Assessment in Social Skills Training: Methodological and Conceptual Issues for Research and Practice

Assessment methodology in social skills training has been criticized on several fronts. Most notably, behaviors have not been selected for training based on Students' individual-specific deficits, nor has attention been given to determining whether trained behaviors result in socially important outcomes among students. The concept of social validity is an important, yet frequently ignored, consideration in social skills training assessment. This article describes methodological and conceptual issues for assessment in social skills training. Specifically, assessment techniques for determining individual-specific deficits are presented within a framework for integrating information and identifying reciprocal relationships. Employing socially valid measures is discussed with regard to determining target behaviors that predict relevant outcomes and to assessing training efficacy. Conceptual issues for research and practice are addressed.