RESEARCH EVIDENCE

It is important that teens are given the opportunity to develop social etiquette skills in a structured way so they can more confidently apply social skills that don't come naturally. Although it is clear that teaching social skills to adolescents is important, most of the research on adolescents with ASD has focused on early intervention (children).  The lack of evidence based social skills programs to improve social competence and promote friendship formation in adolescence is what inspired the development of the PEERS® program. 

In 2009, the first randomised control trial of PEERS® was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Laugeson, Frankel, Mogil, & Dillon, 2009). The following results were found:

• The first study compared 33 teens, aged 13-17 years, with ASD in two different conditions. Adolescents were randomly assigned to either receive a parent-assisted version of the PEERS® intervention or were placed in a delayed treatment control group. Results indicated that, in comparison to the control group, those that received treatment showed improvement in their knowledge of social skills, increased frequency of hosted get togethers, showed changes in their friendship quality and improved overall social skills, as reported by parents. Teachers also reported an improvement in social skills.

• The second study compared teens receiving PEERS® intervention to those waiting for treatment. Results revealed a significant increase in parent-reported social skills and social responsivity, increased frequency of hosted get togethers, and improvement in knowledge of social etiquette. In a 3 month follow up, results indicated all gains were maintained for all measures except teen reports of hosted get togethers. Researchers suspect this may be that get togethers were more successful in the presence of parents. 

In 2012, the results were replicated for a different group of 28 teens with ASD (Laugeson, Frankel, Gantman, Dillon, & Mogil, 2012). Results revealed improvements in parent-reported overall social skills, specifically in the areas of improved cooperation, assertion, and responsibility for those who completed the PEERS® program. Results indicated that teens involved in PEERS® significantly improved their social skills knowledge, social responsiveness, and overall social skills in the areas of social communication, social cognition, social awareness, social motivation, assertion, cooperation, and responsibility, while decreasing autistic mannerisms and increasing the frequency of peer interactions (Laugeson, Frankel, Gantman & Dillon, 2012).​ Teens reported increased frequency of hosted get-togethers and improved knowledge of social etiquette were also observed. Treatment gains were generally maintained at the end of a 14-week follow-up assessment period, and in some cases improved even more. Independent teacher ratings revealed significant improvement in social skills and assertion from pre-test to follow-up assessment and these gains were maintained at a 14-week follow-up assessment (Laugeson et al., 2012).​

The PEERS® program has been shown to be effective through multiple randomised controlled trials and maintenance of gains 1-5 years after treatment has been evidenced. Overall, the PEERS® program facilitates developmental, learning and social competencies for individuals with social challenges which may contribute to self-efficacy and well-being.

The results outline above indicate that the PEERS® program has had positive implications for teens with ASD, as well as for individuals that experience social emotional challenges without a formal diagnosis. Overall, recent research, including randomised controlled trials has shown the following improvements in adolescents who completed the program:

• Improved social skills and social reciprocity

• Improved social skills knowledge and social understanding

• Improved friendship quality

• Greater number of social gatherings (hosted by the teen in their home)

• Improved social engagement and social responsiveness

• Initiation of new friendships

• Improved self-regulation

• Teens with ASD and ADHD appear to benefit similarly following intervention

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PEERS® for Adolescents

• A preliminary randomized controlled study of the PEERS® program for Taiwanese autistic adolescents: The effectiveness on reducing school bullying and enhancing social function (Hsiao, et al., 2024) 

• Efficacy of Community-Delivered PEERS® for Adolescents: Increases in Social Skills and Decreases in Social Anxiety and Loneliness (Parenteau et al., 2024)

• Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Italy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Social Skills Intervention for Autistic Adolescents (Fatta et al., 2024)

• Enhancing Social Outcomes in Autistic Youth: Assessing the Impact of PEERS® Booster Sessions (Fatta et al., 2024)

• Social Skills Training Using the Thai Version of UCLA PEERS® in Thai Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Sittanomai et al., 2024)

• Outcomes in PEERS® for Adolescents Across Neurodevelopmental Disorders: ADHD, Autism, and Their Co‐occurrence (Geannopoulos et al., 2024)

• Long-Term Follow-Up of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) with Adolescent Adoptees (Helder et al., 2024)

• Examining the feasibility and effectiveness of PEERS for adolescents via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic (Lee et al., 2023)

• Exploring Caregiver and Participant Experiences of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Youth with Acquired Brain Injury and Cerebral Palsy (Gilmore et al., 2023)

• Vinaleysi og vanlíðan hjá börnum og unglingum: Rannsóknir á árangri af PEERS- námskeiðum í félagsfærni á Íslandi (Karlsdóttir et al., 2023)

• Adaptation and Feasibility of the Mandarin Version of PEERS® for Autistic Adolescents (Lao et al., 2023)

• Effectiveness of Adapted Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) in Adolescents with ASD (Saima & Amin, 2023)

• Lessons Learned from a Predominantly Latinx Autistic Population: Preliminary Effects of the PEERS Intervention on Neural and Perceived Educational Performance (Baker et al., 2023)

• Use of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) Intervention to Improve Social Skills and Peer Relationships among Adolescent Adoptees (Helder et al., 2022)

• Brief Report: A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth for Autistic Adolescents (Adler et al., 2022)

• Effects of Social Skills Training for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Polish Adaptation of the PEERS® Intervention via Hybrid and In-Person Delivery (Platos et al., 2022)

• Social skill training for children with autistic spectrum disorder on the uncertainty of the disease from mothers (Zu et al,. 2022)

• A randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of the Dutch version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) (Idris et al., 2022).

• Efficacy of PEERS® for Adolescents via Telehealth Delivery (Estabillo et al., 2022).

• Perceived and Observed Treatment Gains Following PEERS: A Preliminary Study with Latinx Adolescents with ASD (Veytsman et al., 2022)

• Improving Social Anxiety and Social Responsiveness in Autism Spectrum Disorder through PEERS® (Factor et al., 2022)

• Improving Social Knowledge and Skills among Adolescents with Autism: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of UCLA PEERS® for Adolescents (Zheng et al., 2021)

• Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for adolescents with an acquired brain injury: A randomized controlled trial (Gilmore et al., 2021)

• Social Skills Training Using the Thai Version of UCLA PEERS® in Thai Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Sittanomai et al., 2021).

• New Approaches to Social Skills Training: Blended Group Interventions for Girls with Social Communication Difficulties (Wolstencroft et al., 2021)

• Implementation of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills Social Skills Intervention in a University-Based Communication Sciences and Disorders Clinic (Garbarino et al., 2020).

• Research on effect of social PEERS training for mother and children with autism spectrum disorder in Shanghai (publication written in Chinese) (Zu et al., 2020)

• Development and preliminary testing of the Dutch version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) (Idris et al., 2020)

• An Israeli RCT of PEERS®: Intervention Effectiveness and the Predictive Value of Parental Sensitivity (Rabin et al., 2020)

• The ACCEPT-study: design of an RCT with an active treatment control condition to study the effectiveness of the Dutch version of PEERS® for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (van Pelt et al., 2020)

• Brief Report: Reductions in Parenting Stress in the Context of PEERS—A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Corona et al., 2019)

• Examining the Treatment Efficacy of PEERS in Japan: Improving Social Skills Among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Yamada et al., 2019)

• Multicentre, Randomised Waitlist Control Trial Investigating a Parent-Assisted Social Skills Group Programme for Adolescents with Brain Injuries: Protocol for the Friends Project (Gilmore et al., 2019)

• Learning How to Make Friends for Chinese Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Hong Kong Chinese Version of the PEERS® Intervention (Shum, et al., 2019)

• Brief Report: Effectiveness of an Accelerated Version of the PEERS® Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents (Matthews et al., 2019)

• Exploring the Effectiveness of a Peer-Mediated Model of the PEERS Curriculum: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial (Matthews et. al., 2018)

• The Effects of a Modified PEERS Ciriculum on Accurate and Novel Responding of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Radley et. al., 2018)

• Age as a Moderator of Social Skills Intervention Response Among Korean Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Hong et al., 2018)

• The Dutch Translation of the PEERS Training (Jagersma et al., 2018) 

• A Randomized Controlled Trial evaluating the Hebrew Adaptation of the PEERS® Intervention: Behavioral and Questionnaire-Based Outcomes (Rabin et al., 2018)

• Research progress on the effect of program for the education and enrichment of relational skills on social skill improvement among adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Song & Du, 2018)

• A Pilot Study Examining the Effectiveness of the PEERS Program on Social Skills and Anxiety in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Hill et al., 2017)

• Changes in Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents with ASD Completing the PEERS® Social Skills Intervention (Schiltz et al., 2017)

• Brief Report: Does Gender Matter in Intervention for ASD? Examining the Impact of the PEERS® Social Skills Intervention on Social Behavior Among Females with ASD (McVey, et al., 2017)

• Parents Perceive Improvements in Socio-emotional Functioning in Adolescents with ASD Following Social Skills Treatment (Lordo et al., 2016)

• Brief Report: Assessment of Intervention Effects on In Vivo Peer Interactions in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Dolan et al., 2016)

• Examining the Efficacy of an Adapted Version of the UCLA PEERS® Program with Canadian Adolescents (Marchica & D'Amico, 2016)

• Examination of a Parent-Assisted, Friendship-Building Program for Adolescents With ADHD (Gardner et al., 2015)

• Parent and Family Outcomes of PEERS- A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Karst et al., 2014)

• Using a CBT Approach to Teach Social Skills to Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Social Challenges The PEERS Method (Laugeson & Park, 2014)

• A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Korean Version of the PEERS Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training Program for Teens With ASD (Yoo et al., 2014)

• Long-Term Treatment Outcomes for Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders- The UCLA PEERS Program (Mandelberg et al., 2013)

• Predicting treatment success in social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders- The UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (Chang et al., 2013)

• A Replication and Extension of the PEERS Intervention- Examining Effects on Social Skills and Social Anxiety in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Schohl et al., 2013)

• Measuring the Plasticity of Social Approach- A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of the PEERS Intervention on EEG Asymmetry in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Van Hecke et al., 2013)

• Evidence-Based Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders- The UCLA PEERS Program (Laugeson et al., 2012)

• Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training to Improve Friendships in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Laugeson et al., 2009)

School-Based PEERS® for Adolescents 

• The ABC’s of Teaching Social Skills to Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom- The UCLA PEERS Program (Laugeson et al., 2014)

• The UCLA PEERS School-Based Program: Treatment Outcomes for Improving Social Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Those with Cognitive Deficits (Wyman, J. & Claro, A. J., 2019)

• Effects of Social Skills Training for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Polish Adaptation of the PEERS® Intervention via Hybrid and In-Person Delivery (Płatos et al., 2022)