Effects of a peer-mediated intervention on the language and socialization experiences and skills of preschool children

Abstract

Isolation from the peer social network can contribute to numerous adversities for children over time. The Promoting Early Engagement, Relationships, and Socialization (PEERS) peer-mediated intervention was designed to address the specific needs of preschool-aged children who are experiencing social isolation in their classroom and who also exhibit relatively less-developed pragmatic language skills than their peers. The aims of the present study were twofold: (1) to assess the impacts of PEERS on socially isolated children’s interactions with their peers, position within the classroom social network, and social and language skills; and (2) to examine social network, social skills, and language outcomes for children who assisted teachers in implementing PEERS, whom we refer to as “buddies.” Participants included 75 preschool-aged children (25 isolates/50 buddies) in 25 classrooms randomized to treatment (n = 12) or business-as-usual control (n = 13). Results showed that the PEERS intervention significantly increased isolated children’s peer interactions and cooperative play, with trends in a positive direction for increased degree centrality. Positive impacts were also seen for two of four measured social-skills outcomes. Buddies in treatment classrooms showed greater gains on two measures of social skills and pragmatic language skills. Study findings suggest that peer-mediated intervention can have positive effects for both isolated target children and implementing buddies, but the mixed effects support the need for further investigation of peer-mediated interventions in preschool settings with larger samples.