsive behavior, is described. The technique consists of four components: the “turtle response,” relaxation, problem-solving, and peer support. Eleven children drawn from two classrooms were instructed in the use of the Turtle Technique for the self-control of aggression. The procedure was introduced according to a multiple-baseline design. Results revealed significant decrements in aggressive behavior in both classrooms. Implications for further research were considered.
Article
The present study examined performance on an arithmetic task of increasing difficulty and a frustrating puzzle task for children with ADHD and comparison children. Emotional competence also was investigated in the two groups. Sixty-four children, 21 previously diagnosed with ADHD, participated. Performance on the arithmetic task was measured in terms of completion and accuracy. Children with ADHD had similar rates of accuracy for all levels of difficulty, but completed fewer problems. Performance on the puzzle task was measured both through completion and persistence. Although children with ADHD persisted for a similar amount of time compared to children without ADHD, they were more likely to quit the task before completion. Children with ADHD also were more likely to report that they became frustrated with the task. Furthermore, they tended to report that in general, they become more frustrated than other children. With regard to emotional competence, children with ADHD did not differ from the comparison children on their reported understanding of their own emotions or attention to emotions; however, children with ADHD reported that they engage in less mood repair. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 377–386, 2006.
Article
This paper describes the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), a newly developed questionnaire designed to evaluate families according to the McMaster Model of Family Functioning. The FAD is made up of seven scales which measure Problem Solving, Communication, Roles, Affective Responsiveness, Affective Involvement, Behavior Control and General Functioning. The paper describes the procedures used to develop the FAD and presents scale means and scale reliabilities from a sample of 503 individuals.
Chapter
The Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC–2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) is a multimethod, multidimensional system used to evaluate the behavior and self-perceptions of children, adolescents, and young adults aged 2 through 25 years. The BASC–2 is multimethod in that it has the following components, which may be used individually or in any combination: (1) two rating scales, one for teachers (Teacher Rating Scales, or TRS) and one for parents (Parent Rating Scales, or PRS), which gather descriptions of the child's observable behavior, each divided into age-appropriate forms; (2) a self-report scale (Self-Report of Personality, or SRP), on which the child or young adult can describe his or her emotions and self-perceptions; (3) a Structured Developmental History (SDH) form; (4) a form for recording and classifying directly observed classroom behavior (Student Observation System, or SOS), which is also available for PDA applications as an electronic version known as the BASC–2 POP or Portable Observation Program; and (5) a self-report for parents of children ages 2–18 years, designed to capture a parent's perspective on the parent-child relationship in such domains as communication, disciplinary styles, attachment, involvement, and others. Keywords: diagnosis; behavior; behavioral assessment; psychopathology