ISSN : 1229-0718
The purpose of this study is to investigate the group-based behavioral strategies for assessing and remediating the social withdrawal and phobic responses of emotionally disturbed young children. First, the problem is conceptualized as low level of social acceptance and peer interaction based on the early sociometric and behavioral studies. For diagnosis and assessment, sociometric methods, direct observation of interactional behaviors, and standardized tests or behavioral checklists could be effectively utilized. The behavioral strategies suggested in this study are: (i) improvement of peer acceptance by promoting the behavioral traits that meet the peer expectation, by rearranging the group structure, and by sharing their resources and success with peers:> (ii) extinction of the phobic and avoidant responses through counter-conditioning, modeling, and reinforcement of incompatible behaviors; (iii) increment of the social interaction by training prosocial skills and utilizing peers as therapeutic mediators; (iv) removal of the problem behaviors that interfere the social interaction with peers.