Social skills training (SST) and juvenile behaviour

Children of today indisputably are the custodians of tomorrow's world. The continuous existence of any society depends on the ability of the society to socialize its children in the art of survival and cultural perpetuation. It can be especially challenging for adolescents to establish and maintain competent social interactions because of the many developmental changes that occur. This book examined the effects of Social Skills Training (SST) on two matched groups of juveniles in a detention facility in Ghana. The purpose was to determine whether SST would improve on juvenile delinquent behaviour. Test scores on delinquent behaviour were compared across two groups; (1) 25 juveniles who underwent SST and (2) 25 matched control group of juveniles who did not undergo SST. Participants in the training group underwent a one month SST. Pre and post- test scores on Experimental and Control Groups were obtained. The results supported the hypothesis that overall SST has significant positive effects on juvenile delinquent behaviour. The book would be useful to institutions responsible for youth training, researchers and students of Psychology and Sociology.