Social Skills Training With Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

The present study investigated the influence of social skills training of cognitive and behavioral characteristics of juvenile offenders. Structured social skills training, an unstructured discussion group, and a control group were compared. Subjects were 30 adolescent male offenders who had been previously arrested for a variety of offenses. The design was a 3 x 2 factorial design with a repeated measure. Between subjects factors were type of social skills training and number of offenses. Cognitive variables measured were locus of control and self-concept. There was a behavioral measure of social skills. Results revealed a significant main effect for treatment groups on the locus of control measure with structured social skills training and discussion groups indicating greater internality than the group. The main effect was qualified by a significant Group x Frequency interaction which revealed that the structured social skills training approach was more effective with high-frequency offenders and the discussion group was more effective with low-frequency offenders. These results were maintained at a two-week follow-up. Low-frequency offenders exhibited better social skills than high-frequency offenders. The discussion focused on the efficacy of social skills training with juvenile offenders and the relationships between cognitive variables and behavior in these individuals.