4 - (SYM 66) Implementation and Impact of an Online Social Skills Curriculum Among Low-income, BIPOC High School Students in Community-based Organizations

Mentoring relationships with non-parental adults are key predictors of adolescent’s emotional well-being. Mentors provide practical and emotional support in coping with stress and avoiding risky behaviors while navigating identity development and growing academic and vocational pressures. However, research indicates underrepresented students (e.g., minoritized racial/ethnic identities, low-income) are significantly less likely to report having access to this type of critical social support.

Connected Futures (CF) is a no-cost, online intervention designed to enhance interpersonal skills and target the growth of social capital among high school students, particularly those historically underrepresented. This self-paced curriculum aims to increase awareness around mentoring benefits and one’s own social network; build social and networking skills; and use cognitive-behavioral skills to navigate rejection and conflict. This talk shares results on the feasibility and impact of CF among underrepresented high schoolers in NYC.

 Participants (n = 50; M_age = 16.8 years, female = 76%) primarily identified as Latinx (34%), Asian American (26%), and Black (22%), and most (72%) reported parental education as high school or less. Participants were randomized to either usual community services plus CF access or usual community services alone for a 4-month period. Academic and psychosocial data were collected through validated self-report measures prior to randomization and immediately post-intervention.

 Among those with CF access, 68% began the curriculum, of which about half completed more than 75% of the course. Participants also rated the satisfaction and acceptability of CF as fairly high (M = 31.8 of 40; CSQ-I). Despite not revealing main group effects on self-advocacy and enlisting support behaviors, these were moderated by students’ attributions for academic failure, where students with higher mastery-oriented attributions to failure were more likely to benefit from CF across these two outcomes (b = .69, SE = .26, p = .01; b = .69, SE = .15, p = .00).

 Findings from this ongoing RCT suggest CF is a feasible and impactful online, self-paced social skills curriculum among a predominantly lower income, BIPOC (96%) sample of NYC high schoolers. Feasibility and acceptability of CF was similar to or better than other internet-based interventions, and CF usage was associated with positive psychosocial outcomes. Overall, CF is a promising online intervention that can be easily integrated into community-based programming for youth.