Researchers studied 6,737 teenagers to understand how their social and emotional skills—like managing feelings and working well with others—affect their health habits like eating, exercising, and sleeping. They found that teens with stronger social and emotional skills tend to make healthier choices. Interestingly, feeling anxious about tests and school got in the way of this benefit, but having good friendships and feeling satisfied with relationships made the positive effect even stronger. This research suggests that helping teens develop better social skills and build supportive friendships could be a powerful way to encourage healthier lifestyles.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: How well teenagers can manage their emotions and get along with others, and whether these skills help them make healthier choices about food, exercise, and sleep
  • Who participated: 6,737 teenagers from around the world—about half were 10 years old and half were 15 years old, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls
  • Key finding: Teens with better social and emotional skills were significantly more likely to have healthy behaviors. This effect was especially strong when teens felt satisfied with their friendships and relationships.
  • What it means for you: If you’re a teen, working on your emotional skills and building positive friendships may naturally help you make better health choices. If you’re a parent or teacher, supporting teens’ social skills and relationships could be an effective way to encourage healthier habits.

The Research Details

Researchers used information from a large 2023 survey by the OECD (an international organization) that asked teenagers about their social and emotional skills, health habits, anxiety levels, and how satisfied they were with their friendships. They used advanced statistical methods to understand how these different factors connected to each other. Specifically, they tested whether anxiety acted as a ‘middleman’ between social skills and health behavior, and whether friendship satisfaction changed how strong these connections were.

This approach is important because it doesn’t just look at whether social skills matter—it actually explains HOW they matter and WHEN they matter most. By understanding these connections, educators and parents can design better programs to help teens thrive.

This study used a large, diverse sample of teenagers from multiple countries, which makes the findings more reliable. The researchers checked for common problems that can affect surveys (like people answering in biased ways) and used well-established statistical methods. However, because this is based on survey responses rather than experiments, we can’t be completely certain about cause-and-effect relationships.

What the Results Show

The study found clear evidence that social and emotional skills directly help teens make healthier choices. When teens had stronger skills in managing emotions and working with others, they were significantly more likely to exercise regularly, eat well, and get enough sleep. The effect was quite strong, suggesting this isn’t just a small connection. Additionally, the research found that test and school anxiety partially explained why some teens with good social skills still didn’t make healthy choices—anxiety got in the way of the benefits. However, this anxiety effect was relatively small, accounting for only about 7% of the total benefit. The most interesting finding was about friendships: teens who felt satisfied with their relationships got even MORE benefit from their social and emotional skills when it came to making healthy choices.

The study also discovered that friendship satisfaction changed how anxiety affected teens. When teens felt good about their relationships, they were better able to reduce their test anxiety through their social skills. This suggests that having supportive friendships creates a protective effect against school stress. The research showed that both younger (10-year-old) and older (15-year-old) teens benefited from social and emotional skills, though the strength of these effects varied slightly by age.

This research builds on earlier studies showing that social and emotional skills matter for teen health. However, it goes further by explaining the specific pathways through which these skills work and identifying friendship satisfaction as a key factor that makes these skills even more powerful. Previous research often looked at these connections separately; this study shows how they work together as an interconnected system.

Because this study relied on teenagers’ self-reported answers to surveys, we can’t be completely sure about cause-and-effect. For example, we can’t tell if better social skills lead to healthier choices, or if healthier teens naturally develop better social skills. The study was done at one point in time, so we don’t know if these effects last over months or years. Additionally, the study measured health behaviors through self-report rather than actual observation, which means teens might have reported what they thought was expected rather than what they actually do.

The Bottom Line

Based on this research, schools and families should prioritize helping teens develop social and emotional skills—like recognizing and managing emotions, cooperating with others, and solving problems. Creating supportive environments where teens feel good about their friendships appears to strengthen these benefits. These recommendations have moderate to strong evidence support from this study, though more research is needed to confirm long-term effects.

This research is relevant for teenagers themselves, parents, teachers, school counselors, and policymakers designing youth programs. It’s especially important for teens who struggle with anxiety or social relationships. However, this study doesn’t replace medical advice for teens with diagnosed anxiety disorders or serious health concerns—those situations need professional evaluation.

Changes in health behaviors typically take weeks to months to become noticeable. You might see improvements in sleep and exercise habits within 2-4 weeks of focusing on social skills and relationships, though building lasting habits usually takes 2-3 months of consistent effort.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Track three things daily: (1) one social or emotional skill you practiced (like managing frustration or helping a friend), (2) your health behaviors (minutes of exercise, meals eaten, hours of sleep), and (3) your mood and relationship satisfaction on a simple 1-10 scale. Look for patterns between days when you practice social skills and days when you make healthier choices.
  • Start with one small social skill practice daily—like having a genuine conversation with a friend, expressing a feeling honestly, or helping someone solve a problem. Then notice how you feel about your health choices that day. Use the app to celebrate days when you practice both social skills and healthy behaviors together.
  • Over 4-8 weeks, track whether your health behaviors improve as you focus on social skills and friendships. Create a simple weekly report showing your social skill practice, anxiety level, friendship satisfaction, and health behavior scores. Look for the pattern that the research suggests: better social skills + good friendships = better health choices.

This research provides general insights about relationships between social skills and health behaviors in teenagers but is not medical advice. If you or a teen in your care experiences significant anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, please consult with a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. This study cannot diagnose conditions or replace professional evaluation. Always discuss major health or behavioral changes with a doctor or counselor.