ABSTRACT
Aggressive children comprise a significant proportion of referrals to treatment centers (Patterson, 1982). Their behavior problems have been resistant to traditional treatment approaches and long term improvements have seldom been demonstrated (e.g., Patterson, 1979; Robins, 1974). Social skills training has been implemented as an alternative approach to the treatment of childhood aggression at Earlscourt Child and Family Centre, a children's mental health center serving children aged 6 to 12. Earlscourt specializes in the treatment of aggressive children and their families through a variety of programs, from highly intensive residential care and the treatment of young offenders to less intensive family services and school-based programs. Social skills training has been selected as a component of interventions at Earlscourt because aggressive children appear to be deficient in many of the social and social-cognitive skills required for successful peer interactions.
