OBJECTIVE: To investigate the development of social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related influencing factors. METHODS: A total of 889 children with ASD in 10 cities of China were enrolled as subjects. The Autism Social Skills Scale was used to assess their social skills. RESULTS: The children with ASD had a lower score of each factor than the theoretical median, with the lowest score for social communication and the highest score for self-regulation. There were significant differences in the total score of social skills and the scores of social cognition and social participation between the children with ASD in different age groups (P<0.05). There were also significant differences in the total score of social skills and the scores of social orientation, social communication, social participation, and self-regulation between the ASD children with different language levels (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Children with ASD have low social skills, and their social skills are associated with age and language level.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child ; Humans ; Social Skills

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical effect of mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF) in the treatment of children with global developmental delay (GDD). METHODS: A prospective clinical trial was conducted in 60 children with GDD who were treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between July 2016 and July 2017. These children were randomly divided into two groups: conventional rehabilitation treatment and mNGF treatment group ( RESULTS: Before treatment and after 1.5 months of treatment, there was no significant difference in the developmental quotient (DQ) of each functional area of the Gesell Developmental Scale between the mNGF treatment and conventional rehabilitation treatment groups ( CONCLUSIONS In children with GDD, routine rehabilitation training combined with mNGF therapy can significantly improve their cognitive, motor, and social abilities.
Animals ; Epilepsy ; Mice ; Prospective Studies ; Social Skills

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of cognitive behavioral group therapy improving social cognition on the self efficacy, relationship function and social skills for chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: This study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two participants were selected from patients with chronic schizophrenia, and they divided into an experimental group(26) and control group(26). Cognitive behavioral group therapy was used as the experimental treatment from March to May. Therapy was administered once a week over 10-weeks. RESULTS: The results showed that compared to the control group, experimental group improved on relationship function and social skills and showed better self-reported self efficacy. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the cognitive behavioral group therapy improving social cognition is an effective nursing intervention to increase the levels of self efficacy, relationship function and social skills.
Cognition* ; Humans ; Nursing ; Psychotherapy, Group* ; Schizophrenia* ; Self Efficacy* ; Social Skills*

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that begins in early childhood and can persist throughout adulthood. ADHD causes difficulties in various area of life, such as academic achievement, peer relationships, family functioning, employment and marriage. Although ADHD is known to respond well to medication, such treatment is more effective when combined with psychosocial (non-pharmacologic) therapy in terms of alleviating the core symptoms and improving appropriate functions. Psychosocial treatment interventions are divided into psychoeducation, behavioral parent training, school intervention, cognitive behavior therapy, social skill training, parent-child interaction therapy, play therapy, other treatments (coaching, complementary and alternative medicine), neurofeedback and Cogmed. Adult ADHD cognitive behavioral therapy is described separately. These practice parameters summarize the evidence for psychosocial treatment. Based on this evidence, specific recommendations are provided for psychosocial interventions.
Adult ; Cognitive Therapy ; Employment ; Family Relations ; Humans ; Marriage ; Neurofeedback ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Social Skills

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study are to evaluate the effect of a school-based social skills training program on the emotional regulation of children and adolescents and to assess the plan for effective school-based mental health services. METHODS: The Child and Adolescent Mental health promotion team of Bugok National Hospital conducted school-based social skills training (N=90, 7 sessions) for elementary and middle school students. Evaluations were conducted before and after the application of the program using a prosocial behavior questionnaire, a cohesiveness questionnaire, the Korean version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, a self-esteem scale, and the Novaco anger scale, in order to identify any changes. RESULTS: The social skills training program increased the prosocial behavior and cohesiveness of the children and adolescents and decreased their alexithymic tendency and degree of anger, but did not significantly change their self-esteem. CONCLUSION: The social skills training program positively influences the emotional and behavioral levels of children and adolescents. The emotional regulation program based on a social skills training program is expected to have positive results in school-based mental health services. Future investigations are needed to validate the long term effects of this program.
Adolescent ; Affective Symptoms ; Anger ; Child ; Education* ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Mental Health Services ; Social Skills*

This study investigated the relationships between experiencing verbal violence and the emotional responses and coping behaviors of dental hygienists who worked in Jeonju between February 24 and March 18, 2017 to prepare strategies for managing verbal violence and establish a healthy working environment for dental hygienists. The following findings were obtained in this study. The dental hygienists primarily experienced verbal violence from patients and guardians (1.67 points). The most common verbal violence type was, “Someone treated me impolitely.” The most common emotional response to verbal violence was “anger” (3.52 points). The coping style of most dental hygienists was problem-focused coping (3.28 points), followed by emotion-focused coping (2.75 points). Most hygienists with the problem-focused coping style stated that they resolve the problem through dialogue (3.51 points), while most hygienists with the emotion-focused coping style responded that they just ignore the situation (3.78 points). The relationship between experiencing verbal violence and the emotional responses and coping behaviors of dental hygienists showed a statistically significant positive correlation (p<0.05) with emotional responses and problem- and emotion-focused coping associated with experiencing verbal violence from dentists, patients, and guardians. These findings confirm the need to reduce verbal violence, control emotional responses after exposure to verbal violence, and use more problem-focused coping measures. Dental hygienists must develop interpersonal skills and communication techniques and promote professionalism in their workplace to protect themselves from verbal violence at work.
Adaptation, Psychological* ; Dental Hygienists* ; Dentists ; Expressed Emotion ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Professionalism ; Social Skills ; Violence*

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the level of agreement between a standardized patient (SP) and a faculty member in the evaluation of nursing students'assessment and communication skills. METHODS: Participants were 51 third year nursing students in a simulation practice of ‘nursing care for a patient admitted with chest pain’. Using a 30-item checklist and a 16-item communication tool, a SP and faculty member evaluated the students' assessment and communication skills during the simulation. RESULTS: The average values for percent agreement and kappa statistic for nursing assessment between the two evaluators were 85.3% and .48 respectively. Twenty of thirty items evaluating assessment skill had above moderate agreement (≥.41) by kappa between the evaluators. Seven of sixteen items evaluating communication and interpersonal skills showed above fair agreement (≥.40) between the two evaluators, which was measured by intraclass correlation coefficient. CONCLUSION: The findings show that the evaluation of the SP was consistent with those of the faculty member to a moderate degree. Clear guidelines for evaluating criteria and optimal time and effort for SP training are necessary to increase the reliability of standardized patients as evaluators in simulation-based nursing education.
Checklist ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Nursing Assessment ; Nursing* ; Observer Variation ; Patient Simulation ; Social Skills ; Students, Nursing ; Thorax

The aim of this study was to use narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of medical students who faced expulsion, military service, and readmission, and their journeys of identity formation. Three medical students were recruited via snowball sampling, and each participant was interviewed twice. According to the sequence of experiences, their stories were summarized as follows: the process of being expelled, the military service experience and readmission process, and the present. Before all three students were expelled, they lived dissolute lives free of concern from the entrance examination and failed to cope well with dropping out. They felt that military experience had helped them develop interpersonal skills in the clinical setting and the strength to withstand a difficult crisis. Two students were motivated to become doctors after military service, but the other was not. They had reflected deeply over their unique experiences. The scars imprinted from their experiences became a means of stimulation, and they ultimately acquired the resilience and ability to accommodate for and counteract their weaknesses. This appears to have been an important influence on their identity formation. The narrations of their rare experiences can help medical educators more fully understand and support medical students through difficulties, specifically with regard to academic failure or expulsion. These findings may prompt medical professors to think about the kind of guidance or motivation that could help students before expulsion, rather than assuming that they are simply lacking academic ability.
Cicatrix ; Humans ; Military Personnel ; Motivation ; Narration ; Schools, Medical ; Social Skills ; Students, Medical

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the moderating effect of interpersonal skills on the relationship between childhood emotional trauma and depression. METHODS: From June to July, 2017, a convenience sample of 226 nursing students was recruited. Research data were collected through self-report questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: 68.1% (154) respondents experienced emotional abuse, and 48.1% (110) emotional neglect in childhood emotional trauma. The average depression score was 10.76. There were 54.4% (123), 34.5% (78), 12.8% (29), and 7.1% (16) of respondents with mild, moderate, and severe depression, respectively. The average interpersonal skills score was 3.59. There was a significant correlation between childhood emotional trauma (emotional abuse, emotional neglect), interpersonal skills and depression. And the moderating effect of interpersonal skills on the relationship between childhood emotional neglect and depression was significant. CONCLUSION: Interpersonal skills play a role as a moderating variable influencing the relationship between emotional neglect of childhood emotional trauma and depression, and also reduce the effects of childhood emotional trauma on depression. When developing a depression prevention program for nursing college students, such programs should consider strategies to reduce the negative effects of childhood emotional trauma and to improve interpersonal skills.
Depression ; Humans ; Nursing ; Psychological Trauma ; Social Skills ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effects of an empathy education program for undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: The study employed a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. A total of 46 nursing students were voluntarily recruited by convenience sampling from senior nursing students from the nursing department of K college in I city, Korea. Participants were divided into two groups, an experimental group of 23 and a control group of 23. The experimental intervention (empathy education program) was conducted from April 19 to May 6, 2016 and consisted of 150-minute sessions, twice a week, for 3 weeks for a total of 15 hours. RESULTS: Participants demonstrated improvements in perspective taking in cognitive empathy, improved empathic concern in emotional empathy, and improved communicative empathy. Analysis of reflective writings identified four theme clusters regarding communicative empathy: improvement of empathic expression, experiencing comfort and healing, improvement of interpersonal relationships, and experience of conflict resolution. Improved interpersonal ability and caring were also identified. CONCLUSION: The empathy education program improved cognitive, emotional and communicative empathy, and interpersonal skills and care, which are all necessary qualities for nurses.
Education ; Empathy ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Korea ; Negotiating ; Nursing ; Social Skills ; Students, Nursing