Social Skills Training with Delinquents: A Look at the Evidence and Some Recommendations for Practice

Correspondence to Dr Clive Hollin, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT Summary Following an overview of the use of social skills training (SST)with delinquents, it is concluded that SST can be successfulin changing some aspects of social behaviour but that it haslittle effect on offending. A number of reasons for this ‘failure’are discussed: a failure by practitioners to utilize the fullSST model; and a failure, by practitioners and researchers,to explore the relationship between social skills and offending.Recommendations for both practice and research are made to remedyexisting shortcomings.