Coping With Authority: Social Skills Training for the Complex Offender

Twenty probationers participated in an assessment during which reports of problematic situations with probation officers and employers were elicited. Situations which were rated as occurring frequently were later employed in a role-play test. During the second part of the study, sixteen probationers were randomly assigned to groups which received either behavioral training in petitioning and then justification skills, or training in these skills in the reverse order. Results indicated that the probationers were able to learn the responses as assessed during the role-played situations. Issues concerning the specification of social skills, the empirical derivation of problem situations, and ethical concerns in social skills training are discussed.