The life skills approach was developed in the United States in 1979 to reduce the risks related to drug use in students, and it has become a successful preventive strategy used throughout the world (Pan American Health Organization [PAHO], 2001; Tremblay et al., 2020). It has been used to structure ten groups of skills, to develop a training method (based on Bandura's Social Learning Theory), and to create didactic and teacher training materials for implementation in preventive programs (Alfaro et al., 2010; Botvin & Griffin, 2007; Espada et al., 2015). Interpersonal skills, assertiveness, and problem-solving skills are three of the active components that are consistently associated with the overall effectiveness of preventive interventions to improve mental health and reduce risk behaviors in adolescents (Skeen et al., 2019). Evidence for the effectiveness has allowed for the development, adaptation, dissemination, and implementation of interventions in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. The World Health Organization (WHO, 1993) has adopted it as an effective strategy for health promotion in schools (Alfaro et al., 2010; Botvin & Griffin, 2005, 2007; Mantilla & Chahín, 2012; PAHO, 2001; Velasco et al., 2015; WHO, 1993, 2003). Data have shown that life skills training is effective in dealing with issues related to drug use, but randomized trials and longitudinal studies, and assessment of the different components of the interventions are still needed (Faggiano et al., 2014; Tremblay et al., 2020; United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 2020).
The WHO defines life skills as a group of positive, adaptive psychosocial skills that enable young people to cope successfully with the demands and challenges of life. This definition considers: 1) the importance of cognitive, interpersonal, and coping skills in adolescent psychosocial development; 2) the role of these skills on young people's ability to protect their health, adopt positive behaviors, and foster healthy relationships; 3) the development of life skills as a part of the learning and educational process that underpins adolescent well-being (Ross et al., 2020); 4) the use of these skills in other areas, such as education, violence, and human rights; 5) the reinforcement of different protective factors, such as self-knowledge, self-confidence, and self-esteem; and 6) adolescents’ mastery and application of these skills in everyday situations to become more self-confident and increase their self-efficacy and self-esteem (Botvin & Griffin, 2007; Mangrulkar et al., 2001; PAHO, 2001; Skeen et al., 2019; UNICEF, 2020; WHO, 2003, 2020). Several studies have reported an association between life skills and significant increases in self-esteem levels (Maryam, Davoud, & Zahra, 2011; Mohammadzadeh et al., 2019; Moulier et al., 2019), so the latter can be used as a parameter to test the external validity of life skills measurements.
Although there are many studies that support the effectiveness of life skills-based interventions in such areas as substance use reduction, with significant advances in process and outcome evaluation, tools for the measurement of these skills remain limited. A systematic review of longitudinal evaluation studies about the effectiveness of life skills programs reported that most focus on adolescents and to a lesser extent address skills during childhood. It also showed that there is little evidence on the effectiveness of the programs presented and that most studies are developed in Western societies (United States and Europe), which limits the generalizability of their findings to other cultures (Kirchhoff and Keller, 2021). Yet another systematic review of drug use prevention programs in children and adolescents reported that life skills training showed positive results in several domains, suggesting that there is evidence to support its effectiveness. Specific results from ten studies with this approach demonstrated both a reduction in substance use and an improvement in interpersonal skills, self-esteem, assertiveness, coping and anxiety reduction. However, it is noted that the studies on effectiveness with this approach varied in quality, due to the method used for their evaluation (Tremblay et al., 2020).
In developing and emerging societies, programs are implemented differently than in the "developed" Western world. A narrative systematic review revealed that developing countries interventions in life skills education often operate to produce short-term results, and that there is usually no systematic implementation, follow-up, or long-term evaluations (Nasheeda et al. 2019). Cultural adaptation of Western programs is necessary and involves extensive research to learn whether the content is appropriate in less Westernized child and adolescent contexts where malnutrition, child labor, migration, school dropout, and other psychosocial issues are common (Kennedy et al., 2014; Trani et al., 2021). Life skills programs in developing countries require appropriate tools to measure their effectiveness that help to develop their potential (Ross et al., 2020), as established by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (United Nations [UN], 2015). Some developing countries promote life skills through government agencies and civil society organizations, but their strategies often vary in quality or have methodological shortcomings. The assessment of some of their components is also limited, as they lack standardized and culturally appropriate instruments to measure the skills contemplated by the WHO (Kirchhoff and Keller, 2021; Nasheda, 2019).
These studies point to the need for evaluation within the specific programs carried out in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The evaluation of their effectiveness in different preventive programs varies in quality, with methodological shortcomings such as the lack of a control group, insufficient quantitative measurements, and the use of instruments without psychometric validity. These evaluations measure mainly changes in knowledge, attitudes, and drug use, and the evaluation of some components remains limited (Alfaro et al., 2010; Botvin & Griffin, 2005; Espada et al., 2015; Mangrulkar et al., 2001; PAHO, 2001; Tremblay et al., 2020; UNICEF, 2019; WHO, 2003, 2020).
There are also studies that show a limited number of life skills scales with acceptable psychometric values, but some measure only certain skills at different educational levels and in specific cultural contexts, and some do not make their questionnaires available (Hoskins & Liu, 2019; UNICEF, 2020). Several studies in Mexico have reported on tests to measure life skills that have been used in prevention programs for adolescents (Alfaro et al., 2010; Andrade Palos et al., 2009; Pérez de la Barrera, 2012; Betancourt et al., 2018; Betancourt-Ocampo et al., 2019), but these tests are too long, their psychometric properties are unfavorable (Díaz-Posada et al., 2013), or they evaluate only some life skills.
The limited number of instruments to measure sets of life skills highlights the need to develop brief, valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate tools that can be incorporated into prevention programs seeking to foster skill acquisition (Hoskins & Liu, 2019; UNICEF 2020). These instruments could also prove useful as screening tools to identify problematic areas in adolescents from different contexts, generate evidence to support strategies for their psychosocial development, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions based on this approach. The objective of this study is thus to build and validate a brief scale for assessing life skills in adolescents.