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School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE: Differences in socio-communicative behaviors contribute to social challenges for autistic learners at school and, in turn, are associated with increased risks of educational underachievement, social exclusion, and mental health issues. Given that intervention delivery in natural contexts ma...

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Autores principales: Fridell, Anna, Coco, Christina, Borg, Anna, Bölte, Sven
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10412818/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37575413
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1128288
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author Fridell, Anna
Coco, Christina
Borg, Anna
Bölte, Sven
author_facet Fridell, Anna
Coco, Christina
Borg, Anna
Bölte, Sven
author_sort Fridell, Anna
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: Differences in socio-communicative behaviors contribute to social challenges for autistic learners at school and, in turn, are associated with increased risks of educational underachievement, social exclusion, and mental health issues. Given that intervention delivery in natural contexts may enhance skills generalization, build support capacities in society, and have practical advantages for youth and families, SKOLKONTAKT™ has been adapted from the clinically based social skills group training KONTAKT™ for mainstream educational settings to mitigate these risks. METHODS: A pilot, randomized controlled trial with active controls was conducted in a mainstream Swedish high school. Autistic learners and students with social skills challenges (N = 33; M(AGE) = 17.5) were randomized to SKOLKONTAKT™ (n = 17) or active control (n = 16). Efficacy was measured at post and follow-up (3 months) on social skills [Social Skills Group Assessment Questionnaire (SSGQ); primary outcome] by parent-, self-, and (masked) teacher-report as well as self-reported life quality and social goal attainment. RESULTS: Despite COVID-19 challenges, 70.6% (n = 12) completed SKOLKONTAKT™, and 87.5% (n = 14) completed control groups. SKOLKONTAKT™ improved on a series of items on SSGQ as well as subjective life quality beyond controls. A larger proportion of social goals were attained, and side-effects were of little impact and proportionally fewer in SKOLKONTAKT™. CONCLUSION: SKOLKONTAKT™ is a safe, feasible, and promising intervention option for autistic learners in mainstream educational settings. A larger-scale study is desirable to confirm the effects identified in this pilot study.
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spelling pubmed-104128182023-08-11 School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial Fridell, Anna Coco, Christina Borg, Anna Bölte, Sven Front Psychol Psychology PURPOSE: Differences in socio-communicative behaviors contribute to social challenges for autistic learners at school and, in turn, are associated with increased risks of educational underachievement, social exclusion, and mental health issues. Given that intervention delivery in natural contexts may enhance skills generalization, build support capacities in society, and have practical advantages for youth and families, SKOLKONTAKT™ has been adapted from the clinically based social skills group training KONTAKT™ for mainstream educational settings to mitigate these risks. METHODS: A pilot, randomized controlled trial with active controls was conducted in a mainstream Swedish high school. Autistic learners and students with social skills challenges (N = 33; M(AGE) = 17.5) were randomized to SKOLKONTAKT™ (n = 17) or active control (n = 16). Efficacy was measured at post and follow-up (3 months) on social skills [Social Skills Group Assessment Questionnaire (SSGQ); primary outcome] by parent-, self-, and (masked) teacher-report as well as self-reported life quality and social goal attainment. RESULTS: Despite COVID-19 challenges, 70.6% (n = 12) completed SKOLKONTAKT™, and 87.5% (n = 14) completed control groups. SKOLKONTAKT™ improved on a series of items on SSGQ as well as subjective life quality beyond controls. A larger proportion of social goals were attained, and side-effects were of little impact and proportionally fewer in SKOLKONTAKT™. CONCLUSION: SKOLKONTAKT™ is a safe, feasible, and promising intervention option for autistic learners in mainstream educational settings. A larger-scale study is desirable to confirm the effects identified in this pilot study. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-07-27 /pmc/articles/PMC10412818/ /pubmed/37575413 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1128288 Text en Copyright © 2023 Fridell, Coco, Borg and Bölte. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Fridell, Anna
Coco, Christina
Borg, Anna
Bölte, Sven
School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title_full School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title_fullStr School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title_full_unstemmed School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title_short School-based social skills group training (SKOLKONTAKT™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
title_sort school-based social skills group training (skolkontakt™): a pilot randomized controlled trial
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10412818/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37575413
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1128288
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