Purpose: This study tested social skills training (SST), didactic training (DT), and no training (NT) on adolescents' social skills for resisting peer pressure to engage in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and pregnancy risk behavior.
Methods: A total of 307 Latino and Anglo youth ages 13-18 years were assigned at random to receive 18 h of SST, 18 h of DT, or NT.
Results: Significantly (p < 0.05) greater increases in assertiveness followed SST compared to DT or NT for three trained skills: condom negotiation, asking a friend about their sex/drug history, and discussing a friend's risk of AIDS. Untrained negotiation skills (e.g., purchasing a condom) did not increase significantly. SST did not result in increased assertiveness for refusal skills. DT increased knowledge of AIDS significantly more than SST; both DT and SST increased knowledge significantly more than NT.
Conclusions: Social skills training can increase assertiveness for certain negotiation skills that may decrease risk of AIDS for Latino, Anglo, and male and female adolescents. Both DT and SST can increase knowledge of AIDS prevention. Differences between experimental groups were supported by differences between trained and untrained skills within the SST condition, adding to discriminant validity.
PIP: The effectiveness of social skills training, in increasing the ability of Anglo and Latino youth to resist peer pressure to engage in behaviors that place them at risk of HIV/AIDS and pregnancy, was evaluated in a comparative study conducted in San Diego, California, in 1989-91. 307 Latino and Anglo youth 13-18 years old were recruited from community locations and randomly assigned to receive 18 hours of social skills training (n = 107), 18 hours of didactic training (n = 102), or no training (n = 98). Interview measures of knowledge and videotaped measures of 8 social skills were recorded prior to training and 10 weeks later, after completion of training. The 9-week social skills training used role playing for modeling and practice of target skills, while the didactic training emphasized lecture and discussion of AIDS risk practices. Mean AIDS knowledge scores increased significantly in the didactic training group (from 29.04 at baseline to 32.13) and nonsignificantly in the social skills group (from 30.23 to 31.48). Social skills training was associated with significant improvements not recorded in the other 2 groups in condom negotiation, asking a friend about sexual and drug histories, and discussing a friend's HIV risk, but did not improve assertiveness for refusal of sexual intercourse. These trends were found for both Anglo and Latino and male and female participants.