W E R VS

SU-Y AND CONCLUSIONS

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Preadolescence has been recognized a s a s i g n i f i -

c a n t s t a g e f o r learning new s o c i a l s k i l l s i n t h e

s o c i a l i z a t i o n process, The impact of peer group

inf luences i n pa t te rn ing s o c i a l behaviors of t h e pre-

adolescenk i s well documented ( ~ c c a n d l e s , 1969) . The

concept of Social acceptance appears t o have spec ia l

re levance f o r t h i s group, a s preadolescents begin t o

e s t a b l i s h s o c i a l r e l a t ionsh ips and s o c i a l norms inde-

pendent of parenta l control . Socia l i s o l a t i o n experi-

enced during t h i s s t age i s found t o have a l a s t i n g

e f f e c t on personal i ty development and l a t e r adjustment

( ~ a l d r o p and Haloerson, 1975). Several s t u d i e s on

elementary school ch i ldren have l e d Gronlund (19591,

Kundu and Maite (1979) and o t h e r s t o conclude t h a t

s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n i s ind ica t ive of severe emotional

distuxbance.

S ince t h e works of Moreno (1934). s o c i a l acceptance

k s been assessed by p e r group evalua t ion of a meher

given i n terms of choice preference for varied s o c i a l

a c t i v i t i e s . I n many s tudies , s o c i a l acceptance i s

recognized as a key f a c t o r i n group dynamics and i n t e r -

PUBQMJ r e l a t ionsh ips . Socia l acceptance i s found

%.h glalated tc f a c t o r s l i k e a b i l i t y to meet t h e needs

of o the r s , i n i t i a t i v e , independence, s o c i a b i l i t y , ego

s t r eng th , s o c i a l adjustment, s e l f concept, s o c i a l

matur i ty , in te rpersona l skills, communicative s k i l l s ,

s o c i a l cogni t ive s k i l l s and oppor tun i ty t o i n t e r a c t with

o the r s . Hence, any programme designed t o enhance s o c i a l

acceptance would involve g lans f o r improving t h e s e

related aspec t s and t h e v a l i d i t y of such a p rog rame

could be assessed by t h e e x t e n t t o which g a i n on Soc ia l

Acceptance i s accompanied by ga in on t h e s e a spec t s of

pe r sona l i t y .

A review of s t u d i e s i n t h e a r e a of small group

i n t e r a c t i o n methods i n d i c a t e s t h a t a c t i v i t y groups,

s o c i a l skills t r a in ing , and t r a n s a c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s groups

a r e t h e major e f f e c t i v e procedures wi th preadolescents.

Role p l ay and s imulat ion games a r e widely used i n a l l

these mothode. But i n very few s t u d i e s have t h e re la-

t i v e merits of t h e s e procedures emerging from d i f f e r e n t

t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n s been compared. None of t hese

s t u d i e s have been designed t o explore t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l

effects t h e s e procedures may have on groups d i f f e r i n g i n

a nur&er of p e r s o n a l i t y and demographic v a r i a b l e s

Doarth of such s t u d i e s on Ind ian ch i ld ren needs s p e c i a l

mention i n the context of concantrat& efforts of the

government to r e s t r u c t u r e t h e o b j e c t i v e s of educat ion

ard d d u c a t i o ~ l policies (Minis t ry of Education, 1985).

I n view of t h e above observat ions , t h o p resen t

s t u d y was undertaken t o develop packages of programmes

along d i f f e r e n t group counse l l ing approaches and t o

i n v e s t i g a t e t h e e f f e c t s of such planned small group

i n t e r a c t i o n procedures on s o c i a l Acceptance and r e l a t e d

v a r i a b l e s l i k c Self-Esteem, Adjustment and P e r s o n a l i t y

f a c t o r s .

The secondary o b j e c t i v e of t h e s t u d y was t o de te r -

mine t h e in f luence of f a c t o r s of Se l f -concept, Socio-

metric s t a t u s , Age-grade, Sex and Socio-economic s t a t u s

on Treatment e f f e c t s . The i n f l u e n c e of t h e t imings of

i n t e r v e n t i o n programme on t r ea tment e f f e c t s was a l s o

s t u d i e d , Null hypotheses were formula ted wi th regard t o

t h e i n f l u e n c e of these independent v a r i a b l e s on t r ea tment

o f f ects.

A quasi-experimental approach was fol lowed with a

f a c t o r i a l design. One of t h e main independent v a r i a b l e

was t h o f o u r experimental t r ea tments - t h e small group

i n t e r a c t i o n procedures based on dif f rent t h e o r e t i c a l

o r i e n t a t i o n s . The t r ea tment groups c o n s i s t e d of subjects

exposed t o concepts of t r a n s a c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s o r s o c i a l

skills - forming two t y p e s of psychologica l i n t e r v e n t lon.

a placebo a c t i v i t y group f o r measuring t h e Hawthorne

effect and a no-contact c o n t r o l group t o check p r a c t i c e

and r f a t u r a t i o n a l effects on dependent v a r i a b l e measures. 1

Tho drJqgn involved m u l t i p l e groups as s e v e r a l o t h e r

i ndependent v a r i a b l e s l i k e Sex, Standard of study,

i n i t i a l l e v e l of Self-cstcem and Socio-eoonotuic s t a t u s

were inc luded i n t h e s tudy, S u b j e c t s forming h~mqgenoous

b l o c k s on t h e s e indepcndent v a r i a b l e s ware randomly

ass igned t o t h e f o u r t r ca tmcnts , The d i f f e r e n c e s i n

performance of t h e subjects p r i o r t o and a f t e r t h e

i n t e r v e n t i o n programme (gain score) on msasurcs of S o c i a l

Acceptance and r e l a t e d v a r i a b l e s were t r e a t e d a s t h e

dependent v a r i a b l e measures.

The sample was drawn from r e g i s t e r c d Engl ish medium

primary s c h o d s i n t h e Bangalore South range s p e c i f i e d

by t h e D i r e c t o r a t e of Pub l i c I n s t r u c t i o n s , Government of

Karnataka, S o c i o m t r i c q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were administered

t o 1,744 boys and g i r l s i n s i x t h and seventh s t a n d a r d s of

e i g h t pr imary schools , Out of t h e s e , 643 c h i l d r e n were

s e l e c t e d on t h e b a s i s of t h e i r soc iomet r i c scores , a s

be longing t o f o u r c a t e g o r i e s of soc iomot r i c s t a t u s 3

Accepted, Rejected, I s o l a t e d and Mixers. I n t h e f i n a l

a n a l y s i s t h e responses of 499 c h i l d r e n - 224 g i r l s and

275 boys were inc luded,

Following s c a l e s were used as measures of s o c i a l

, accep tnncc cnd related v a r i a b l e s ,

1. &ciornet r ic q u e s t i o n n a i r e ( ~ d a p t e d from ~ e e r y ' s

Model, 1979).

2.. 'Who are they? ' questionnaire ( ~ a v i g h u r s t and King,

1953) .

3 , Teachers' ques t ionna i r e for ind iv idua l dif fcrcnceo

i n t h e s o c i a l behavior of ch i ld ren (Adapted form

of Roper and Hinde, 1979) ,

4, Chi ldren ' s sel f -concept s c a l e ( p i e r s , 1969) . 5 . The B a t t e r y of Pceadolescont Pe r sona l i t y tes ts

(pareek. e t a l e , 1975) . 6. Children P e r s o n a l i t y Ques t ionna i re (Po r t e r and

Cattel l . 1963).

I n addi t ion . an in format ion schedule was used t o ob ta in

d a t a on demographic d e t a i l s , The above ques t ionna i res

gave s c o r e s on a t o t a l of twenty s i x va r i ab l e s ,

The ques t ionna i r e s were s e l e c t e d and adapted where

necessary and r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y of t h e t o o l s f o r

t h e p r e s e n t sample were assessed on t h e b a s i s of in for -

mation gathered i n t h e p i l o t study, The a c t i v i t i e s and

e x e r c i s e s for d i f f e r e n t types of i n t e r v e n t i o n were a l s o

selected on t h e b a s i s of t h e p i l o t study.

The s tudy was c a r r i e d o u t i n f i v e stages. I n t h e

f i rs t s tage. two sociometr ic ques t ionna i res were admini-

stered i n classrooms of t h e s e l e c t e d s e c t i o n s of e i g h t

8choLAs. On thc b a s i s of t h e sc9res obta ined by t h e

students, f o u r groups of s u b j e c t s - accepted, re jec ted .

isolates and h igh s o c i a l impact groups - wore s e l e c t e d

fox the study. I n the second s tage. t h e s e l e c t e d

q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were admin i s t e r& t o t hese s u b j e c t s i n

f o u r s e s s i o n s . Responses of t h e s u b j e c t s t c t h e t e s t s

were o b t a i n e d i n groups of twenty t o t h i r t y , by t w q

r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t s ( p o s t g r a d u a t e s i n psychclogy t r a i n e d

f o r t h e purpose) , School t e a c h e r s inchargc of mst of

t h e s e l e c t e d s e c t i o n s i n each school werz con tac ted and

t h e i r r a t i n g s of s u b j e c t s on i t e m s of 'Wachers l ques-

t i o n n a i r e f o r i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s i n s o c i a l behaviour

of c h i l d r e n wcre ob ta ined .

I n the t h i r d s t a g e of t h e s tudy, s u b j e c t s were

a s s i g n e d t o t h e f o u r exper imenta l t r e a t m e n t s and t h e i r

r e s p e c t i v e s e s s i o n s of i n t e r v e n t i o n programme were held,

Kelman' s (1963) o b j e c t i v e s f o r group t h e r a p y were kept

i n view w h i l e developing t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n programmes.

E x e r c i s e s , games and home assignments were used i n t h e

two t r e a t m e n t s i n v o l v i n g psycho log ica l in te rven t ion .

C h i l d r e n knew t h a t t h e i r performance would be per iodica-

l l y assessed f o r improvement i n p a r t i c i p a t i o n , by o t h e r

group merrbers and t h a t t h e r c wcrc p r i z e s for improved

p a r t i c i p a t i o n and performance.

The f i r s t t r e a t m e n t group - t h e TA group - was

exposed t o t h e concepts o f t r a n s a c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s through

exercises and games. T.A. p rov ides a c o g n i t i v e f r a m c w ~ r k

to Understand and i n t e r p r e t t h e behaviour of self and

others. The plan emphasised s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s w i t h

t h e in t roduc t ion of concepts of Parent , Adult and c h i l d

ego s t a t e s and t h e need t o s h i f t from one eg3 state t n

t h e o the r . Analysis of games, 'dxansacti2ns and racke ts

were a l s o i n t r ~ d u c e d . Importance of s t rokes , f cc l ing ~f

O.K,ness and avoidance of c o l l e c t i n g stamps were empha-

sised. The exe rc i se s were mainly based on the exe rc i se s

given by Freed and Freed (1977). In t rqduc tory s t a t e -

ments and i l l u s t r a t i o n s were drawn from t h e works of

Berne (1961)~ James (1975) and James and Jongward (1971).

Tho second t r ea tmen t group - t h e Soc ia l S k i l l s

P r a c t i c e group - was exposed t o a few s o c i a l s k i l l s

recognised as components of e f f e c t i v e s o c i a l i n t e r ac t ion .

The major a r e a s in t roduced through exe rc i se s and r o l e

p l a y were p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n groups, communication, s o c i a l

problem so lv ing , i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s , s e l f a s se r t i on ,

s e l f -eva lua t ion , accep t ing r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r self , r e c o g n i t i o n of a l t e r n a t e modes of a c t i o n and re1 axation.

These e x e r c i s e s were drawn mainly from t h e works of

Johnson, e t al., (1974), Hondrick and Roberts (1977) 0

Gmvs (1976) and Spivack, P r a t t and Shure (1976) . The placebo a c t i v i t y groups were conducted with t h e

assistance of t eachers . Chi ldren i n t h i s group were

i nc luded in s p o r t s teams and they p rac t i ced t h e games

once a week. They were included i n t h e school band/

s i n g i n g o r drama groups. A s a team, they supervised

one aspect of t h e arrangement f o r t h e school exh ib i t i on

o r prepared mde l s / cha r t s , They pa r t i c ipa t ed i n a

q u e s t i z n qu iz f o r groups and group games,

The no-contact c o n t r o l group pa r t i c ipa t ed i n pre and

pos t i n t e rven t ion t e s t i n g sess ions . Thesc ch i ld ren were

not involved i n any a c t i v i t y except f o r t h e i r normal

i n t a r a c t i o n s i n school,

A t t h e end of t h e 24 i n t e rven t ion sess ions i n each

school, s u b j e c t s were assessed again on t h e s e l ec t ed

ques t ionna i r e s i n t h e f o u r t h s t ago of t h e study, A s

before , sociometr ic qucs t ionna i r e s were administered i n

t h e classrooms of t h e s e l e c t e d sec t ions of e i g h t schools.

I n t h e f i f t h s t a g e of t h e study, comparison of

s c o r e s ob ta ined on the p r c and pos t i n t e rvcn t ion assess-

ments was made f o r t h e d i f f e r e n t groups, Treatment

e f f e c t was assessed by t h e g a i n score (post in te rven t ion

t e s t s c o r e minus pre i n t e r v e n t i o n test score) f o r each

i n d i v i d u a l , S u i t a b l e s t a t i s t i c a l techniques were applied

t o t e s t t h e n u l l hypotheses set up w i t h regard t o t h e

i n f l u e n c e of s e v e r a l independent va r i ab l e s Tn the depen-

d e n t variable measures t h a t were considered i n the study.

Analysis of t h e data has l e d t o t h e following f ind ings t

1. The i n t e r v e n t i o n programmes have brought about

s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n many of t h e dependent va r i ab l e

measures

(a) S i g n i f i c a n t changes not iced i n t h e group exposed t o

t h e concepts of Transac t icna l Analysis were:

1) an i n c r e a s e i n peer nominations on &cia1

Acceptance and t eache r r a t i n g s of Soc iab i l i t y :

2) a decrease i n peer nomination on items ind ica t -

i n g Reject ion, Aggressive Maladjustment and

Social I s o l a t i o n ;

3) an i n c r e a s e i n Adjustment, Classroom t r u s t and

I n i t i a t i v e on Preadolescent T e s t Ba t t e ry and

Self-Esteem on Chi ldren Self-concept s ca l e ;

4) an i n c r e a s e i n s co re s suggest ing changes toward

s o c i a b i l i t y actor A), higher s c h o l a s t i c mental

c a p a c i t y (pac tor B) , emotional s t a b i l i t y actor

C) 8 a s s e r t i o n and independence actor E) , venturesome and spontaneous behavior (Factor H)

and c o n t r o l l e d and s o c i a l l y p r e c i s e behavior

a actor Qj) was no t iced on CW. There was a l s o

a decrease i n s co re s on t h i s ques t ionna i re

suggest ing a dec rease i n e x c i t a b i l i t y @actor D),

doubting and o b s t r u c t i v e behavior (J) , Shrewd

and c a l c u l a t i n g behavior (N) , apprehension and

worry (0) and tcnsa r o n c t i c n (Q4) .

(b) S i g n i f i c a n t Changes no t iced i n groups exposccl t o

S o c i a l S k i l l s P r a c t i c e were:

1) a reduc t ion i n peer nominations of Soc ia l

I s o l a t i o n ;

2) a decrease i n t e a c h e r r a t i n g s on Aggression;

3) an enhanced p o s i t i v e Se l f concept;

4) g r e a t e r independence, Classroom t r u s t and

I n i t i a t i v e ;

5) an i n c r e a s e i n warm hear ted , outgoing, p a r t i -

c i p a t i n g behavior (Fac tor A) , s c h o l a s t i c mental

c a p a c i t y pa actor B) , emotional s t a b i l i t y (c) 8

r e a l i s t i c and self r e l i a n t behaviour ( I ) ,

s e l f a s s u r e d and sccuro response (Q3), relaxed

responses (Q4) and a decrease i n doubting and

r e s t r a i n e d behaviour (J) . ( c ) I n t h e Placebo a c t i v i t y c o n t r o l group s i g n i f i c a n t

changes no t i ced were:

1) higher Self esteem;

2) an i n c r e a s e i n Classroom t r u s t and I n i t i a t i v e ;

3) a n i n c r e a s e i n p a r t i c i p a t i n g and outgoing

behaviour (Fac to r A), scho la s t i c mental

capacity (B) , e m t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y (C) 4 na tu ra l

f o r t h r i g h t behaviour (N), self assured and

.ecuro responses (0) and re laxed behaviour ( 0 ~ 1 .

Chi ldren a l s o t end to be less exc i t ed and

impa t i en t (Dl and less r e s t r a i n e d (J).

(d) I n t h e No-Contact c o n t r o l group t h e r e was -

1) a dec rease i n peer nominations on kggress ivc

Maladjustment and S o c i a l Acceptanccz

2) a dec rease i n Adjustment and an i n c r e a s e i n

I n i t i a t i v e , and

3) a n i n c r e a s e i n Self E s t e e m .

11. S i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n t r ea tmen t effects on

dependent v a r i a b l e m a s u r e s as i n d i c a t e d by t h e F- ra t ios

s u g g e s t t h e following:

a) Compared t o o t h e r i n t e r v e n t i o n programmes,

exposure t o concep t s of Transac t iona l ana lys i s

was mre e f f e c t i v e i n b r ing ing about changes ( PAAS

s u g g e s t i v e of Self adjustmen% self assured and

s e c u r e behaviour (Fac tor 0) , venturesome and

spontaneous behaviour (H) , reduced tens ion

(Pq) and a dec rease i n e x c i t a t i o n and impati-

ence (D) . b) .Compared to o t h e r procedures, social s k i l l s

practice was more e f f e c t i v e i n b r ing ing about

chanws sugges t ive of a decrease i n t eache r

rating of Aggression, Increase i n I n i t i a t i v e ,

Warm hearted and outgoing behaviour actor A ) , and

r e a l i s t i c and s e l f r e l i a n t bet~aviaur actor I).

c) The f a c t o r of emotional s t a b i l i t y add ego s trength

(Factor C) was influenced mare by Placebo ac t iv i ty .

d) I n t h e No-Contact cont ro l group, the changes i n the

favourable d i r e c t i o n noticed i n t h e th ree variables,

viz , , Aggressive Maladjustment, Self-Esteem and

I n i t i a t i v e were l e s s compared t o the remaining t r e a t -

ments. Further, a decrease i n Social Acceptance and

Adjustment was a l s o noticed.

111, Subjects a t d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of sociometric s ta tus

were found t o d i f f e r in t h e i r reac t ions t o treatments,

Compared to o t h e r groups, very few changes were noticed

t h e 'Accepted' and maximum changes were noticed

the 'Rejected4 , The s igni f f cant ' F' ra t ios obtained

from a two way ANOVA of gain scores f o r the ef fec ts of

t reatment and sociometric s t a t u s suggest the following:

a) With regard to t h e two measures of Social Acceptance

based on peer nominations, the Ihccepted' group showed

a decrease i n scores w h i l e the ' ~ e j e c t e d ' and the I

'Isolates' showed an increase i n scoras a f t e r inter-

vention,

b) I n t h e case of measures of Aggressive Maladjustment

and Rejection, t h e B I s o l a t e s ' showed an increase i n

peer nominations a f t e r t reatment w h i l e t h e 'Rejected'

and t h e 'Mixers1 showed a decrease i n these scores.

c) Teacher r a t i n g s on S o c i a b i l i t y improved s i g n i f i c a n t l y

i n t h e case of t h e ' I s o l a t e s 1 and t h e 'Rejected ' ,

d) All t h e groups, except t h e 'Accepted1, showed

improvement on I n i t i a t i v e .

e) W i t h regard t o t h e f a c t o r s of CPQ, t h e maximum gain

was shown by t h e 'Rejected' group on f a c t o r A (warm

hear ted , outgoing) and by the 'Mixers' group on

f a c t o r B (Scholas t ic mental capaci ty) . On f a c t o r H

t h e 'Accepted1 group showed a dmcrease in score

(shy and ~ e s t r a i n e d ) while t h e I s o l a t e s ' group

showed an i n c r e a s e (venturesome and soc ia l ly bold).

The 'Accepted' a l s o showed a decrease in scores on

f a c t o r I (self r e l i a n t and r e a l i s t i c ) . f ) I n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s of Sociometric Status and Treat- $

merit appeared to be s i g n i f i c a n t on four of the

variables.

1) The t rea tments TA and SSP have brought down t h e

ecore on peer nomination of Rejection i n t h e

'Rejected1 group. The 'Accepted' showed an

increase i n score with TA and NC treatments

while the ' I so l a t e s ' showed an increase with

a11 the treatments, A decrease i n score was

found amng the 'Mixers' w i t h TA.

2) The group di f ferences noticed i n the gain score

on peer nominations on Aggressive Maladjustment

were: the 'Rejected' group showed a decrease i n

score w i t h TA, SSP and PC treatments; thc

I so l a t e s8 showed an increase i n score w i t h TA,

PC and NC; the 'Mixers' showed a decrease i n

score w i t h TA and NC, and the 'Accepted' showed a

non-signif i can t pos i t ive gain,

3) The gain scores suggested an increase i n score

on f a c t o r C go strength and emotional s t ab i l i ty )

among t he 'Accepted' w i t h treatment SSP, among

t h e *Rejectedt w i t h TA, SSP and PC and among the

' I so l a t e s ' w i t h TA. While the 'Mixersfi showed a n

increase in score also with NC, the l~ccepted '

and t he 'Rejected' showed a decrease.

4) For f a c t o r D ( ~ x c i t a b l e , impatient) , t h e leas t

e f f e c t i v e treatment was SSP. The 'Accepted' as

compared t o o thers showed a greater decrease i n

score on the f ac to r w i t h treatments TA and SSP.

IV. a. Subjects with 'high' and 'lowo l eve l s of i n i t i a l

Self-Esteem did not ehow s i g n i f i c a n t differences

in t h e i r gain scores except the gains on f i v e

var iables - Self-Esteem, I n i t i a t i v e and CPQ

f a c t o r s E, F and Qg+ While t h e group w i t h Low

Self-Esteem showed a higher gain on t h e var iables

Self-Esteem and I n i t i a t i v e , the 'High Self Esteem

group showed a higher ga in on f a c t o r s E (asser-

t i v e , Independent) and P3 (controlled, soc ia l ly

precise) . I n t h e case of f a c t o r F (sober - happy

go lucky) t h e two groups d i f fe red i n t h e d i r e c t i o n

of t h e i r gain.

b. The interaction e f f e c t of treatment and i n i t i a l

l e v e l of 8elf-Esteem was found t o be signif icant

f o r two of tho f a c t o r s of CPQ. When exposed t o

t h e concepts of TA both the highg and. 'low'

groups on Self-Esteem showed an increase i n

venturesome and s o c i a l l y bold behavior (factor HI.

They also showed a reduction i n t e n s e and driven

behavior ( f ac to r Q ~ ) with PC. Further, on fac tor

H, the LSE showed a decrease i n score w i t h SSP

and Hs~Vlth PC. I n the case of fac tor Oq. the

LSE showed a decrease i n score with PC and

with SSP.

V. Sex d i f fe rences wore noticed i n t h e gain score on

t eacher r a t i n g of ~ g g r e s s i o n , Ad justrnent and C W f a c t ~ r s

C (ego s t r eng th and emotional s t a b i l i t y ) , G (super ego

s t r e n g t h ) , J (doubting and r e s t r a i n e d behavior) ,

0 (apprehension and worry), Qj (Controlled and s o c i a l l y

p r e c i s e response) and Pq ( tense and driver1 bchavlour) . Boys responded more favourably t o t h e in tervent ion

programmes compared t o t h e g i r l s and maximum improvement

o n most of t h e factors was f ~ u n d with the Treatment TA,

VI. Children from t h e two standards - s i x t h and seventh - were found t o d i f f e r i n t h e i r gain scores on t e n of t h e

dependent v a r i a b l e measures a s indica ted by the signi-

f i c a n t * F a r a t i o s f o r two way ana lys i s of variance of

g a i n scores. The d e t a i l s a r e as given below:

a) I n t h e peer nominations of Social Acceptability the

o l d e r group showed an increase, while the younger

group showed a decrease, espec ia l ly with PC. I n the

teacher r a t i n g of S o c i a b i l i t y an i n c r e ~ s e i n scarea

was seen with all t h e treatments i n t h e older group,

but t h e younger group showed no s ignif icant increaser

b) Social skills p r a c t i c e was mrc ef fec t ive i n decreas-

ing the t eacher r a t i n g ,,f riggrcssion, especially i n

the younger group. On t h i s f ac to r the younger group

rerponded mre favourably t h a n the older t o the three

treatments - TA, SS? and PC.

C ) SSP was more effective i n reducing t h e scores on

Dependency and i n i nc reas ing t h e s c o r e on I n i t i a t i v e

as measured by t h e P r e a d ~ l c s c e n t T e s t Bat tery . The

o l d e r group was be t te r with regard to Dependency

measure and t h e younger on I n i t i a t i v e ,

d) The two groups differed i n t h e i r performance on

f a c t o r s A (outgoing, w a r m hea r t ed ) , C go s t r e n g t h ) ,

D ( ~ x c i t a t i o n and impatience) , G (super ego s t rength)

and N (Shrewd, c a l c u l a t i n g ) . The younger group showed

a h i g h e r ga in on f a c t o r s A and G and a decrease on

f a c t o r s D and N, The o l d e r group exceeded the gain

of the younger group on f a c t o r C,

e ) The i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t of t h e two va r i ab l e s - Treat-

ment and aGe,was s i g n i f i c a n t on CPQ f a c t o r s G, H and

5. The g a i n s co re of t h e younger group on fac tors G

and J was'higherwrntreatrnents SSP and PC, where as,

t h e ga in score of t h e o l d e r group was higher with TA,

The older group of c h i l d r e n a l s o showed a s ign i f ican t

decrease i n score on f a c t o r J (doubting, restrained)

w i t h PC. I n tho case of f a c t o r H (venturesome, Socia-

lly bold), o n l y t h e o ldo r group showed an increase i n

Score wi th TA.

V I I , Children a t t end ing two d i f f e r e n t t ypes of sch3ols - i n d i c a t i v e of upper middle and t h e lower midclle c l a s s

socio-economic s t a t u s ,>f t h e i r p a r e n t s - d i f f e r & i n

t h e i r performance on f e w of t h e v a r i a b l e s ,

a ) Peer nominations on Aggressive Maladjustment and

S o c i a l I s o l a t i o n were found t o have decreased t o a

g r e a t e r e x t e n t i n type I1 school ( ~ i g h e r SES). TA

w a s more e f f e c t i v c i n b r ing ing down t h e score of

bo th t h e groups,

b) The s c o r e on t eache r r a t i n g of Aggression was

decreased i n type I1 and was inc reased i n t ype I

schools ( ~ o w e r SES). I n bo th groups decrease i n

score was more with SSP,

c ) The two groups d i f f e r e d i n t h e i r performance on CPQ

f a c t o r s A, D and H, Higher g a i n i n t ype I1 was

noticed on f a c t o r A, and i n t ype I, a h igher decrease

was not iced on f a c t o r D.

d) Interaction c f f u c t of t h e two v a r i a b l e s , viz.,

Treatment and Type of school, was found t o be

, s i g n i f i c a n t on Adjustment, I n i t i a t i v e and on

factors B, C and J.

Ih type I1 schoc l ( ~ i g h e r SES), s u b j e c t s were more

in f luenced by TA and SSP. The i n f l u e n c e of placebo

3 act iv i ty was found t o be mare a n the gain scores In

t h e type I schools,

VXII . The i n t e r v e n t i o n programmes he ld during t h e

hol idays were found to be most e f f e c t i v e and t h e ones

he ld dur ing t h e second term were l e a s t e f f e c t i v e

e s p e c i a l l y i n enhancing t h e scores on sociometr ic

va r i ab les .

IX' The e f f e c t s of i n t e r a c t i o n of t h e v a r i a b l e s

Treatment, Sociometric s t a t u s , Sex, Class and Socio-

economic s t a t u s were found to be s i g n i f i c a n t mainly

on t h e g a i n scores of 8ociometr ic v a r i a b l e s ,

X, a. The d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e ga in scores between t h e

two sexes noticed a t t h e two Age-grade l e v e l s

were found to d i f f e r on PAIQ and CPQ f a c t o r s N

and Qj. While s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e

g a i n s c o r e s of t h e two sexes were not not iced a t

t h e seventh s t andard l e v e l on f a c t o r s N and DO,

t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s were found t o be s i g n i f i c a n t

a t t h e s i x t h s t andard l e v e l with g i r l s showing

a g r e a t e r decrease , I n t h e case of PAIQ, g i r l s

showed a h igher g a i n a t t h e s ix th s tandard l e v e l

and boya a t t h e seventh s tandard l eve l .

b.. The d i f f e r e n c e between the two sexes i n terms of

gain scores noticed in t h e two types of schools

were found t o d i f f e r on 'PO-Agg, PR3S and CPQ

f a c t o r s B,, D, E and H, Boys of t h e type I1 s c h ~ o l s

showed a g r e a t e r decrease i n Aggression, w h i l e the sco-

re8 W e r e found t o increase t o a s i m i l a r ex tent i n

t h e remaining groups, While the re was no s i g n i f i c a n t

v a r i a t i o n i n t h e ga in scores of t h e two sexes on Adjust.

merit ( P W , Assert ion ( f a c t o r E) and Scholas t ic

mental capaci ty ( f a c t o r B) i n type I1 schools, t h e

g i r l s i n type I schools showed a decrease and boy8

an inc rease a f t e r in tervent ion , While a l l t h e groups

except g i r l s of type I1 schools showed s i g n i f i c a n t

decrease t o a s i m i l a r ex ten t i n t h e score on f a c t o r D

(exci ted, impat ient ) , t h e only s i g n i f i c a n t ga in

not iced on f a c t o r H (venturesome, s o c i a l l y bold) was

i n t h e case of boys i n type 11 schools.

X I , Social Acceptance a s measured by t h e two socio-

metric ques t ionna i res and t h e teacher r a t i n g s of Socia-

b i l i t y have s i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i v e co r re la t ions which indi-

c a t e t h e r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y of t h e measures,

S o c i a l Acceptance was a l s o found t o be re l a t ed t o Self-

Concept, Adjustment, Classroom t r u s t and ~ n i t i a t i v e *

S i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n s were found between

S o c i a l Acceptance and f a c t o r s B, C and Q3 of CFQ*

&cia1 Acceptance was found t o have negative

Cor re la t ions with f a c t o r 0 of CPO and w i t h measures of

Re jec t ion and Aggressive Maladjustment. Socia l

I s o l a t i o n was found t o have a negat ive c o r r e l a t i o n

with Self-Esteem.

The r e s u l t s obta ined i n t h i s study were discussed

i n t.he l i g h t of obse rva t ions made by e a r l i e r i n v e s t i -

g a t o r s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e a r e a s of (1) e f f e c t of i n t e r -

ven t ion programmes, (2) c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l group

d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e e f f e c t s of i n t e r v e n t i o n programmes,

(3) d i f f e r e n t p a t t e r n s of responses of sociometr ic

groups, (4) developmental changes during preadolescence

and (5) problems involved i n t h e assessment of ga in

score.

The p r a c t i c a l impl ica t ions of t h e s tudy and t h e

scope of f u r t h e r r e sea rch i n t h e a rea were a l s o

d e l i n e a t e d . Findings of the presen t s tudy emphasise

on t h e fo l lowingr

1. Importance of invo lv ing t he ' I s o l a t e s ' and the

'Rejected ' i n e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s of t h e

school f o r t h e i r s o c i a l growth.

2, Importance of providing o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r r o l e

play and a n a l y s i s of peox bchnvlor along a

c o g n i t i v e o r t r a n s a c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s model i n

order f a c i l i t a t e personal i ty growth.

The changes noticed on the v a r i a l e s l i k e

s c h o l a s t i c mental capacity, classroom trust,

i n i t i a t i v e and self-dependency are suggestive of

the in f luence of in tervent ion programmes on

s c h o l a s t i c achievement.