Improving personal, social, and life skills in adolescents: a scoping review of key components in interventions

Abstract

Aim Numerous interventions focus on personal, social, and life skills in adolescents in order to provide them the knowledge required to acquire, apply, and mobilize their skills across various domains and challenges of everyday life and to help them to cope with life challenges and transition to adulthood. While various interventions targeting these skills have been developed, less is known about their key components, particularly the obstacles and levers that can impact the outcome of the intervention. This scoping review aims to bridge this gap by examining literature on the components of interventions that can effectively enhance the personal, social, and life skills of adolescents in various areas. Methods A scoping review was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to identify obstacles and levers of interventions targeting adolescents’ skills. Results Seventy articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected for data extraction. This work identified key elements that may influence the outcome of these interventions. Three main categories emerged: participation and involvement of participants, creation of a safe environment for the intervention, and anchoring change in the lives of adolescents. Conclusion Our results highlight the need to robustly present and detail interventions in the literature, including information on the intervention’s objective and mechanisms. Evaluations should therefore focus on the intervention system and on the underlying mechanisms through which it could have an impact, using more comprehensive methodologies.