PURPOSE In the present study, the authors explored whether pragmatic language use was associated with, and perhaps accounted for, the social skills problems that children with varying levels of hyperactivity and inattention experience. METHOD A community sample of 54 children aged 9-11 years participated. Pragmatic language use, hyperactivity and inattention, and social skills were examined u...

OBJECTIVE Patients at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis show significant impairments in functioning. It is essential to determine which factors influence functioning, as it may have implications for intervention strategies. This study examined whether social cognitive abilities and clinical symptoms are associated with functioning and social skills. METHODS The study included 65 UHR patient...

BACKGROUND Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are hyperactive and impulsive, cannot maintain attention, and have difficulties with social interactions. Medical treatment may alleviate symptoms of ADHD, but seldom solves difficulties with social interactions. Social-skills training may benefit ADHD children in their social interactions. We want to examine the effects o...

Appropriate usage of social skills by individual members ensures the survival of communities in the human society. Social skills include the cognitive abilities as well as verbal and nonverbal behaviors indispensable for interpersonal interactions. Abnormal social skills have been reported in patients with mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Various methods, including...

This study examines relations among Chinese parents’ expectations for children’s development of social–emotional skills, parenting styles, and child social competence. A total of 154 parents with preschool-aged children from mainland China completed questionnaires measuring their timing of expectations for children’s mastery of social–emotional skills, value placed on social–emotional skills, p...

BACKGROUND Group-based social skills training (SST) has repeatedly been recommended as treatment of choice in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). To date, no sufficiently powered randomised controlled trial has been performed to establish efficacy and safety of SST in children and adolescents with HFASD. In this randomised, multi-centre, controlled trial with 220 children and ado...

A social skills training (SST) for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was evaluated in an outpatient setting using a combined between- and within-subject design in which SST and a waiting list condition were compared. According to parents and teachers, the SST produced greater improvement of social skills than the waiting list, and these effects were maintained at 3 ...