Children's interpersonal problems

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511543845.023

23 - Children's interpersonal problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2009

Caroline L. Donovan and

Susan H. Spence

Edited by

Philip J. Graham

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Caroline L. Donovan: Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Susan H. Spence: Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Philip J. Graham: Affiliation:
Institute of Child Health, University College London

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Summary

Children and adolescents present for therapy seeking assistance with a range of cognitive, behavioural and affective difficulties. Frequently, these difficulties are associated with, are the result of or at least contribute to difficulties in interpersonal relationships. Consequently, the improvement of social interaction is often a target of child and adolescent psychological interventions. Social competence is defined in this chapter as the ability to obtain successful outcomes from relationships with others. There are many reasons why a child may demonstrate deficiencies in social competence and, therefore, experience interpersonal problems. The initial section of this chapter outlines a number of these potential causal and maintaining factors and examines various approaches to the enhancement of children's social competence. The chapter then proceeds with an examination of the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) with children and its strengths and limitations. Finally, social skills assessment and the practical aspects of SST are discussed.

Factors that influence children's social competence

There are many reasons why a child may experience interpersonal problems and difficulties in social competence. The most proximal determinants of children's social competence relate to their actual behaviour within a social situation. This behaviour, however, is determined by many factors. In particular, the child's ability to engage in effective social–cognitive processes will strongly influence the way in which a child behaves. Thus, social perception and social problem-solving skills play a key role in determining how a child responds in a social situation.

Type: Chapter
Information: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Families , pp. 402 - 425

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543845.023 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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