The Connection Project: Effects of an Adolescent Social-Bonding Intervention on Social Belongingness, Social Skills, and Mental Health

An experimental evaluation of a new social-emotional learning intervention, The Connection Project, was conducted to assess effects of the program on relative change in perceptions of social acceptance and belonging, social competencies, and mental health symptoms for two discrete samples of ninth grade students in the United States. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from 367 urban public school students and 95 suburban private school students over a twelve-week intervention period. Intervention participation led to relative increases in broad social competencies as measured by peer-reports in the public school students and self-reports in the private school students. Peer reports of increased broad social competencies for the private school students also trended closely toward significance. No effects of the intervention on change in close friendships or mental health were found over this time period.