Social Problem-Solving Skills Training: Does it Really Work?

Abstract

The impact of a Social Problem-Solving Skills Training (SPSST) program was investigated with a sample of 105 juvenile offenders. The juveniles were assigned to the SPSST intervention condition ( n =58) or the wait-list control condition ( n =47). The mean age of juveniles in the intervention condition was 14.71 years (standard deviation=0.96) and the mean age of juveniles in the control condition was 14.50 years (standard deviation=1.28). As expected, juveniles in the SPSST intervention condition improved significantly on their aggressive behavior from pre-intervention to post-intervention compared with juveniles in the control condition. Findings will be discussed in the light of future research, and limitations of the study will be presented.