Featured Grant OpportunitySchool Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) (Funding Opportunity) 

Featured Grant OpportunityShare with Youth: NOAA Student Opportunities Database

Featured Grant OpportunityShort Courses in Social Determinants of Health for Research Education in Nursing Research (Funding...

Featured Grant OpportunityComprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) Program (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityRisk and Protective Factors of Family Health and Family Level Interventions (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityPersonnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--Doctoral...

Featured Grant OpportunityStanding Announcement for Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development Grants (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityProviding Research Education Experiences to Enhance Inclusivity for a Diverse Substance Use and...

Featured Grant OpportunityFY 2024 Research on School-Based Hate Crimes (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityChallenge America (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityResearch and Evaluation on Firearm Violence and Mass Shootings (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityNational Juvenile Court Data Archive (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityGraduate Research Fellowship (Funding Opportunity)

Featured Grant OpportunityCommunity Programs for Outreach and Intervention with Youth and Young Adults at Clinical High Risk...

Featured Grant OpportunityPrint and Disseminate Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials (Funding Opportunity)

## Breadcrumb

            -  Evidence for Program Improvement 
            -  Social Skill Building 
            -           Provide Opportunities for Youth to Learn and Practice Interpersonal Skills      

# Provide Opportunities for Youth to Learn and Practice Interpersonal Skills

## Outcome

### Social Competence

## Intervention Family

### Skill-Building Interventions

 Skill-Building Interventions             Deliver within a school setting             Increase frequency of sessions             Emphasize interpersonal skills      

## Provide Opportunities for Youth to Learn and Practice Interpersonal Skills

## Evidence

The 47 skill-building interventions that included at least one **interpersonal skills** element (see Box 2 above) showed greater improvements in social competence than those that did not include these elements.

The skill-building interventions in our evidence base covered a wide range of skills, but those that explicitly taught interpersonal skills were most effective for improving social competence. These interventions contrast with other skill-building interventions that focus on emotional or cognitive skills such as accurately assessing others’ motivations (i.e., cognitive restructuring), building empathy, or strategies to reduce anger.

Children and youth may find it easier to learn and use observable interpersonal skills than to change their internal thinking patterns or emotions. That is, youth may need explicit instruction on how to speak to and act with others in everyday interactions before they can begin to learn to regulate their thoughts and emotions. By teaching skills such as how to introduce oneself, or nonverbal ways to indicate you are listening to another person, programs are able to address skills that can be applied in everyday social situations.

**INTERPERSONAL SKILLS**
                      - General interpersonal communication skills (e.g., active listening, giving and receiving feedback).
                      - Making friends and engaging in teamwork.
                      - Peer communication, peer relationships, peer group interaction.
                      - Prosocial behavior (voluntarily helping, sharing, cooperating with others).
                      - Assertive communication skills and how to resist peer pressure.
                      - Conflict resolution and collaborative problem-solving skills.
                      - Identifying, understanding, and communicating feelings and emotions.

## Assess Feasibility

                          - Current content.  Identify the specific interpersonal skills your program addresses. Does this set of skills cover the majority of challenges you see participants face? Are additional skills needed? Check in with the youth and families you serve to help identify areas of need.
                          - Program dosage.  Assess the amount of time and percent of the program you devote to teaching specific, observable interpersonal skills versus other types of skills or activities.
                          - Program structure.  Assess whether there is room to add interpersonal skills content to your lesson plans. Where would it fit? What would need to change? For example, would you need to add sessions?
                          - Program and participant alignment.  Think about the types of participants your program serves. Are you teaching skills commensurate with their needs; skills more basic than their needs; or skills too advanced for their needs?
                          - Staff development and resources.  Do staff currently have the skills needed to teach interpersonal skills to youth? What resources are needed to provide training and support to staff?

## Take Action

Consider the following courses of action depending on the results of your feasibility assessment:
                          - Shorten content not directly related to interpersonal skills   in order to maximize the amount of time participants are directly learning how to engage with others in healthy, positive ways.
                          - Add new interpersonal skills  to address any identified gaps. Ensure your program is providing skills relevant to the way children and adolescents currently engage with each other
                          - Align specific skills to participants’ varying developmental stages.  For example, you may need to teach basic skills like introducing oneself to a new classmate, intermediate skills like conversational skills, or more advanced skills like negotiating and cooperating on a shared project.

                      - Home
                      - Find Recommendations
                      - FAQs
                      - About