The Benefits of After School Programs in the Development of Youths Social Skills

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A Meta-Analysis of After-School Programs That Seek to Promote Personal and Social Skills in Children and Adolescents. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 45(3/4), 294-309. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9300-6 The main idea of the study is to gauge the impact of after-school programs by evaluating a substantial sample of studies related to the subject, identifying various outcomes, variables, and locating themes or characteristics identified with positive outcomes (Durlak et el., 2010, p. 294).

The study also emphasizes the role of after-school programs in building or strengthening personal and social benefits to those who enroll in them. Durlak et al. utilize a meta-analysis method in order to assess the efficacy of after-school programs in their promotion of personal/social skills in children and adolescents. They located and reviewed 75 reports examining 69 separate after-school programs. Using a standardized mean difference (SMD), the researchers developed an index of effect and utilized a random effects model for the analysis.

To interpret the data, they employed a coding system that allowed them to compile variables, study qualities and characteristics. The findings of the meta-analysis showed that after-school programs did have a positive outcome or impact on children and adolescents: related growth/impacted areas were identified as feelings/attitudes, behavior, and academic performance. Likewise, perceptions of self, positivity related to social behavior, and school bonding experiences were also noted as outcome effects. Additionally, problem behavior patterns decreased for participants in after-school programs (Durlak et al., 2010, p. 302).

This study was particularly strong in the sense that it provided an overview of the research related to the issue of the effectiveness of after-school programs in the growth and development of the lives of participants in them; it showed that these programs are indeed helpful and effective in cultivating positive trends, associations and behaviors.

The study did not have any weaknesses or methodological problems, although the study did have its limitations, as the researchers themselves note: for instance, a fuller analysis of the issue would incorporate a control group in the future as a means of assessing alternative platforms available to control groups so as to gain a deeper knowledge of how effective intervention is compared to the control.

The study is overall consistent and flows logically, addressing points of how the study progressed, issues it identified, and how results were obtained; it makes effective use of headings and subheadings and gives a comprehensive review of the manner in which the researchers set about their course of progression from beginning to end.

The study is relevant to my study as it provides supporting evidence of the efficaciousness of after-school programs and thus serves to provide a solid rationale for why youth golf programs can be an effective means of developing young participants from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. In other words, this study supports the hypothesis of my own study and provides a directional course in terms of recommendations for future analysis. Freeman, J. (2015). Developing Social Skills and Relationships. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 23(4), 48-51.

This study takes a case study approach to the issue of developing social skills and relationships in young persons via Life Space Crisis Intervention. The subject of the case study is Sophia, who is the witness of domestic violence in her early life, has suffered academically, and lived in four different foster homes. She has poor relationships at school, often fights, and gets in conflicts in her neighborhood.

However, with her involvement in after-school programs, she has developed positive traits, established positive relationships with the adults overseeing the program, and found something that she enjoys. The study uses the six stages of the Life Space Crisis Intervention and applies them to excerpts from a conversation between Sophia and an adult helping her in the after-school program. The study highlights the characteristics of the excerpts of dialogue between the two and shows how they can be categorized into the individual six steps.

The six steps of development within the Intervention are: 1) Drain Off, in which Sophia (the subject) vents her frustrations 2) Timeline, in which Sophia explains her sense of what happened in a recent conflict, 3) Central Issue, in which the adult shows that he/she is understanding the child's perspective sufficiently, 4) Insight, in which the adult helps Sophia to better understand herself and why the other person in the conflict might have interpreted Sophia's actions in a negative way, 5) New Skills, in which the adult helps the child to think up new, positive ways of socializing by collaborating with her on ideas and asking questions to prompt the child, and 6) Transfer of Learning, in which the adult reviews with Sophia the lessons learned and encourages the child to try again using the new strategies they've devised together.

The study concludes with some brief explanation of the process and essentially operates as a qualitative assessment of a case study approach to effective intervention in the life of a troubled youth. The study's main strength is in its ability to break down the process of intervention, but its weakness lies in the fact that it does not offer any supportive literature or any quantitative assessment.

The study could be improved by incorporating a more robust case study analysis methodology; the information conveyed is brief and serves only as an example of how an interview between child and adult might take place. The material is logically consistent but somewhat insubstantial as it is merely representational and illustrative rather than academically oriented in terms of proceeding from hypothesis to literature review to methodology to results to a discussion of findings and recommendations.

The study is still useful, however, and may be utilized in my own study as an example of how interventions in the lives of young persons from troubled backgrounds may be performed in order to effect a positive outcome. The case study essentially underscores the concept that intervention which puts the child in connection with a caring adult is a first step towards positive progress. This would support the directional course of my study by providing support for its purpose. Mounts, N. S. (2011).

Parental Management of Peer Relationships and Early Adolescents' Social Skills. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 40(4), 416-427. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9547-0 This study attempts to fill a gap in literature on how parental management of adolescents' social skills relates to parental management of peers. The main objective of the study is to identify predictors as to what can produce positive outcomes in the parent-peer relationship.

The study uses a mostly white sample and utilizes a questionnaire, survey method in order to obtain data on parental goals, management of peers, and their perception of youths' social skills. Adolescents also completed a questionnaire about how they viewed their social skills. The surveys were then compared and path analysis.