Self-Awareness and Communication Skill Training in Foster Adolescents

Objective: Since fosters adolescents are deprived of family environment and probably the friendly relationships, some of them may develop problems in achieving self-awareness and communication skills and adjusting to the environmental conditions. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the effect of self-awareness and communication skills training on increasing the level of adjustment in foster adolescents. Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 30 adolescent girls with the age range of 12 to 17 were selected through accessible sampling from several Mashhad orphanages. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to one of the experimental and control group. Then, communication and self-awareness skills in the experimental group were implemented. In addition, Shinha and Singh adjustment inventory for senior students were performed to measure the changes of adjustment levels in both groups. Results: Self-awareness and communication skill training increased the level of adjustment significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion: Life skill training affects the level of adjustment in foster adolescents. Thus, it is suggested that self-awareness and communication skills can be added to the current approaches in managing interpersonal problems of foster adolescents.