A Critical Review of Social Skills Training with Young Offenders

The paper provides a critical review of 15 studies using Social Skills Training (SST) with delinquent populations. Conceptual and methodological issues are also discussed. It is concluded that the findings do not yet provide unequivocal support for the usefulness of SST in reducing criminal behavior of delinquents, and that failure to show consistent generalization and durability of training effects must be taken into account when discussing the efficacy of such treatment with young offenders.