Participation and Social Skills of Young People in Vulnerable Situations. Institutional Policy Recommendations for Violence Prevention and Promotion of a Culture of Peace (Multigroup Collaboration with GIPS)

This interdisciplinary research project addresses the complex relationship between youth vulnerability, associative participation, and social skills development in Ecuador. Faced with a scenario of increasing precariousness, weakening social bonds, and a significant rise in socio-state violence, the study seeks to understand how participation in youth organizations, such as the Salesian Project, acts as a protective factor and a driver for personal development. Using a mixed-methodological approach, the research team will analyze documentary, quantitative, and qualitative data from youth aged 12 to 18 across six provinces. Instruments such as the Goldstein Social Skills Scale and ethnographic techniques will be applied to evaluate the impact of associativity on resilience and participant agency. The expected results include the generation of scientific knowledge regarding opportunity structures for exercising rights and the creation of an intervention manual. The primary impact focuses on formulating public and institutional policy recommendations aimed at strengthening state protection, promoting a culture of peace, and improving the living conditions of youth in high-risk contexts, thereby contributing to the reduction of social inequalities.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To explore and analyze the links between associative participation and social skills among vulnerable youth in Ecuador, within the context of socio-state violence production between 2018 and 2024. The ultimate goal is to formulate public and institutional policy recommendations for violence prevention and the promotion of a culture of peace.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>Socialization and child and youth subjectivities<br/>Social and political participation of children and young people<br/>Inequalities, citizenship and interculturality in an intergenerational perspective