The Effect of the Solution-Focused Approach on Social Skills and Hope in Children Living in Residential Care

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a short-term, solution-focused group intervention designed to support the psychosocial development of children living in residential care. The intervention was implemented under the leadership of a psychiatric nurse in close collaboration with a social worker, providing rare experimental evidence on interdisciplinary practice and offering an original contribution to the field of social work. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial with a pre-test-post-test control group design. The sample consisted of 57 children residing in state-run residential institutions who were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 29) or a control group (n = 28). The intervention comprised six group sessions structured in accordance with the core principles of solution-focused therapy. Data were collected using the Children's Hope Scale and the Social Skills Scale and were analysed using nonparametric statistical tests. Following the intervention, a statistically significant increase in children's hope levels was observed (p < 0.05), whereas improvements in social skills approached but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.054). Effect size analyses indicated a moderate effect on hope (Cohen's d = 0.56) and a small effect on social skills (Cohen's d = 0.27). These findings suggest that solution-focused interventions are effective in enhancing children's hope, while the development of social skills may require longer-term or more comprehensive and context-sensitive interventions commonly addressed within child welfare and social work practice. Overall, the study demonstrates that a short-term solution-focused group intervention implemented within a child welfare framework through close collaboration between social work and psychiatric nursing leads to meaningful improvements in children's hope levels. Although short-term gains in social skills were limited, the findings underscore the value of interdisciplinary, social work-led intervention models that integrate strengths-based and participation-oriented social work practice with the therapeutic contributions of psychiatric nurses, offering a practice-oriented, evidence-based, and original approach to advancing psychosocial support for children living in institutional care.