Effect of Social Skills Training on Secondary School Students’ Low Self-Esteem in Yorro Local Government Area in Taraba State

This study examined the effect of social skills training on Secondary School Students’ low self esteem in the Yorro local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Two (2) Objectives were set to guide this study, and Two (2) null hypotheses were formulated and tested at a 0.05 significance level. A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design was adopted. The population comprised 42 SS II students identified with low self-esteem, from which 16 participants (6 males and 10 females) were purposively selected. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was used for data collection, with reliability coefficients ranging from 0.85 to 0.90. The intervention lasted six structured sessions covering communication skills, assertiveness training, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and interpersonal problem-solving. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Findings revealed a statistically significant improvement in self-esteem after SST intervention (p < 0.05). Although both genders improved, females recorded higher mean gains; however, the difference was not statistically significant. The study concludes that Social Skills Training is an effective intervention for improving self-esteem among secondary school students. The findings of the study led to the recommendation that Students should be encouraged to seek support from school counsellors for training in social skills, particularly to improve low self-esteem and address other personal and social challenges. (ii) The school should organize awareness programs and provide valuable information to students about the consequences of low self-esteem. (iii) Federal and State Ministries of Education should organize and sponsor workshops and seminars for Educational Psychologists and Counsellors on the utilization of social skills training to enhance self-esteem among secondary school students.