Strengthening social-emotional skills in female individuals: Implementation and evaluation of an intervention program
Abstract
This research aims to examine the effectiveness of an eight-week intervention program designed to develop social-emotional skills in adolescents. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test control group. The study group consisted of 24 female students (experimental=12, control=12) aged 14–16. The Social-Emotional Skills Psychoeducation Program, prepared by the Ministry of National Education, was administered to the experimental group, while no specific intervention was provided to the control group. The EPOCH Well-Being Scale, adapted for adolescents, was used as the data collection tool. The data were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests, paired-samples t-tests, and a mixed-design ANOVA in SPSS 27. The findings indicated a significant increase in the experimental group from pre-test to post-test, whereas no significant change was observed in the control group. Consequently, the social-emotional skills program was found to be effective in increasing adolescents' well-being. The findings are consistent with research on social-emotional learning, revealing improvements particularly in self-awareness, empathy, and relationship skills. However, the limited sample size and the inclusion of only female participants restrict the generalizability of the results. Future research is recommended to examine long-term effects with larger, more heterogeneous samples.
Keywords
Social-Emotional Skills, Well-Being, Empathy, Female Adolescents
Ethical Statement
This study was approved by Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Committee ([29.05.2025], Protocol No: [559697]). All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with institutional and national ethical standards, the Helsinki Declaration, and applicable regulations. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Thanks
The author would like to thank the participants who volunteered for this study.
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