Reducing Aggressive Behavior in Boys With a Social Cognitive Group Treatment: Results of a Randomized, Controlled Trial

doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000142669.36815.3e

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Volume 43, Issue 12, December 2004, Pages 1478-1487

https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000142669.36815.3e Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of a social cognitive intervention program for Dutch aggressive boys and to compare it with a social skills training and a waitlist control group.

Method:

A randomized, controlled treatment outcome study with 97 aggressive boys (aged 9–13 years) was presented. An 11-session group treatment, a social cognitive intervention program (n = 42) based on Dodge's social information-processing theory, was compared with social skills training (n = 40) and waitlist control group (n = 15). Measures of aggressive behavior, self-control, social cognitive skills, and appropriate social behavior were completed before and after the group treatment and at 1-year follow-up.

Results:

The outcome of both treatment conditions indicated (1) a significant increase in appropriate social behavior, social cognitive skills, and self-control and (2) a significant decrease in aggressive behavior. There was a significant difference between treatment and no treatment and between the social cognitive intervention program and social skills training on various child, parent, and teacher measures.

Conclusions:

The expectation that focusing on the deficits and distortions in social cognitive processes (social cognitive intervention program) instead of merely focusing on social skills (social skills training) would enhance the effectiveness was supported on child, parent, and teacher measures. At 1-year follow-up, the mean effect sizes of the social cognitive intervention program and social skills training were 0.76 and 0.56, respectively.

Section snippets

Participants

The participants were 97 aggressive boys, aged 9 to 13 years (mean = 11.2, SD = 0.93). Ethnic composition sample was 79.5% white, 10% Moroccan, 6.3% Turkish, and 4.2% Surinamese-Caribbean. The socioeconomic level was lower to middle class based on the highest level of education of the parents and on their profession/occupation.

The boys were referred for treatment to outpatient mental health clinics in various cities in the Netherlands. They were admitted to the program if they met the DSM-IV

Pretreatment Comparisons

There were no statistical significant differences between conditions at pretreatment assessment on background variables, such as age, IQ, comorbidity status, race, socioeconomic level, and any of the pretest measures.

Treatment Effects

Table 3 presents the means and SDs for child, parent, and teacher outcome measures at pre- and post-test and 1-year follow-up. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for repeated measures were conducted on child, parent, and teacher outcome measures. The measures of MFFT, SCST,

DISCUSSION

The results of the current study support the efficacy of both the SCIP and the SST. Although children in both treatment conditions improved, children in the SCIP condition showed improvement on more outcome measures at post-test and follow-up. Overall, the mean effect sizes were larger than the mean effect sizes reported in recent meta-analyses. The results of this study support the expectation that focusing on deficits and distortions in social cognitive processes (SCIP) instead of merely

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Parts of this study were presented at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Vancouver, Canada, July 17-21, 2001.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the children, parents, and teachers who participated in this study. They also thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.

Article Plus (online only) materials for this article appear on the Journal's Web site: www.jaacap.com.

Disclosure: The authors have no financial relationships to disclose.

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ARTICLESReducing Aggressive Behavior in Boys With a Social Cognitive Group Treatment: Results of a Randomized, Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT

Objective:

Method:

Results:

Conclusions:

Section snippets

Participants

Pretreatment Comparisons

Treatment Effects

DISCUSSION

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Behav Res Ther

Cogn Behav Pract

Integrative Guide for the 1991 CBCL/4-18, YSR, and TRF Profiles

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Efficacy of child-behavioral interventions for antisocial behavior: a meta-analysis

Child Fam Behav Ther

A revised teacher rating scale for reactive and proactive aggression

J Abnorm Child Psychol

Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences

A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment

Psychol Bull

Sociale Probleemoplossing bij Kinderen met Gedragsstoornissen

A situational approach to the assessment of social competence in children

J Consult Clin Psychol

Cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with externalizing problems

J Cogn Psychother

Review of the evidence base for treatment of childhood psychopathology: externalizing disorders

J Consult Clin Psychol

Onderwijs en Sociale Ontwikkeling

ARTICLES
Reducing Aggressive Behavior in Boys With a Social Cognitive Group Treatment: Results of a Randomized, Controlled Trial