Peer relationships and social competence are critical components of children’s socio-emotional development and are associated with important long-term outcomes, including mental health, academic adjustment, and overall well-being. Social skills interventions are widely implemented in educational and clinical settings to support children experiencing social difficulties; however, previous research has reported variability regarding the extent to which intervention-related gains generalize beyond structured intervention settings to real-world peer functioning and social participation. In addition, considerable heterogeneity exists across intervention approaches, target populations, and outcome measures within the literature.

The present study employed a scoping review methodology to examine the impact of social skills interventions on peer relationships and social competence in children aged 6–12 years. Literature searches were conducted across PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. A total of 1707 records were identified, of which 1327 remained after duplicate removal. Following title and abstract screening and full-text assessment, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Included studies involved both clinical and typically developing populations and assessed outcomes related to peer relationships, social competence, and social functioning within naturalistic social contexts.

The findings suggest that social skills interventions are generally associated with positive improvements in social interaction, peer engagement, communication skills, and broader aspects of social functioning. Studies also reported evidence of generalization beyond intervention settings, including improvements in classroom social participation, playground interaction, friendship-related outcomes, and peer acceptance. Peer-mediated and school-based approaches appeared particularly relevant for promoting real-world social participation. However, the findings also highlighted that improvements in observable social behaviors did not always correspond to stable peer acceptance or reciprocal friendship development.

Overall, the present review emphasizes the importance of ecological validity and naturalistic assessment in social skills intervention research. Future interventions should focus not only on improving discrete social skills, but also on promoting meaningful peer inclusion and sustainable social functioning within everyday social environments.