PROGRAMA DE INTERVENCIÓN PARA EL DESARROLLO DE HABILIDADES SOCIALES EN NIÑOS INSTITUCIONALIZADOS

Abstract

Institutionalized children often come from homes or street situations, where they have been victims of abuse, so that their social skills are limited and may suffer psychological problems. This research incorporates the findings of the cognitive behavioral literature for intervention in these behavioral problems and shows the effects of a program to develop social skills in institutionalized children, as well as its impact on psychological variables such as depression, self-esteem and anxiety. Participants were 36 children between 8 and 12 years old, randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control (delayed training). The study had a pre-test post-test design with follow-ups after 1, 3 and 6 months, using four validated and reliable cognitive behavioral scales. 14 sessions were conducted for the training of basic and advanced social skills, problem solving and cognitive restructuring. The strategies were: verbal instructions, modeling, role playing, feedback, positive reinforcement and tasks assignments. After the intervention, children in both conditions significantly increased their level of social skills and reduced depressive symptoms in the experimental group. Results are discussed from the characteristics of institutionalized children.

Keywords

• children
• institutionalization
• social skills
• speech
• cognitive behavior