JOINING SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES IN SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING

NIMH
ID: 1R43MH040171-01
PI: MELISSA DEROSIER, PHD
TERM: 12/03 – 05/04

Problematic peer relations, particularly when chronic, can have a tremendous impact on children’s functioning and mental health. Decades of research indicate that peer rejection and victimization negatively affect adjustment and place children at increased risk of a myriad of later negative outcomes . In contrast, positive social relationships can serve as a protective factor promoting positive adjustment. Prevention and treatment research supports the use of social problem solving programs for improving children’s peer relations, social behavior, and emotional adjustment. Research shows that multi-component intervention efforts that target both the school and home environments are more effective than focusing exclusively on either domain.

During this Phase I project, the prototype of the Interact! product was developed. The first Unit of the intervention, ‘Impulse Control’, was created including three core parts: (1) a Professional Manual with three accompanying sessions, (2) a sample of the home television special, and (3) a web-based resource center for parents, professionals, and children. Each session applies skill training through five different types of activities (i.e., video based, drama, art, writing, and experiential) in order to provide the professional with multi-modal training options. During Phase I, the prototype materials were tested for feasibility with child mental health professionals in the community, school-based mental health providers, and elementary school teachers. Skill acquisition and the product’s feasibility were also tested with parents and their 8-12 year old children. Feasibility of the product was successfully established and participants provided valuable feedback to inform the direction of future development.

Phase I findings were used to support an application for additional funding for further program development. The goal of that project is to develop and test a research-based universal social skills program that offers multi-skill-based curriculum specifically aimed at enhancing social skills.

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DEB CHILDRESS, PHD

Chief of Research and Learning Content

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Childress obtained her PhD in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to 3C Institute, she served as a research associate and a postdoctoral fellow in the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill working on a longitudinal imaging study aimed at identifying the early markers of autism through behavioral and imaging methodologies. She has 19 years of autism research experience, during which she has examined the behavioral, personality, and cognitive characteristics of individuals with autism and their family members. Dr. Childress also has experience developing behavioral and parent report measurement tools, coordinating multi-site research studies, and collecting data from children and families. She has taught courses and seminars in general child development, autism, and cognitive development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Expertise

  • autism
  • early development
  • behavioral measurement
  • integrating behavioral and biological measurement

Education

  • Postdoctoral fellowship, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (Institutional NRSA-NICHD), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • PhD, developmental psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • BS, psychology (minor in sociology), University of Iowa

Selected Publications

  • Elison, J. T., Wolff, J. J., Heimer, D. C., Paterson, S. J., Gu, H., Hazlett, H. C., Styner, M, Gerig, G., & Piven, J. (in press). Frontolimbic neural circuitry at 6 months predicts individual differences in joint attention at 9 months. Developmental Science.
  • Wassink, T. H., Vieland, V. J., Sheffield, V. C., Bartlett, C. W., Goedken, R., Childress, D. & Piven, J. (2008). Posterior probability of linkage analysis of autism dataset identifies linkage to chromosome 16. Psychiatric Genetics,18(2),85-91.
  • Losh, M., Childress, D., Lam K. & Piven, J. (2008). Defining key features of the broad autism phenotype: A comparison across parents of multiple- and single-incidence autism families. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 147B(4):424-33.
  • Wassink, T. H., Piven, J., Vieland, V. J., Jenkins, L., Frantz R., Bartlett, C. W., Goedken, R., … Sheffield, V.C. (2005). Evaluation of the chromosome 2q37.3 gene CENTG2 as an autism susceptibility gene. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 136, 36-44.
  • Barrett, S., Beck, J., Bernier, R., Bisson, E., Braun, T., Casavant, T., Childress, D., … Vieland, V. (1999). An autosomal genomic screen for autism. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 88, 609-615. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8628(19991215)88:63.0.CO;2-L
  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Landa, R., Santangelo, S., Jacobi, D. & Childress, D. (1997). Personality and language characteristics in parents from multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 74, 398-411.
  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Jacobi, D., Childress, D. & Arndt, S. (1997). Broader autism phenotype: Evidence from a family history study of multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 185-190.