Social Motivation As a Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Adolescents with ASD Following the School-Based PEERS® Curriculum

Background:  

Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present an array of social deficits, which often negatively impact the development and maintenance of friendships. Yet, social skills training during childhood and adolescence may support positive social skills and improve social competence for youth with ASD (Sigman, Ruskin, Arbeile, Corona, Dissanayake, Espinosa, Kim, Lopez, & Zierhut, 1999). The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is an evidence-based, parent-assisted social skills intervention for socially motivated adolescents with ASD without intellectual disabilities (Laugeson & Frankel, 2010). Implemented in clinical settings, PEERS® targets ecologically valid friendship skills. An adapted version of PEERS® using teacher-facilitation in school settings has also been empirically validated, revealing significant improvements in social skills (Laugeson, 2013). Whereas adolescents in the parent-assisted program must affirm their desire to participate in treatment, adolescents in the school-based program are not screened for social motivation, potentially impacting treatment outcome. 

Objectives:  

The purpose of this study is to investigate social motivation as a predictor of treatment outcome in a 14-week teacher-facilitated social skills program (PEERS® School-Based Curriculum) for middle school and high school students with ASD.

Methods:  

Under the auspices of The Help Group – UCLA Autism Research Alliance, 146 students with ASD ranging from 12-18 years of age (M=15.15, SD=1.81) participated in a larger treatment outcome study investigating the effectiveness of the school-based PEERS® curriculum at The Help Group’s Village Glen School. Participants received daily social skills instruction in the classroom for 30 minutes, five days per week, for 14 weeks. Instruction was provided by the classroom teachers and teacher aides who were trained and supervised on the intervention.

Treatment outcome measures collected at pre- and post- intervention included parent-reports on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-P;  Constantino, 2005), Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS-P; Gresham & Elliot, 2008), and Social Anxiety Scale (SAS-P; La Greca, 1999). Pearson correlations were calculated to examine the relationship between Social Motivation on the SRS-P at baseline and the difference between pre- and post-intervention scores on treatment outcome measures. 

Results:  

Results reveal that baseline Social Motivation predicts an increase in overall social skills (p<.05) on the SSIS-P and in overall social responsiveness (p<.01) on the SRS-P. Results also reveal baseline Social Motivation significantly predicts a decrease in internalizing behavior (p<.03) on the SSIS-P as well as a decrease in overall social anxiety (p<.03) and fears of negative evaluation by others (p<.01) on the SAS-P. 

Conclusions:  

These results suggest that adolescents with ASD who demonstrate greater social motivation and drive to interact with peers prior to treatment using the PEERS® School-Based Curriculum are more likely to increase their social skills and social responsiveness following intervention. Findings also suggest that adolescents who are socially motivated to increase and enrich their peer interactions are likely to exhibit fewer internalizing behaviors, less apprehension about peer evaluations, and decreased social anxiety following intervention. This study appears to be the first to examine the impact of social motivation on treatment outcome in a school-based social skills program for adolescents with ASD.