The relationship between social skills deficits and juvenile delinquency

Although social skills training is now a common form of intervention with young offenders, there is limited evidence that social skills deficits are directly related to delinquency. We examined the relationship between social skills and degree of past involvement in delinquent activities among a group (N = 37) of young offenders. Social skills were assessed both by self-report and by a behavioural test. The results indicate no relationship between social skills deficits, as assessed by either method, and degree of delinquent behaviour. Delinquency and social skills also exhibited quite different patterns of relationship with measures of personality, lending further support to the conclusion that social skills deficits as currently construed are not causally related to delinquency.