Assessing Adults

In assessing the social skills of adults, many of the same factors in assessing social skills among children and adolescents will influence the resulting data. Issues such as single versus multiple prompts, standardized or individualized scenarios, and molar versus molecular ratings all impact the use and validity of social skills assessments with adults, adolescents, and children alike. However, the assessment of social skills in adults also holds some potential difficulties not typically seen when working with children and adolescents. In this chapter, particular methodological considerations in social skills assessment of adults will be covered. Major assessment methods, including clinical interviews, self-report, and observation, will be surveyed and particular method variations used with adults will be highlighted.