Social Skills Training with Court-Adjudicated Youths

The theoretical and programmatic issues in the development of a social skills training program for court-adjudicated youths are described. The first issue discussed is the relationship between a youth's social competence and the likelihood of his or her engaging in inappropriate or illegal activity. This relationship is proposed as a series of questions about the underlying assumptions of this treatment approach. Research relevant to each of these questions available during our program development is reviewed. Next, the relevant issues in the development of a social skills training program are organized along the dimensions of content, methodology, and practicality. The resulting social skills training program is described with major research findings. Finally, future research directions in social skills training are proposed.