TY - JOUR
T1 - The effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents
T2 - a meta-analytical review
AU - van der Stouwe, Trudy
AU - Gubbels, Jeanne
AU - Castenmiller, Yvonne L.
AU - van der Zouwen, Marion
AU - Asscher, Jessica J.
AU - Hoeve, Machteld
AU - van der Laan, Peter H.
AU - Stams, Geert Jan J.M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for juvenile offenders and for whom and under which conditions SSTs are the most effective.Methods: Multilevel meta-analyses were conducted to examine the effectiveness of juvenile offender SST compared to no/placebo treatment and alternative treatment on offending, externalizing problems, social skills, and internalizing problems.Results: Beneficial effects were only found for offending and social skills compared to no/placebo treatment. Compared to alternative treatment, small effects on only reoffending were found. Moderator analyses yielded larger effects on offending, with larger post-treatment effects on social skills. Effects on externalizing behavior were only reported in the USA, and effects on social skills were larger when the outcomes were reported through self-report.Conclusions: SST may be a too generic treatment approach to reduce juvenile delinquency, because dynamic risk factors for juvenile offending are only partially targeted in SST.
AB - Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for juvenile offenders and for whom and under which conditions SSTs are the most effective.Methods: Multilevel meta-analyses were conducted to examine the effectiveness of juvenile offender SST compared to no/placebo treatment and alternative treatment on offending, externalizing problems, social skills, and internalizing problems.Results: Beneficial effects were only found for offending and social skills compared to no/placebo treatment. Compared to alternative treatment, small effects on only reoffending were found. Moderator analyses yielded larger effects on offending, with larger post-treatment effects on social skills. Effects on externalizing behavior were only reported in the USA, and effects on social skills were larger when the outcomes were reported through self-report.Conclusions: SST may be a too generic treatment approach to reduce juvenile delinquency, because dynamic risk factors for juvenile offending are only partially targeted in SST.
KW - Effectiveness
KW - Juvenile delinquency
KW - Multilevel meta-analysis
KW - Social skills training
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U2 - 10.1007/s11292-020-09419-w
DO - 10.1007/s11292-020-09419-w
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85081561580
SN - 1573-3750
VL - 17
SP - 369
EP - 396
JO - Journal of Experimental Criminology
JF - Journal of Experimental Criminology
IS - 3
ER -