The Differential Relations of Maternal and Paternal Support and Control to Adolescent Social Competence, Self-Worth, and Sympathy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laible, Deborah J.; Carlo, Gustavo

2004-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine how the parenting dimensions of both mothers and fathers independently and together predict adolescent outcomes in three domains: sympathy, self-worth, and social competence. One-hundred eight adolescents completed self-report measures on their perceived relationship with parents, sympathy, social competence,…

Improving Social Competence through Character Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheung, Chau-kiu; Lee, Tak-yan

2010-01-01

Character education is supposed to meet early adolescents' need (i.e., eighth and ninth graders) for strengthening social competence. Moreover, adolescents' engagement in character education is integral to their learning from the education. The engagement and deficit in social competence are therefore plausible conditions for the effectiveness of…

The Mediator Effect of Loneliness between Perceived Social Competence and Cyber Bullying in Turkish Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sariçam, Hakan; Yaman, Erkan; Çelik, Ismail

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine whether loneliness might play a mediating role between perceived social competence and cyberbullying in Turkish adolescents. The participants were 326 high school students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Cyberbullying Scale, the Perceived Social Competence Scale, and the UCLA…

Validating a Culturally-sensitive Social Competence Training Programme for Adolescents with ASD in a Chinese Context: An Initial Investigation.

PubMed

Chan, Raymond Won Shing; Leung, Cecilia Nga Wing; Ng, Denise Ching Yiu; Yau, Sania Sau Wai

2018-02-01

Previous studies on social skills training on ASD were done almost exclusively in the West with children as the main subjects. Demonstrations of the applicability of social interventions in different cultures and age groups are warranted. The current study outlined the development and preliminary evaluation of a CBT-context-based social competence training for ASD (CBT-CSCA) developed in Hong Kong for Chinese adolescents with ASD. Twenty-five adolescents (aged 12-17 years, with a FSIQ above 80) were recruited. Significant improvements in social competence, autistic symptoms and general psychopathology at post-training and 3-month follow-up were reported by the parents. The study provided initial evidence support to the applicability of social competence training for adolescents with ASD in a different culture.

Social Skills, Competence, and Drug Refusal Efficacy as Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Use.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheier, Lawrence M.; Botvin, Gilbert J.; Diaz, Tracy; Griffin, Kenneth W.

1999-01-01

Examines the extent to which assertiveness and related social skills, personal competence, and refusal efficacy predict alcohol involvement in adolescents. Males were at higher risk for poor refusal skills and reported higher alcohol involvement. Youth characterized by poor social skill development reported lower refusal efficacy, lower grades,…

Behavior, Social Competence, and Voice Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence.

PubMed

Krohling, Lívia Lima; Pereira de Paula, Kely Maria; Behlau, Mara Suzana

2016-11-01

This study aimed to verify the relationships among voice change complaints, indicators of competence, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. This is a prospective study. A sample of 103 parents/guardians completed the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6-18 years. The mean age and gender were very similar between the participants with and without voice complaints. Regarding the competences, no differences were found between the participants with and without voice complaints. The group with voice complaints presented higher total scores and T-scores in the both anxiety/depression and somatic complaints domains and in the internalising, externalizing, and total scales. The total scores and T-scores on the internalising, externalizing, and total scales, as well as those of their domains (anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior), differed between children and adolescents with and without voice complaints. Children and adolescents with complaints of voice disorder demonstrate a potential risk of developing emotional/behavioral problems. Copyright © 2016 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Theory of Mind and social competence in children and adolescents with genetic generalised epilepsy (GGE): Relationships to epilepsy severity and anti-epileptic drugs.

PubMed

Stewart, Elizabeth; Catroppa, Cathy; Gill, Deepak; Webster, Richard; Lawson, John; Mandalis, Anna; Sabaz, Mark; Barton, Belinda; Lah, Suncica

2018-06-18

This study aimed to examine Theory of Mind (ToM) and social competence in children and adolescents with genetic generalised epilepsy (GGE), and explore how they relate to neurocognitive and epilepsy variables. Twenty-two children and adolescents with GGE (8-16 years old) and 22 typically developing controls completed two behavioural tasks (faux-pas, strange stories) assessing cognitive and affective ToM, and a battery of standardised neuropsychological tests. Parents completed questionnaires assessing ToM and social competence. Neurologists completed the Global Assessment Severity of Epilepsy (GASE) scale to measure of epilepsy severity. Children and adolescents with GGE were impaired in both cognitive and affective ToM, and had reduced social competence compared to controls, which was not attributable to low intellectual functioning or impaired executive skills (working memory, inhibition). Lower ToM correlated with reduced social competence in children and adolescents with GGE. Clinical variables identified included: (i) higher daily dosage of valproate, which was correlated with reduced affective ToM, (ii) higher daily dosages of ethosuximide and lamotrigine, which were correlated with reduced social competence, and (iii) overall epilepsy severity on the GASE, which was correlated with reduced social competence. Our study revealed cognitive and affective ToM impairments in children and adolescents with GGE, which correlated with everyday social problems. Moreover, higher dosages of commonly prescribed anti-epileptic drugs and overall epilepsy severity were related to ToM impairments and social competence problems. Although preliminary, these findings provide critical information for detection and screening procedures for social difficulties in children and adolescents with GGE, which are currently lacking. Copyright © 2018 British Epilepsy Association. All rights reserved.

Attachment to Parents, Social Competence, and Emotional Well-Being: A Comparison of Black and White Late Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Kenneth G.; And Others

1997-01-01

Tested an attachment model using 630 late adolescents. The resulting data fit the model reasonably well. The gender of parent differences emerged, in which attachment to father was a more important predictor of social competence than was attachment to mother. Social competence proved a significant predictor of emotional adjustment. (RJM)

The Relation Between Adolescent Social Competence and Young Adult Delinquency and Educational Attainment Among At-Risk Youth: The Mediating Role of Peer Delinquency

PubMed Central

Stepp, Stephanie D; Pardini, Dustin A; Loeber, Rolf; Morris, Nancy A

2015-01-01

Objective We examined trajectories of adolescent social competence as a resilience factor among at-risk youth. To examine potential mechanisms of this resilience process, we investigated the putative mediating effect of peer delinquency on the relation between adolescent social competence and young adult delinquency seriousness and educational attainment. Method Participants (n = 257) were screened to be at risk for antisocial behaviour at age 13 years. Data were derived from an ongoing longitudinal study of the development of antisocial and delinquent behaviour among inner-city boys, the Pittsburgh Youth Study. We used data collected from participants when aged 13 years until they were aged 25.5 years for our study. Results Results indicated that boys with high levels of social competence decreased their involvement with deviant peers throughout adolescence, which, in turn, predicted less serious forms of delinquency in early adulthood. Social competence had a direct effect on educational attainment in early adulthood, as boys who developed social competencies in adolescence went further in school irrespective of their involvement with delinquent peers. Conclusions Results suggest that promoting the development of social competencies and reducing involvement with delinquent peers will protect at-risk youth from engaging in serious delinquency in early adulthood while increasing their educational success. PMID:21878156

The Impact of Social Capital in Socio-Emotional Competencies of Spanish and Immigrant Adolescents from the Southeast of Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soriano-Ayala, Encarnación; Cala, Verónica C.

2017-01-01

How important is the role that the different social institutions play in adolescents' emotional development? This study alludes to the social capital framework to explain the influence that the family, school and peer relations have on the social-emotional competencies (SEC) of adolescents, immigrants and locals living in Southeastern Spain. Three…

The Transition from Middle Childhood to Early Adolescence: Sex Differences in the Social Networks and Perceived Self-Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feiring, Candice; Lewis, Michael

1991-01-01

Examines the development of social networks from middle childhood to adolescence based on a longitudinal sample of 100 children. Age changes, sex differences, and the relation between network characteristics and self-perceived competence are considered. Adolescent girls' social networks are larger than boys' and are also more related to specific…

Perceived competence and contraceptive use during adolescence.

PubMed

Hillman, Jennifer B; Negriff, Sonya; Dorn, Lorah D

2010-03-01

Little is known about psychosocial correlates of different contraceptive methods in adolescence. Cross-sectional analyses of 209 postmenarcheal girls [mean age (years)+/-SD=15.68+/-1.74], primarily Caucasian (62.8%) or African American (32.8%). Competence (activities and social) and rule-breaking behavior were assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR; adolescent) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; parent). Three contraceptive-use groups were created: no hormonal contraceptive (n=142), combined oral contraceptives or the transdermal patch (COCs/patch, n=41), and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, n=20). There was a significant effect of contraceptive-use group on competence (p=.003). The DMPA group had lower competence (CBCL activities and social; YSR social) than the no-hormonal-contraceptive and COCs/patch groups. The COCs/patch group scored lower than the no-hormonal-contraceptive group on YSR activities competence, but was not different from the DMPA group. Lastly, there was an effect of contraceptive-use group on CBCL (but not YSR) rule-breaking behavior (p=.029) with the DMPA group having higher rule-breaking behavior than the other groups. Type of contraceptive method was associated with parent and adolescent's perceived competence. For rule-breaking behavior, parental perception may be more relevant to contraceptive use. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevention of adolescent substance abuse through the development of personal and social competence.

PubMed

Botvin, G J

1983-01-01

The initiation of substance use typically begins during adolescence and appears to be the result of the complex interplay of social, personality, cognitive, attitudinal, behavioral, and developmental factors. Traditional smoking, alcohol, and drug education programs have attempted to increase students' knowledge of the risks associated with using these substances in the hope that this would deter use. Other programs have attempted to enrich the personal and social development of students through what has been referred to as "affective" education. Unfortunately, the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the substance abuse prevention literature is that few of these programs have demonstrated any degree of success in terms of the actual prevention of substance use/abuse. Traditional educational approaches to substance abuse prevention appear to be inadequate because they are based on faulty assumptions and are too narrow in their focus. The "affective" education approaches, on the other hand, appear to have placed too little emphasis on the acquisition of the kind of skills that are likely to increase general personal competence and enable students to cope with the various interpersonal and intrapersonal pressures to begin using tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. From the perspective of social learning theory (Bandura 1977) and problem behavior theory (Jessor and Jessor 1977), substance use is conceptualized as a socially learned, purposive, and functional behavior which is the result of the interplay of social (environmental) and personal factors. One potentially effective approach to substance abuse prevention might involve enhancing general personal competence and teaching adolescents the kind of problem-specific skills and knowledge which will increase their ability to resist the various forms of pro-substance-use social pressure. Brief reviews of the social skills training literature and the literature related to techniques for coping with anxiety not only provide

iSocial: delivering the Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A) in a 3D virtual learning environment for youth with high functioning autism.

PubMed

Stichter, Janine P; Laffey, James; Galyen, Krista; Herzog, Melissa

2014-02-01

One consistent area of need for students with autism spectrum disorders is in the area of social competence. However, the increasing need to provide qualified teachers to deliver evidence-based practices in areas like social competence leave schools, such as those found in rural areas, in need of support. Distance education and in particular, 3D Virtual Learning, holds great promise for supporting schools and youth to gain social competence through knowledge and social practice in context. iSocial, a distance education, 3D virtual learning environment implemented the 31-lesson social competence intervention for adolescents across three small cohorts totaling 11 students over a period of 4 months. Results demonstrated that the social competence curriculum was delivered with fidelity in the 3D virtual learning environment. Moreover, learning outcomes suggest that the iSocial approach shows promise for social competence benefits for youth.

Predicting Early Adolescents' Academic Achievement, Social Competence, and Physical Health from Parenting, Ego Resilience, and Engagement Coping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Jodi; Valiente, Carlos; Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn; O'Brien, T. Caitlin

2011-01-01

This study examined ego resilience and engagement coping as mediators of the relationships between supportive and controlling parenting practices and early adolescents' academic achievement, social competence, and physical health. Participants were 240 predominantly Mexican American early adolescents, their parents, and their teachers. There were…

An Exploration of Young Adolescents' Social Achievement Goals and Social Adjustment in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Allison M.; Shim, S. Serena

2008-01-01

Two studies investigated the proposition that social achievement goals (different orientations toward social competence) are an important aspect of young adolescents' social motivation. Study 1 (N = 153 6th-grade students) established that different orientations toward developing or demonstrating social competence can be seen in young adolescents'…

Psychometric properties of virtual reality vignette performance measures: a novel approach for assessing adolescents' social competency skills.

PubMed

Paschall, Mallie J; Fishbein, Diana H; Hubal, Robert C; Eldreth, Diana

2005-02-01

This study examined the psychometric properties of performance measures for three novel, interactive virtual reality vignette exercises developed to assess social competency skills of at-risk adolescents. Performance data were collected from 117 African-American male 15-17 year olds. Data for 18 performance measures were obtained, based on adolescents' interaction with a provocative virtual teenage character. Twelve of the 18 performance measures loaded on two factors corresponding to emotional control and interpersonal communication skills, providing support for their factorial validity. The internal reliability coefficients for the two multi-item measures were 0.88 and 0.91, respectively. Additional analyses with established measures of three psychosocial factors (beliefs supporting aggression, aggressive conflict-resolution style and hostility) and behavioral criteria (e.g., self-reported behavioral misconduct and drug use) provided limited support for the construct and criterion-related validity of the performance measures. Study findings suggest that the virtual reality vignette exercises may represent a promising approach for assessing adolescents' social competency skills.

Early Antecedents of Social Competence in Elementary School of Later Peer Reputation and Sociometric Status in Dutch Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholte, Ron H. J.; Haselager, Gerbert J. T.; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; van Lieshout, Cornelis F. M.

Noting that a child's peer competence and sociometric status not only are important indices of the child's current social functioning, but may also predict adolescent adaptation, this study examined the antecedents in peer competence and sociometric status in early and late elementary school years of five peer reputation dimensions. These five…

The roles of emotional competence and social problem-solving in the relationship between physical abuse and adolescent suicidal ideation in China.

PubMed

Kwok, Sylvia Y C L; Yeung, Jerf W K; Low, Andrew Y T; Lo, Herman H M; Tam, Cherry H L

2015-06-01

The study investigated the relationship among physical abuse, positive psychological factors including emotional competence and social problem-solving, and suicidal ideation among adolescents in China. The possible moderating effects of emotional competence and social problem-solving in the association between physical abuse and adolescent suicidal ideation were also studied. A cross-sectional survey employing convenience sampling was conducted and self-administered questionnaires were collected from 527 adolescents with mean age of 14 years from the schools in Shanghai. Results showed that physical abuse was significantly and positively related to suicidal ideation in both male and female adolescents. Emotional competence was not found to be significantly associated with adolescent suicidal ideation, but rational problem-solving, a sub-scale of social problem-solving, was shown to be significantly and negatively associated with suicidal ideation for males, but not for females. However, emotional competence and rational problem-solving were shown to be a significant and a marginally significant moderator in the relationship between physical abuse and suicidal ideation in females respectively, but not in males. High rational problem-solving buffered the negative impact of physical abuse on suicidal ideation for females. Interestingly, females with higher empathy and who reported being physically abused by their parents have higher suicidal ideation. Findings are discussed and implications are stated. It is suggested to change the attitudes of parents on the concept of physical abuse, guide them on appropriate attitudes, knowledge and skills in parenting, and enhance adolescents' skills in rational problem-solving. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Competence and Parental Support as Mediators of the Link between Stress and Metabolic Control in Adolescents with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Cindy L.; And Others

1987-01-01

Measured metabolic control, adherence, life stress, social competence, and parental support in adolescents (N=104) with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Found that stress was directly associated with metabolic control, independent of the link between adherence and metabolic control. Social competence buffered negative association between…

The effect of a music therapy social skills training program on improving social competence in children and adolescents with social skills deficits.

PubMed

Gooding, Lori F

2011-01-01

Three separate studies were conducted in school, residential and after-school care settings to test the effectiveness of a music therapy-based social skills intervention program on improving social competence in children and adolescents. A total of 45 children (n = 12; n = 13; n = 20) aged 6-17 years with social skills deficits participated in a group-based five session intervention program. The same curriculum, adapted to be age appropriate, was used at all 3 sites. Specific deficits within the social skills areas of peer relations and self-management skills were targeted. Active interventions like music performance, movement to music and improvisation were used. Cognitive-behavioral techniques like modeling, feedback, transfer training and problem solving were also incorporated. Data on social functioning were collected before, during, and after the music therapy intervention from participants, appropriate adult personnel and via behavioral observations. Results indicated that significant improvements in social functioning were found in (a) school participant pre and post self-ratings, (b) researcher pre and post ratings of school participants, (c) case manager's pre and post treatment ratings for the residential participants, (d) after-school care participants' pre and post self-ratings, and (e) behavioral observations at all three settings. Additional changes, although not significant, were noted in teacher ratings, residential participant self- and peer ratings, and after-school case manager ratings. Results from these studies suggest that the music therapy intervention was effective in improving social competence in children and adolescents with social deficits. More research is warranted to provide additional guidance about the use of music therapy interventions to improve social functioning.

Gender-Specific Effects of Social Influences and Competence on Lifetime Poly-Drug Use among Inner-City Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Jennifer A.; Botvin, Gilbert J.; Doyle, Margaret

2009-01-01

This study examined the relationship of social influences to use drugs and competence variables with lifetime poly-drug use for adolescents residing in inner-city regions. The same model was tested separately for boys and girls. Sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 2400) in inner-city schools self-reported substance use, social influences to use drugs…

Relation of Adolescent Mothers' History of Antisocial Behavior to Child Conduct Problems and Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhule, Dana M.; McMahon, Robert J.; Spieker, Susan J.

2004-01-01

We examined the extent to which maternal antisocial behavior (ASB) is directly related to child conduct problems and social competence and assessed the potential mediating role of negative parenting. The sample included 93 adolescent mothers and their children (44 boys, 49 girls). Mothers retrospectively reported about their ASB since the child's…

The contribution of the therapist's competence in the treatment of adolescents with generalized social phobia.

PubMed

Olivares, José; Olivares-Olivares, Pablo J; Rosa-Alcázar, Ana I; Montesinos, Luis; Macià, Diego

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore which of the outcomes attained by the application of the psychological program Intervención en Adolescentes con Fobia Social (Intervention in Adolescents with Social Phobia) can be attributed to the therapist's competence. The experimental study consists of three conditions: Waiting list control, Group treated by expert psychologists, and Group treated by inexperienced psychologists, with a sample of 110 Spanish adolescents whose mean age was 15.42 years (SD = 0.97, range: 14-18). All participants met the criteria for diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia) and most of them were female (65.45%). (i) The effect size attributable to the therapist was low compared to the effect size associated with the manual-based treatment program in the dependent variables measured, and (ii) Expert therapists attained a much greater remission of the criteria for the diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia among participants than did the inexperienced therapists. The IAFS Program was responsible for most of the change measured in participants.

Social-emotional competence and early adolescents' peer acceptance in school: Examining the role of afternoon cortisol.

PubMed

Oberle, Eva

2018-01-01

The present study investigated the role of afternoon cortisol in social-emotional competence and peer acceptance in early adolescence. To date, research on basal cortisol activity and social development in childhood and adolescence has predominately focused on understanding maladjustment and dysfunction in development. The degree to which basal cortisol is also involved in positive adjustment and social functioning remains largely unexplored. A total of 154 early adolescents (46% female; Mean age = 11.26; SD = .65) from diverse ethnic backgrounds provided self-reports of perspective taking, peer reports of acceptance by classmates, peer reports of prosocial behaviors, and saliva samples to assess basal cortisol. As expected and in alignment with previous research, afternoon cortisol, perspective taking, prosocial behaviors, and peer acceptance were all positively correlated. Path analyses followed by bootstrapping analyses revealed that the direct path from higher afternoon cortisol to higher levels of prosocial behavior was fully mediated by perspective taking skills. The direct path from higher afternoon cortisol to peer acceptance was fully mediated by perspective taking skills and prosocial behavior. The findings are discussed within the broader context of previous research on cortisol and social adjustment in childhood and early adolescence. The practical relevance of the findings is considered.

Psychometric Properties of Virtual Reality Vignette Performance Measures: A Novel Approach for Assessing Adolescents' Social Competency Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paschall, Mallie J.; Fishbein, Diana H.; Hubal, Robert C.; Eldreth, Diana

2005-01-01

This study examined the psychometric properties of performance measures for three novel, interactive virtual reality vignette exercises developed to assess social competency skills of at-risk adolescents. Performance data were collected from 117 African-American male 15-17 year olds. Data for 18 performance measures were obtained, based on…

The Measure of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence: Development and Initial Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grover, Rachel L.; Nangle, Douglas W.; Zeff, Karen R.

2005-01-01

We developed and began construct validation of the Measure of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence (MAHC), a self-report instrument assessing the ability to negotiate effectively a range of challenging other-sex social interactions. Development followed the Goldfried and D'Zurilla (1969) behavioral-analytic model for assessing competence.…

Social cognition dysfunction in adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (velo-cardio-facial syndrome): relationship with executive functioning and social competence/functioning.

PubMed

Campbell, L E; McCabe, K L; Melville, J L; Strutt, P A; Schall, U

2015-09-01

Social difficulties are often noted among people with intellectual disabilities. Children and adults with 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) often have poorer social competence as well as poorer performance on measures of executive and social-cognitive skills compared with typically developing young people. However, the relationship between social functioning and more basic processes of social cognition and executive functioning are not well understood in 22q11DS. The present study examined the relationship between social-cognitive measures of emotion attribution and theory of mind with executive functioning and their contribution to social competence in 22q11DS. The present cross-sectional study measured social cognition and executive performance of 24 adolescents with 22q11DS compared with 27 age-matched typically developing controls. Social cognition was tested using the emotion attribution task (EAT) and a picture sequencing task (PST), which tested mentalising (false-belief), sequencing, cause and effect, and inhibition. Executive functioning was assessed using computerised versions of the Tower of London task and working memory measures of spatial and non-spatial ability. Social competence was also assessed using the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Adolescents with 22q11DS showed impaired false-belief, emotion attribution and executive functioning compared with typically developing control participants. Poorer performance was reported on all story types in the PST, although, patterns of errors and response times across story types were similar in both groups. General sequencing ability was the strongest predictor of false-belief, and performance on the false-belief task predicted emotion attribution accuracy. Intellectual functioning, rather than theory of mind or executive functioning, predicted social competence in 22q11DS. Performance on social-cognitive tasks of theory of mind indicate evidence of a general underlying

A Pilot Study of Social Competence Group Training for Adolescents with Borderline Intellectual Functioning and Emotional and Behavioural Problems (SCT-ABI)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nestler, J.; Goldbeck, L.

2011-01-01

Background: Emotional and behavioural problems as well as a lack of social competence are common in adolescents with borderline intellectual functioning and impair their social and vocational integration. Group interventions specifically developed for this target group are scarce and controlled evaluation studies are absent. Methods: A…

Examining social competence, self-perception, quality of life, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescent females with and without autism spectrum disorder: a quantitative design including between-groups and correlational analyses.

PubMed

Jamison, T Rene; Schuttler, Jessica Oeth

2015-01-01

Adolescent females with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are an understudied population, yet are also quite vulnerable, due to the increased complexities of social interaction and increased risk for internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Most research literature currently focuses on males with ASD, limiting our understanding of social experiences for females with ASD, and thus the potential to better inform supports and intervention to promote social-emotional functioning. This study examined similarities and differences in selected indicators of social-emotional health (social competence, self-perception, quality of life) and problematic behaviors such as externalizing and internalizing symptoms for adolescent females with and without ASD. This study employed a quantitative design utilizing correlational analysis as well as t test comparisons to examine selected indicators of social-emotional health and problematic symptoms using the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS), Youth Quality of Life Instrument (YQOL), and the Self-Perceptions Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) for adolescent females with ASD in relation to their typically developing peers. Significant differences were found between females with and without ASD in terms of their self-ratings of social-emotional health and problematic behaviors. The no-ASD group rated themselves higher across all areas of social-emotional health. Findings also suggest strong relationships between these constructs, especially for females without ASD. Parent reports of autism symptoms and social-emotional health indicated that as symptoms of autism are more severe, so too was the impact on individuals' social competence. Adolescent females with ASD perceive themselves as having lower social competence, self-worth, and quality of life and higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms as compared to their typically developing peers. Parent ratings indicate that higher levels of autism symptoms relate to lower

Do competence skills moderate the impact of social influences to drink and perceived social benefits of drinking on alcohol use among inner-city adolescents?

PubMed

Epstein, Jennifer A; Zhou, Xi Kathy; Bang, Heejung; Botvin, Gilbert J

2007-03-01

Only a few studies have found competence skills to be a protective factor against adolescent alcohol use; others did not find a direct effect on alcohol. A possible reason for this is that competence skills may moderate the effects of risk factors for alcohol use and that aspect has not been examined often or in a longitudinal design. This study tested whether several competence skills served either as direct protective factors against alcohol use or moderators of the impact of social risk factors on alcohol use. Participants (N = 1318) completed questionnaires that included measures of decision-making skills, refusal skill techniques, resisting media influences, friends' drinking and perceived social benefits of drinking, as well as current drinking amount and future drinking at baseline, one-year follow-up and two-year follow-up. Data analyses were conducted using multi-level mixed effects generalized linear models with random intercept. All the competence skills and the risk factors predicted current and future drinking. Several significant interactions were found between (1) perceived social benefits of drinking and decision-making skills, (2) perceived social benefits of drinking and refusal skill techniques and (3) friends' drinking and refusal skill techniques. Competence skills served as protective factors, as well as moderators. One possible reason that competence enhancement approaches to alcohol prevention are effective may be due to the inclusion of the competence skills component.

[Construction of the addiction prevention core competency model for preventing addictive behavior in adolescents].

PubMed

Park, Hyun Sook; Jung, Sun Young

2013-12-01

This study was done to provide fundamental data for the development of competency reinforcement programs to prevent addictive behavior in adolescents through the construction and examination of an addiction prevention core competency model. In this study core competencies for preventing addictive behavior in adolescents through competency modeling were identified, and the addiction prevention core competency model was developed. It was validated methodologically. Competencies for preventing addictive behavior in adolescents as defined by the addiction prevention core competency model are as follows: positive self-worth, self-control skill, time management skill, reality perception skill, risk coping skill, and positive communication with parents and with peers or social group. After construction, concurrent cross validation of the addiction prevention core competency model showed that this model was appropriate. The study results indicate that the addiction prevention core competency model for the prevention of addictive behavior in adolescents through competency modeling can be used as a foundation for an integral approach to enhance adolescent is used as an adjective and prevent addictive behavior. This approach can be a school-centered, cost-efficient strategy which not only reduces addictive behavior in adolescents, but also improves the quality of their resources.

Social Competence as a Mediating Factor in Reduction of Behavioral Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langeveld, Johannes H.; Gundersen, Knut K.; Svartdal, Frode

2012-01-01

The main purpose of the present study was to explore how social competence reduces behavioral problems. Based on previous findings, we assume that increased social competence can be regarded as a mediating factor in reducing behavior problems. All participants (children and adolescents, n = 112) received an intervention intended to increase social…

Exploring the Moderating Effects of Cognitive Abilities on Social Competence Intervention Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stichter, Janine P; Malugen, Emily; Herzog, Melissa; O'Donnell, Rose; Kilgus, S; Schoemann, Alexander M.

2018-01-01

Many populations served by special education, including those identified with autism, emotional impairments, or students identified as not ready to learn, experience social competence deficits. The Social Competence Intervention-Adolescents' (SCI-A) methods, content, and materials were designed to be maximally pertinent and applicable to the…

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Adolescent Social Expectations

PubMed Central

Loeb, Emily L.; Hessel, Elenda T.; Allen, Joseph P.

2015-01-01

Adolescents’ negative social expectations of their peers were examined as long-term predictors of problematic self-reported social functioning. Early adolescent negative expectations were hypothesized to predict risk-averse functioning in late adolescence that would ultimately contribute to confirmation of those expectations. Utilizing observational data and friend- and self-reports from a community sample of 184 adolescents followed from ages 13 to 25, adolescents with more negative expectations were found to have become increasingly submissive with friends over time and were rated as less romantically appealing by late adolescence (after controlling for baseline levels of these variables, baseline friend-rated social competence and self-reported depressive symptoms). In turn, submissiveness and romantic appeal predicted problematic self-reported social functioning well into adulthood and mediated the relationship between adolescent negative expectations and problematic self-reported adult social functioning. These findings support the possibility of a self-fulfilling social process unfolding from early adolescence to adulthood. PMID:28082755

Mexican-origin Early Adolescents' Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity, and Psychosocial Functioning.

PubMed

Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; O'Donnell, Megan; Knight, George P; Roosa, Mark W; Berkel, Cady; Nair, Rajni

2014-02-01

The current study examined how parental ethnic socialization informed adolescents' ethnic identity development and, in turn, youths' psychosocial functioning (i.e., mental health, social competence, academic efficacy, externalizing behaviors) among 749 Mexican-origin families. In addition, school ethnic composition was examined as a moderator of these associations. Findings indicated that mothers' and fathers' ethnic socialization were significant longitudinal predictors of adolescents' ethnic identity, although fathers' ethnic socialization interacted significantly with youths' school ethnic composition in 5 th grade to influence ethnic identity in 7 th grade. Furthermore, adolescents' ethnic identity was significantly associated with increased academic self-efficacy and social competence, and decreased depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Findings support theoretical predictions regarding the central role parents play in Mexican-origin adolescents' normative developmental processes and adjustment and, importantly, underscore the need to consider variability that is introduced into these processes by features of the social context such as school ethnic composition.

Exploring the Moderating Effects of Cognitive Abilities on Social Competence Intervention Outcomes.

PubMed

Stichter, Janine P; Herzog, Melissa J; Kilgus, Stephen P; Schoemann, Alexander M

2018-01-01

Many populations served by special education, including those identified with autism, emotional impairments, or students identified as not ready to learn, experience social competence deficits. The Social Competence Intervention-Adolescents' (SCI-A) methods, content, and materials were designed to be maximally pertinent and applicable to the social competence needs of early adolescents (i.e., age 11-14 years) identified as having scholastic potential but experiencing significant social competence deficits. Given the importance of establishing intervention efficacy, the current paper highlights the results from a four-year cluster randomized trial (CRT) to examine the efficacy of SCI-A (n = 146 students) relative to Business As Usual (n = 123 students) school-based programming. Educational personnel delivered all programming including both intervention and BAU conditions. Student functioning was assessed across multiple time points, including pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Outcomes of interest included social competence behaviors, which were assessed via both systematic direct observation and teacher behavior rating scales. Data were analyzed using multilevel models, with students nested within schools. Results suggested after controlling for baseline behavior and student IQ, BAU and SCI students differed to a statistically significant degree across multiple indicators of social performance. Further consideration of standardized mean difference effect sizes revealed these between-group differences to be representative of medium effects (d > .50). Such outcomes pertained to student (a) awareness of social cues and information, and (b) capacity to appropriately interact with teachers and peers. The need for additional power and the investigation of potential moderators and mediators of social competence effectiveness are explored.

The Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales (HCBS): Dimensionality in Social Competence and Antisocial Behaviours

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hukkelberg, Silje; Ogden, Terje

2016-01-01

The study investigated dimensionality in the Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales (HCSBS) that assess social competence (Peer Relations and Self-Management/Compliance) and antisocial behaviour (Defiant/Disruptive and Antisocial/Aggressive behaviour) in children and adolescents. The four scales comprising 64 items were completed by 551…

Parenting Practices and Perceived Social Support: Longitudinal Relations with the Social Competence of Mexican-origin Children.

PubMed

Taylor, Zoe E; Conger, Rand D; Robins, Richard W; Widaman, Keith F

2015-11-01

Social bonds and supportive relationships are widely recognized as being indispensable to healthy psychological functioning and well-being. Social support is a psychological resource that is expected to also contribute positively to parenting practices. The present study longitudinally examined the relations between mothers' ( N = 674) and fathers' ( N = 430) perceived social support and parenting behaviors, and their relations with children's social competence during early adolescence in Mexican-origin single and two-parent families. Our constructs of interest (warm parenting, monitoring, perceived social support, and children's social competence) were significantly correlated at T1, and demonstrated significant stability across time for both parental models. Parental warmth (as reported by the child, and opposite parent) and parental monitoring (self-reported by mothers and fathers) were correlated and also showed bidirectional associations across time. Parental monitoring at T2 positively predicted change in children's social competence at T3 (controlling for T1 social competence) for mothers. Parental warmth at T2 positively predicted change in children's social competence at T3 (controlling for T1 social competence) for fathers. For mothers, the indirect effect of social support at T1 on children's social competence at T3 via parental monitoring at T2 (and controlling for prior levels) was significant. Findings suggest that maternal perceived social support contributes to children's social competence due to its positive relation to maternal monitoring. Results may also suggest that mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviors differentially relate to children's social competence in Latino families, although additional work focused on comparing parenting behaviors in two-parent families is needed.

Online social networking in adolescence: patterns of use in six European countries and links with psychosocial functioning.

PubMed

Tsitsika, Artemis K; Tzavela, Eleni C; Janikian, Mari; Ólafsson, Kjartan; Iordache, Andreea; Schoenmakers, Tim Michaël; Tzavara, Chara; Richardson, Clive

2014-07-01

Online communication tools, such as social networking sites (SNS), have been comprehensively embraced by adolescents and have become a dominant daily social practice. Recognizing SNS as a key context of adolescent development, this study aimed to investigate associations between heavier SNS use, and adolescent competencies and internalizing problems. Data was collected in six European countries: Greece, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, and Iceland. Participants were 10,930 adolescents aged 14-17 years (F/M: 5,719/5,211; mean age 15.8 ± .7 years); 62.3% were aged 14-15.9 years and 37.7% were aged 16-17.9 years. Participants reported on their use of online communication tools, and their general competencies and internalizing problems (Youth Self Report). SNS are both ubiquitous--used by 70% of adolescents--and engaging, given that 40% of users spend 2 or more hours daily on SNS (labeled heavier SNS use). Heavier SNS use was associated with more internalizing problems, and the relation was consistently more pronounced among younger adolescents. Moreover, heavier SNS use was associated with lower academic performance and lower activities scores, especially for younger adolescents. In contrast, among older adolescents heavier SNS use was positively associated with offline social competence. Although heavier SNS use is associated with higher social competence for older adolescents, it is also associated with increased internalizing problems and diminished competencies in academics and activities, especially for younger adolescents. Age, capturing developmental differences in social and regulatory skills, appears to moderate the effects of heavier SNS use on adolescent functioning. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing Romantic Competence among Older Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulman, Shmuel; Davila, Joanne; Shachar-Shapira, Lital

2011-01-01

Davila and colleagues (Davila et al., 2009) developed the Romantic Competence Interview to capture the potential for romantic competence during early adolescence. Considering that at later stages of adolescence the majority are likely to be involved in some kind of romantic relationship, the current paper adapts, extends, and examines the concept…

What Drives Apostates and Converters? The Social and Familial Antecedents of Religious Change among Adolescents

PubMed Central

Longo, Gregory S.; Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen

2015-01-01

While research on the psychology of religion and spirituality has examined religious conversion, little research has examined social and familial variables that might play a role in conversion in adolescence. Longitudinal work examining concurrent conversion experiences – as opposed to retrospective reports – is particularly rare. In an examination of 209 parent-adolescent dyads, findings suggested that those who became religious at Time 2 had higher social competence at Time 1 than did apostates, whereas adolescents who were religious at both times had higher social competence, parent communication, and parent trust than apostates. Additionally, those who converted to their parent’s religion at Time 2 were higher than apostates in Time 1 social competence and parent communication. Results point to the importance of considering social and familial factors in religious conversion. PMID:25664141

Social Competence and Social Support as Mediators between Comorbid Depressive and Conduct Problems and Functional Outcomes in Middle School Students

PubMed Central

Rockhill, Carol M.; Stoep, Ann Vander; McCauley, Elizabeth; Katon, Wayne J.

2009-01-01

This study examined the roles of social competence and social support as potential mediators of the association between psychopathology and functional outcomes in a middle school sample (n=521). Participants were stratified into four psychopathology risk groups (depression only, conduct problems only, comorbid depression and conduct problems, low symptoms) based on screening during early 6th grade. Functional outcomes were 6th grade point average (GPA) and parent rating of global adaptive functioning in their 7th grade student. Low levels of social competence were found to mediate the association between psychiatric symptoms and both lower grades and global functioning, for adolescents with depressive symptoms alone and with comorbid symptoms, but not for those with conduct problems alone. Lack of social support mediated the association between symptoms and lower grades for adolescents with depression alone and comorbid symptoms, but not those with conduct problems alone. These findings suggest that intervention to improve social competence and social support may enhance functional outcomes, especially for youth with depressive symptoms or comorbid depressive and conduct symptoms. PMID:18694594

Motor competence and physical fitness in adolescents.

PubMed

Gísladóttir, Ordís; Haga, Monika; Sigmundsson, Hermundur

2014-01-01

In this study we examined the relationship between physical fitness and motor competence in adolescents aged 15 to 16 years. A sample of 94 adolescents participated in the study. To test motor competence, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 was used. Physical fitness was assessed using the following test items: standing broad jump, 20-m dash, reduced Cooper test, and sit-and-reach test. The results revealed a significant but weak relationship (0.248) between motor competence and physical fitness for the whole sample. More specifically, the correlation between the 2 variables was significant for girls (0.353) but not for boys (0.248). The relatively weak relationship between motor competence and physical fitness suggests that motor competence might not be critical in adolescents to maintain their physical fitness.

Social Skills and Family Climate of Behaviorally Disordered Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margalit, Malka; And Others

1988-01-01

The social skills and family climate of 53 Israeli behaviorally disordered adolescents were compared to 56 nondisabled controls. Subjects viewed themselves as socially adequate, but viewed their skills as highly interrelated, whereas controls revealed a more differential concept. Subjects' teachers viewed them as less socially competent than…

Assessing Child and Adolescent Pragmatic Language Competencies: Toward Evidence-Based Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Robert L.; Grizzle, Kenneth L.

2008-01-01

Using language appropriately and effectively in social contexts requires pragmatic language competencies (PLCs). Increasingly, deficits in PLCs are linked to child and adolescent disorders, including autism spectrum, externalizing, and internalizing disorders. As the role of PLCs expands in diagnosis and treatment of developmental psychopathology,…

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation.

PubMed

Nesi, Jacqueline; Widman, Laura; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Prinstein, Mitchell J

2017-06-01

This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents' technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; M age  = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technological modes (text messaging, social networking sites) and (2) competence in the romantic relationship skill domains of negative assertion and conflict management. Results of cross-lagged panel models indicated that adolescents who engaged in greater proportions of technology-based communication with romantic partners reported lower levels of interpersonal competencies one year later, but not vice versa; associations were particularly strong for boys. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Understanding Aggression through Attachment and Social Emotional Competence in Korean Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

You, Sukkyung; Kim, Ann Y.

2016-01-01

In recent years, increase in adolescent crime in the Republic of Korea has put adolescent aggression in the spotlight. This study examines whether the quality of attachment to parents and peers influences aggressive behaviors and whether social emotional competencies serve as significant mediators for middle school students. These relationships…

The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification.

PubMed

Mischel, W; Shoda, Y; Peake, P K

1988-04-01

Delay of gratification, assessed in a series of experiments when the subjects were in preschool, was related to parental personality ratings obtained a decade later for 95 of these children in adolescence. Clear and consistent patterns of correlations between self-imposed delay time in preschool and later ratings were found for both sexes over this time span. Delay behavior predicted a set of cognitive and social competencies and stress tolerance consistent with experimental analyses of the process underlying effective delay in the preschool delay situation. Specifically, children who were able to wait longer at age 4 or 5 became adolescents whose parents rated them as more academically and socially competent, verbally fluent, rational, attentive, planful, and able to deal well with frustration and stress. Comparisons with related longitudinal research using other delay situations help to clarify the important features of the situations and person variables involved in different aspects of delay of gratification.

Examining the relation between adolescent social anxiety, adolescent delinquency (abstention), and emerging adulthood relationship quality.

PubMed

Mercer, Natalie; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Meeus, Wim; Branje, Susan

2017-07-01

Social anxiety symptoms and delinquency are two prevalent manifestations of problem behavior during adolescence and both are related to negative interpersonal relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This study examined the relation between social anxiety and delinquency in adolescence and the interplay between adolescent social anxiety and delinquency on perceived relationship quality in emerging adulthood. In a 10-year long prospective study (T1, n = 923; T2, n = 727; Mage T1 = 12; 49% female), we examined competing hypotheses using regression analyses: the protective perspective, which suggests social anxiety protects against delinquency; and the co-occurring perspective, which suggests social anxiety and delinquency co-occur leading to increased negative interpersonal outcomes. In adolescence, the relation between social anxiety and delinquency was consistent with the protective perspective. In emerging adulthood, consistent with the co-occurring perspective, ever-delinquents (but not delinquency abstainers) with higher social anxiety reported less perceived best friend, mother, and father support compared to delinquents with lower social anxiety. There was no interaction between anxiety and delinquency in predicting perceived conflict. This study highlights the importance of examining the relation between social anxiety and delinquency with regards to different interpersonal outcomes.

Emotional competence and online game use in adolescents.

PubMed

Seo, Mia; Kang, Hee Sun; Chae, Sun-Mi

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between emotional competence and online game use in adolescents. This study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey using a convenience sample. The participants were 2199 adolescents in South Korea. Online game use and emotional competence including positive emotion, emotional expression, and emotional intelligence were measured. The study results indicated that emotional competence was negatively correlated with excessive online game use. All variables of emotional competence were significantly lower in high-risk users compared with general users. In addition, female adolescents were rated significantly higher in emotional competence among general users, but there were no significant gender differences among high-risk users. The results of our study imply that high-risk game users have lower levels of emotional intelligence than general users do. The results of this study suggest that emotion is an important factor to which practitioners in psychomedical fields and nursing should pay attention. Therefore, nurses in schools and communities should regularly screen the emotions of adolescents who habitually play online games and develop a program to enhance emotional competence associated with online games.

Parenting and social competence in school: The role of preadolescents' personality traits.

PubMed

Lianos, Panayiotis G

2015-06-01

In a study of 230 preadolescent students (mean age 11.3 years) from the wider area of Athens, Greece, the role of Big Five personality traits (i.e. Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Extraversion) in the relation between parenting dimensions (overprotection, emotional warmth, rejection, anxious rearing) and social competence in school was examined. Multiple sets of regression analyses were performed. Main effects of Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were identified. Limited evidence for moderation and some support of gender-specific parenting was found. Agreeableness and Extraversion interacted with paternal overprotection, whereas Neuroticism interacted with maternal and paternal rejection in predicting social competence. Mean differences in gender and educational grade were reported. The relationship between environmental effects (such as parenting during early adolescence) and social adjustment in school is discussed in terms of the plasticity and malleability of the preadolescents' personality characteristics. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fathers' Autonomy Support and Social Competence of Sons and Daughters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corwyn, Robert F.; Bradley, Robert H.

2016-01-01

Relations between paternal autonomy support and four aspects of adolescent social competence and responsibility at age 16 were examined using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. With controls on maternal autonomy support, significant relations were observed between paternal autonomy support and three of the four…

The Core Competencies for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elfers, John; Carlton, Lidia; Gibson, Paul; Puffer, Maryjane; Smith, Sharla; Todd, Kay

2014-01-01

The Adolescent Sexual Health Work Group commissioned the development of core competencies that define the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for all providers of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. This article describes the background and rationale for this set of competencies, the history and use of competencies, and the process…

Perceived neighborhood social resources as determinants of prosocial behavior in early adolescence.

PubMed

Lenzi, Michela; Vieno, Alessio; Perkins, Douglas D; Pastore, Massimiliano; Santinello, Massimo; Mazzardis, Sonia

2012-09-01

The present study aims to develop an integrative model that links neighborhood behavioral opportunities and social resources (neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood friendship and neighborhood attachment) to prosocial (sharing, helping, empathic) behavior in early adolescence, taking into account the potential mediating role of perceived support of friends. Path analysis was used to test the proposed theoretical model in a sample of 1,145 Italian early adolescents (6th through 8th graders). More perceived opportunities and social resources in the neighborhood are related to higher levels of adolescent prosocial behavior, and this relationship is partially mediated by perceived social support from friends. The results offer promising implications for future research and intervention programs that aim to modify social systems to improve child and adolescent social competencies.

Links Between Sibling Experiences and Romantic Competence from Adolescence Through Young Adulthood.

PubMed

Doughty, Susan E; Lam, Chun Bun; Stanik, Christine E; McHale, Susan M

2015-11-01

Although previous research has linked sibling relationship experiences to youth's social competencies with peers, we know little about the role of siblings in youth's romantic relationship experiences. Drawing on data from a longitudinal sample of 190 families, this study examined the links between sibling experiences and the development of perceived romantic competence from early adolescence into young adulthood (ages 12-20). The data were collected from 373 youth (50.7 % female) in home interviews on up to five annual occasions. Multi-level models tested the moderating role of sibling gender constellation in romantic competence development and the links between (changes in) sibling intimacy and conflict, and romantic competence. The results revealed that youth with same-sex siblings showed no change in their perceived romantic competence, but those with opposite-sex siblings exhibited increases in romantic competence over time. Controlling for parent-child intimacy, at times when youth reported more sibling intimacy, they also reported greater romantic competence, and youth with higher cross-time average sibling conflict were lower in romantic competence, on average. This study illustrates that sibling experiences remain important in social development into early adulthood and suggests directions for application and future research.

Social Skill Development and Academic Competence in Children with and without Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Marina

2017-01-01

Social skills and academic competence are key factors influencing children's development and functioning across early childhood and through adolescence. There is a great need to understand the longitudinal patterns of growth in social and academic skills in order to further inform intervention, particularly for at-risk groups such as individuals…

Trajectories of Social Anxiety during Adolescence and Relations with Cognition, Social Competence, and Temperament

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miers, A. C.; Blote, A. W.; de Rooij, M.; Bokhorst, C. L.; Westenberg, P. M.

2013-01-01

This cohort-sequential study examined developmental trajectories of social anxiety in a nonclinical sample (N = 331, 161 girls) aged 9 to 17 years at initial and 12 to 21 years at final assessment. We tested whether variables assessing cognition, social competence, and temperament discriminated between the trajectories. Variables were collected…

Measuring Social Competence with the Wechsler Picture Arrangement and Comprehension Subtests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Jonathan M.; McCord, David M.

1999-01-01

Tested the traditional assumption that the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests are measures of social competence using scores from 136 children and adolescents. Cautions against interpreting either subtest as an indicator of social…

School-related social support and subjective well-being in school among adolescents: The role of self-system factors.

PubMed

Tian, Lili; Zhao, Jie; Huebner, E Scott

2015-12-01

This 6-week longitudinal study aimed to examine a moderated mediation model that may explain the link between school-related social support (i.e., teacher support and classmate support) and optimal subjective well-being in school among adolescents (n = 1316). Analyses confirmed the hypothesized model that scholastic competence partially mediated the relations between school-related social support and subjective well-being in school, and social acceptance moderated the mediation process in the school-related social support--> subjective well-being in school path and in the scholastic competence--> subjective well-being in school path. The findings suggested that both social contextual factors (e.g., school-related social support) and self-system factors (e.g., scholastic competence and social acceptance) are crucial for adolescents' optimal subjective well-being in school. Limitations and practical applications of the study were discussed. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interpersonal Competence Configurations, Attachment to Community, and Residential Aspirations of Rural Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrin, Robert A.; Farmer, Thomas W.; Meece, Judith L.; Byun, Soo-yong

2011-01-01

Adolescents who grow-up in rural areas often experience a tension between their attachment to the rural lifestyle afforded by their home community and a competing desire to gain educational, social, and occupational experiences that are only available in metropolitan areas. While these diverging pressures are well-documented, there is little…

Longitudinal effects of prenatal exposure to air pollutants on self-regulatory capacities and social competence.

PubMed

Margolis, Amy E; Herbstman, Julie B; Davis, Katie S; Thomas, Valerie K; Tang, Deliang; Wang, Ya; Wang, Shuang; Perera, Frederica P; Peterson, Bradley S; Rauh, Virginia A

2016-07-01

We evaluated the influence of prenatal exposure to widespread urban air pollutants on the development of self-regulation and social competence in a longitudinal prospective cohort of children born to nonsmoking minority women in New York City. Air pollutant exposure was estimated categorically by level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts in maternal blood collected at delivery, providing a biomarker of maternal exposure to PAH over a 2- to 3-month period. Deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR) was defined as moderate elevations on three specific scales of the child behavior checklist (anxious/depressed, aggressive behavior, and attention problems). We used generalized estimating equations to assess the influence of prenatal exposure to PAH on DESR in children at 3-5, 7, 9, and 11 years of age, adjusted for gender and race/ethnicity. Next, we assessed the association of prenatal exposure to PAH with social competence, as measured by the social responsiveness scale (SRS), the association of impaired self-regulation with social competence, and whether impairment in self-regulation mediated the association of prenatal exposure to PAH with social competence. We detected a significant interaction (at p = .05) of exposure with time, in which the developmental trajectory of self-regulatory capacity was delayed in the exposed children. Multiple linear regression revealed a positive association between presence of PAH-DNA adducts and problems with social competence (p < .04), level of dysregulation and problems with social competence (p < .0001), and evidence that self-regulation mediates the association of prenatal exposure to PAH with social competence (p < .0007). These data suggest that prenatal exposure to PAH produces long-lasting effects on self-regulatory capacities across early and middle childhood, and that these deficits point to emerging social problems with real-world consequences for high-risk adolescent behaviors in this minority

Family Context of Adolescent Academic Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melby, Janet N.

This study examined the relationship between parental childrearing behaviors and adolescent academic competence in 393 seventh-graders from rural two-parent families with similar educational and economic backgrounds. Data was collected from school academic records, adolescent and parent questionnaires, and observer ratings. Results indicate that…

Nursing competence in adolescent health: anticipating the future needs of youth.

PubMed

Bearinger, L H; Wildey, L; Gephart, J; Blum, R W

1992-01-01

The health problems of youth have dramatically shifted in the last 30 years from biological to social causes of morbidity and mortality. To assess the adequacy of nurses' knowledge and skills in adolescent health, a national survey of 445 nurses, including members of the American Public Health Association, the American School Health Association, and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners, was undertaken in 1985. Results indicated that even among nurses who work with young people the most, areas of greatest knowledge and skill deficiencies included common social morbidities of adolescents. In addition to self-assessed inadequacies in knowledge and skills, nurses identified excessive time demands as a primary obstacle to the provision of health services to adolescents. To assure adequate preparation of nurses, it is recommended that accreditation criteria for baccalaureate and graduate programs specify essential adolescent health content for curricula compared to current accreditation criteria that generalizes "across the life span." Focusing on the enhancement of educational opportunities in adolescent health, nurses identified strategies for further education that would bridge the gap between the health needs of youth and nurse's self-perceived competencies in providing these services.

Links between Sibling Experiences and Romantic Competence from Adolescence through Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Doughty, Susan E.; Lam, Chun Bun; Stanik, Christine E.; McHale, Susan M.

2014-01-01

Although previous research has linked sibling relationship experiences to youth’s social competencies with peers, we know little about the role of siblings in youth’s romantic relationship experiences. Drawing on data from a longitudinal sample of 190 families, this study examined the links between sibling experiences and the development of perceived romantic competence from early adolescence into young adulthood (ages 12 to 20). The data were collected from 373 youth (50.7% female) in home interviews on up to 5 annual occasions. Multi-level models tested the moderating role of sibling gender constellation in romantic competence development and the links between (changes in) sibling intimacy and conflict, and romantic competence. The results revealed that youth with same-sex siblings showed no change in their perceived romantic competence, but those with opposite-sex siblings exhibited increases in romantic competence over time. Controlling for parent-child intimacy, at times when youth reported more sibling intimacy, they also reported greater romantic competence, and youth with higher cross-time average sibling conflict were lower in romantic competence, on average. This study illustrates that sibling experiences remain important in social development into early adulthood and suggests directions for application and future research. PMID:25183625

Somatic Complaints in Early Adolescence: The Role of Parents' Emotion Socialization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kehoe, Christiane E.; Havighurst, Sophie S.; Harley, Ann E.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between parent emotion socialization and youth somatic complaints (SC) in an early adolescent sample using a longitudinal experimental design. An emotion-focused parenting intervention, which taught parent's skills to improve their emotional competence and emotion socialization, was used to examine whether…

Poor Sleep Is Related to Lower Emotional Competence Among Adolescents.

PubMed

Brand, Serge; Kirov, Roumen; Kalak, Nadeem; Gerber, Markus; Schmidt, Norman B; Lemola, Sakari; Correll, Christoph U; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to explore the association between subjective insomnia and self-reported emotional competence in areas such as regulating and perceiving one's own emotions and empathy, in a sample of adolescents. Gender differences were also explored. 366 adolescents in 10th to 12th grade (mean age: M = 16.9 years) took part in this cross-sectional study. They completed questionnaires related to emotional competencies, empathy, and sleep. Higher scores for insomnia were associated with lower scores for some aspects of emotional competence and empathy. Compared to males, females generally had higher scores for emotional competence. Poor sleep as subjectively experienced among adolescents is associated with specific impairments in emotional competence and empathy. Gender-related patterns were also observed.

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation

PubMed Central

Nesi, Jacqueline; Widman, Laura; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Prinstein, Mitchell J.

2018-01-01

This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents’ technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; Mage = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technological modes (text messaging, social networking sites) and (2) competence in the romantic relationship skill domains of negative assertion and conflict management. Results of cross-lagged panel models indicated that adolescents who engaged in greater proportions of technology-based communication with romantic partners reported lower levels of interpersonal competencies one year later, but not vice versa; associations were particularly strong for boys. PMID:28876524

Social Tools And Rules for Teens (The START Program): Program Description and Preliminary Outcomes of an Experiential Socialization Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Vernon, Ty W; Miller, Amber R; Ko, Jordan A; Wu, Victoria L

2016-05-01

Experiential learning is an essential process in the development of core social competencies. Unfortunately, adolescents with autism spectrum disorders often do not possess the prerequisite skillset and motivation to sustain the level of social immersion needed to benefit from this learning process. These persisting social vulnerabilities can limit their long-term relational success and associated quality of life, creating a need for comprehensive social programming. This paper describes a multi-component socialization intervention that simultaneously targets motivational, conceptual, and skill deficits using a hybrid experiential/didactic treatment approach. Evidence of social competence improvements was noted in survey and live conversational measures, indicating that the START program may hold promise as a method for improving the social success of participating adolescents with ASD.

Family Racial Socialization and Ecological Competence: Longitudinal Assessments of African-American Transracial Adoptees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeBerry, Kimberly M.; And Others

1996-01-01

Examined family racial socialization and ecological competence during childhood and adolescence in a sample of 88 African-American transracial adoptees and their families. Longitudinal path analyses indicated that Eurocentric reference group orientation (RGO) increased over time while Africentric RGO declined for the adoptees, and maladjustment…

Repeated Measures in Case Studies Relating Social Competence and Weight Loss in Two Obese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Sonia Beatriz; Barbosa, Debora Regina

2007-01-01

In individual behavior therapy two clients were evaluated using behavior categories created by the therapist. Both clients were observed to improve in terms of social competence. One demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between improvement of social competence and weight loss during treatment (16 sessions) and lost weight. The other…

Repeated Measures in Case Studies Relating Social Competence and Weight Loss in Two Obese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Sonia Beatriz; Barbosa, Debora Regina

2009-01-01

In individual behavior therapy two clients were evaluated using behavior categories created by the therapist. Both clients were observed to improve in terms of social competence. One demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between improvement of social competence and weight loss during treatment (16 sessions) and lost weight. The other…

Perceived competence in children and adolescents with haemophilia: an explorative study.

PubMed

Hegeman, A K; Van Genderen, F R; Meijer, S; Van Den Briel, M M; Tamminga, R Y J; Van Weert, E

2011-01-01

With the introduction of prophylaxis, restricting children with haemophilia to participate in physical activities was no longer necessary. Subsequently, many studies report on improved physical functioning in children and adolescents with haemophilia. However, little is known about psychological aspects such as perceived competence and impact of disease. Therefore, the aims of this study were to explore: (i) perceived competence, (ii) perceived impact of illness, and (iii) analyse associations between perceived competence and demographic factors, disease-related factors and joint status in young haemophiliacs in the Netherlands. Fifty-four children (age 8-12 years) and 72 adolescents (12-18 years) with haemophilia participated in this cross-sectional, multi-centre, explorative study. Measurements included perceived competence (Self Perception Profile for Children/Adolescents; range 6-24/5-20), impact of disease (Revised Perception Illness Experience; range 1-5), demographic factors, disease-related factors, joint status and functional status. Mean (SD) scores for perceived competence in the children ranged from 17.3 (±4.0) to 19.6 (±4.0), and for adolescents from 13.3 (±2.4) to 15.7 (±2.8) points. In general, scores were comparable with those of healthy peers, but children with haemophilia had a lower global self-worth score and competence in close friendship was lower for adolescents when compared with those of healthy peers. Mean (SD) scores for impact of disease ranged from 1.2 (±0.4) to 2.3 (±0.8) in children and from 1.3 (±0.4) to 2.0 (±0.8) in adolescents. Severe haemophilia, prophylactic medication, high impact of disease and a shorter walking distance showed a weak to moderate association with perceived competence. Children and adolescents with haemophilia in general have a perceived competence that is nearly comparable with that of healthy peers, with the exception of a lower global self-worth in children and a lower competence for close friendship

Can Socially Adept Friends Protect Peer-Victimized Early Adolescents against Lower Academic Competence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tu, Kelly M.; Erath, Stephen A.; Flanagan, Kelly S.

2012-01-01

The present study examined indices of friends' social adjustment (prosocial skills and social anxiety) that may protect against or exacerbate vulnerability to lower academic competence in the context of peer victimization during middle school (N=320). Peer victimization was assessed with peer nominations, social anxiety was measured with self…

Evolution of Communicative Competence in Adolescents Growing up in Orphanages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ribakova, Laysan A.; Parfilova, Gulfia G.; Karimova, Lilya Sh.; Karimova, Raushan B.

2015-01-01

The article describes features of the communicative competence evolution in adolescents growing up in orphanages. The specificity is revealed and definition is given to key concept of the research, namely "communicative competence". Authors emphasize and demonstrate the evaluation peculiarities of the adolescents, growing up in…

Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Adolescents' Competence and the Balance of Adolescent Autonomy and Adolescent and Parent Well-Being in the Context of Type 1 Diabetes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butner, Jonathan; Berg, Cynthia A.; Osborn, Peter; Butler, Jorie M.; Godri, Carine; Fortenberry, Katie T.; Barach, Ilana; Le, Hai; Wiebe, Deborah J.

2009-01-01

This study examined whether intrafamily discrepancies in perceptions of the adolescent's competence and independence were associated with autonomy and well-being for adolescents and parents. The ways in which mothers and fathers consistently differed from their adolescent across measures of independence and competence regarding Type 1 diabetes, a…

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Social Tools and Rules for Teens (START) Program: An Immersive Socialization Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, Ty W.; Miller, Amber R.; Ko, Jordan A.; Barrett, Amy C.; McGarry, Elizabeth S.

2018-01-01

Adolescents with ASD face numerous personal and contextual barriers that impede the development of social motivation and core competencies, warranting the need for targeted intervention. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 40 adolescents to evaluate the merits of a multi-component socialization intervention that places emphasis on…

Modeling the Occupational/Career Decision-Making Processes of Intellectually Gifted Adolescents: A Competing Models Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Jae Yup

2014-01-01

This study developed and empirically tested two related models of the occupational/career decision-making processes of gifted adolescents using a competing models strategy. The two models that guided the study, which acknowledged cultural orientations, social influences from the family, occupational/career values, and characteristics of…

Cultural competence and social relationships: a social network analysis.

PubMed

Dauvrin, M; Lorant, V

2017-06-01

This study investigated the role of social relationships in the sharing of cultural competence by testing two hypotheses: cultural competence is a socially shared behaviour; and central healthcare professionals are more culturally competent than non-central healthcare professionals. Sustaining cultural competence in healthcare services relies on the assumption that being culturally competent is a socially shared behaviour among health professionals. This assumption has never been tested. Organizational aspects surrounding cultural competence are poorly considered. This therefore leads to a heterogeneous implementation of cultural competence - especially in continental Europe. We carried out a social network analysis in 24 Belgian inpatient and outpatient health services. All healthcare professionals (ego) were requested to fill in a questionnaire (Survey on social relationships of health care professionals) on their level of cultural competence and to identify their professional relationships (alter). We fitted regression models to assess whether (1) at the dyadic level, ego cultural competence was associated with alter cultural competence, and (2) health professionals of greater centrality had greater cultural competence. At the dyadic level, no significant associations were found between ego cultural competence and alter cultural competence, with the exception of subjective exposure to intercultural situations. No significant associations were found between centrality and cultural competence, except for subjective exposure to intercultural situations. Being culturally competent is not a shared behaviour among health professionals. The most central healthcare professionals are not more culturally competent than less central health professionals. Culturally competent health care is not yet a norm in health services. Health care and training authorities should either make cultural competent health care a licensing criteria or reward culturally competent health care

Adolescents' emotional competence is associated with parents' neural sensitivity to emotions.

PubMed

Telzer, Eva H; Qu, Yang; Goldenberg, Diane; Fuligni, Andrew J; Galván, Adriana; Lieberman, Matthew D

2014-01-01

An essential component of youths' successful development is learning to appropriately respond to emotions, including the ability to recognize, identify, and describe one's feelings. Such emotional competence is thought to arise through the parent-child relationship. Yet, the mechanisms by which parents transmit emotional competence to their children are difficult to measure because they are often implicit, idiosyncratic, and not easily articulated by parents or children. In the current study, we used a multifaceted approach that went beyond self-report measures and examined whether parental neural sensitivity to emotions predicted their child's emotional competence. Twenty-two adolescent-parent dyads completed an fMRI scan during which they labeled the emotional expressions of negatively valenced faces. Results indicate that parents who recruited the amygdala, VLPFC, and brain regions involved in mentalizing (i.e., inferring others' emotional states) had adolescent children with greater emotional competence. These results held after controlling for parents' self-reports of emotional expressivity and adolescents' self-reports of the warmth and support of their parent relationships. In addition, adolescents recruited neural regions involved in mentalizing during affect labeling, which significantly mediated the associated between parental neural sensitivity and adolescents' emotional competence, suggesting that youth are modeling or referencing their parents' emotional profiles, thereby contributing to better emotional competence.

Parents Perceive Improvements in Socio-emotional Functioning in Adolescents with ASD Following Social Skills Treatment.

PubMed

N Lordo, Danielle; Bertolin, Madison; L Sudikoff, Eliana; Keith, Cierra; Braddock, Barbara; Kaufman, David A S

2017-01-01

The current study examined the effectiveness of a social skills treatment (PEERS) for improving socio-emotional competencies in a sample of high-functioning adolescents with ASD. Neuropsychological and self- and parent-report measures assessing social, emotional, and behavioral functioning were administered before and after treatment. Following social skills treatment, adolescents with ASD exhibited decreased aggression, anxiety, and withdrawal, as well as improvements in emotional responsiveness, adaptability, leadership, and participation in activities of daily living, though no change was found in affect recognition abilities. These findings suggest that PEERS social skills treatment improves particular aspects of emotional, behavioral, and social functioning that may be necessary for developing and maintaining quality peer relationships and remediating social isolation in adolescents with ASD.

The Association between Relational Aggression and Perceived Popularity in Early Adolescence: A Test of Competing Hypotheses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gangel, Meghan J.; Keane, Susan P.; Calkins, Susan D.; Shanahan, Lilly; O'Brien, Marion

2017-01-01

This study examined two competing hypotheses regarding the moderators of the association between relational aggression and peer status in early adolescence. The "mitigation relational aggression" hypothesis examined whether positive social behaviors reduced the negative effects of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association…

The Social Validity Assessment of Social Competence Intervention Behavior Goals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurley, Jennifer J.; Wehby, Joseph H.; Feurer, Irene D.

2010-01-01

Social validation is the value judgment from society on the importance of a study. The social validity of behavior goals used in the social competence intervention literature was assessed using the Q-sort technique. The stimulus items were 80 different social competence behavior goals taken from 78 classroom-based social competence intervention…

Social and academic functioning in adolescents with anxiety disorders: A systematic review.

PubMed

de Lijster, Jasmijn M; Dieleman, Gwen C; Utens, Elisabeth M W J; Dierckx, Bram; Wierenga, Milou; Verhulst, Frank C; Legerstee, Jeroen S

2018-04-01

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent during adolescence. Although literature points out that anxiety symptoms are related to problems in social and academic functioning, the extent of these problems among adolescents with clinical anxiety disorders has not been systematically reviewed before. Electronic databases were searched up to October 2017, with keywords representing anxiety disorders, adolescents, and social or academic functioning. The inclusion criteria were studies with a sample of adolescents (10-19 years) with anxiety disorders that provided data regarding their social or academic functioning. 3431 studies were examined, of which 19 met the inclusion criteria. Adolescents with anxiety disorders had a lower social competence relative to their healthy peers. They reported more negativity within interpersonal relationships, higher levels of loneliness, and victimization. Most adolescents with anxiety disorders felt impaired at school, however, findings of their average school results, compared to peers, were mixed. In addition, they had a higher risk for school refusal and entered higher education less often. Impairments in social and academic functioning differed across type and the number of anxiety disorders. Most studies examined social phobia or anxiety disorders in general and methodological approaches varied widely between studies. This systematic review indicates that adolescents with anxiety disorders experience a range of significant problems in both social and academic functioning. These findings suggest that the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescence should focus on improving functioning across domains. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social competence intervention for elementary students with Aspergers syndrome and high functioning autism.

PubMed

Stichter, Janine P; O'Connor, Karen V; Herzog, Melissa J; Lierheimer, Kristin; McGhee, Stephanie D

2012-03-01

Despite frequent reports of academic success, individuals with high functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome (HFA/AS) often manifest deficits in social abilities. These deficits can lead to daily difficulties, and negative long-term outcomes. Deficits in social competency are evident in this population from an early age, as children with HFA/AS present unique challenges relating to peers, interpreting complex contextual cues, and transitioning across settings. A paucity of social interventions exist that target elementary-age children with HFA/AS and their combination of core social competence deficit areas: theory of mind (ToM), emotional recognition, and executive functioning. The current study expanded on the Social Competence Intervention (for adolescents; SCI-A), as detailed in Stichter et al. (J Autism Dev Disorders 40:1067-1079, 2010), by adjusting the curriculum to meet the needs of an elementary population. Results indicate significant improvements on direct assessments measuring theory of mind and problem solving, and parent perceptions of overall social abilities and executive functioning for 20 students, aged 6-10, with HFA/AS. The elementary SCI program appears promising, however, additional replications are necessary including expansion to school settings.

Helping Teens Develop Healthy Social Skills and Relationships: What the Research Shows about Navigating Adolescence. American Teens. Child Trends Research Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hair, Elizabeth C.; Jager, Justin; Garrett, Sarah B.

As adolescents mature, their social skills are called upon to form and maintain relationships. Noting that the quality of those relationships has important consequences for adolescent development, this research brief presents information on social competency in adolescence. More than 360 research studies were reviewed to examine the factors that…

Social Competence: A Developmental Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenberg, Nancy; Harris, Jerry D.

1984-01-01

Effective peer relations and the enhancement of social interactions in young children play a central role in the discussion of social competence. Developmental issues relevant to the assessment of social competence including perspective taking, conceptions of friendship, interpersonal strategies and problem solving, moral judgments, and…

Social competence promotion with inner-city and suburban young adolescents: effects on social adjustment and alcohol use.

PubMed

Caplan, M; Weissberg, R P; Grober, J S; Sivo, P J; Grady, K; Jacoby, C

1992-02-01

This study assessed the impact of school-based social competence training on skills, social adjustment, and self-reported substance use of 282 sixth and seventh graders. Training emphasized broad-based competence promotion in conjunction with domain-specific application to substance abuse prevention. The 20-session program comprised six units: stress management, self-esteem, problem solving, substances and health information, assertiveness, and social networks. Findings indicated positive training effects on Ss' skills in handling interpersonal problems and coping with anxiety. Teacher ratings revealed improvements in Ss' constructive conflict resolution with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self-report ratings indicated gains in problem-solving efficacy. Results suggest some preventive impact on self-reported substance use intentions and excessive alcohol use. In general, the program was found to be beneficial for both inner-city and suburban students.

Social stress during adolescence in Wistar rats induces social anxiety in adulthood without affecting brain monoaminergic content and activity.

PubMed

Vidal, Jose; Bie, Josien de; Granneman, Ramon A; Wallinga, Alinde E; Koolhaas, Jaap M; Buwalda, Bauke

2007-12-05

Adolescence has been described as an important period to acquire social competences required for adult life. It has been suggested that early stress experiences could affect the development of the brain at different levels. These changes in the brain during adolescence may be related with the development of psychopathologies such as depression and social anxiety in adulthood. In the first experiment, we examined long-term effects of repeated social stress during adolescence on adult social approach-avoidance behavior. For that purpose, adolescent male Wistar rats were exposed twice at postnatal day (Pnd) 45 and Pnd48 to the resident-intruder paradigm followed by three times psychosocial threat with the same resident. Three weeks after the last psychosocial threat experience the animals were behaviorally tested in a social approach-avoidance test. Socially stressed animals spent less time in the interaction zone with an unfamiliar male adult rat. These data suggest that animals exposed to social stress during adolescence show a higher level of social anxiety in adulthood. In the second experiment, we investigated whether these long-term effects of social stress during adolescence on behavior draw a parallel with changes in brain monoamine content, biosynthesis and turnover. Using the same experimental design as in the first experiment, HPLC analysis of various brain regions showed that there were no differences in monoamine content, monoamine biosynthesis and monoamines activity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum in adulthood. These results indicate that long-lasting changes in social behavior following social stress during adolescence are not accompanied by changes in brain monoamine content, biosynthesis and turnover.

Social Competence and Obesity in Elementary School

PubMed Central

Cunningham, Solveig A.

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined the relationship between children’s weight and social competence. Methods. We used data from the third- and fifth-grade waves of the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 (n = 8346) to examine changes in children’s weight and social competence. Results. Obesity in third grade was not associated with subsequent changes in social competence between third and fifth grade, but social competence in third grade was associated with subsequent development of obesity. Among normal-weight children, having higher social competence in third grade was associated with lower odds of becoming overweight (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80 ±0.09; P < .05) or obese (OR = 0.20 ±0.08; P < .001). In addition, obese children with higher social competence were more likely to lose weight between third and fifth grade (OR = 1.43 ±0.25; P < .05). Conclusions. Obesity and impaired social competence often occur together and have serious implications for children's well-being. More knowledge about how weight and social competence affect one another could inform interventions to promote children’s social development and reduce obesity. PMID:25393191

Parent-adolescent discrepancies in adolescents' competence and the balance of adolescent autonomy and adolescent and parent well-being in the context of Type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Butner, Jonathan; Berg, Cynthia A; Osborn, Peter; Butler, Jorie M; Godri, Carine; Fortenberry, Katie T; Barach, Ilana; Le, Hai; Wiebe, Deborah J

2009-05-01

This study examined whether intrafamily discrepancies in perceptions of the adolescent's competence and independence were associated with autonomy and well-being for adolescents and parents. The ways in which mothers and fathers consistently differed from their adolescent across measures of independence and competence regarding Type 1 diabetes, a stressful context for families, were examined with the latent discrepancy model. A sample of 185 adolescents (mean age = 12.5 years, SD = 1.3), their mothers, and participating fathers completed measures of the adolescent's independence in completing diabetes tasks, problems with diabetes management, adherence to the medical regimen, measures of well-being, and metabolic control. The latent discrepancy model was conducted via structural equation modeling that generated latent discrepancies from the adolescent for mothers and fathers. Both mothers and fathers viewed the adolescent's competence more negatively than did the adolescent. These discrepancies related to more parental encouragement of independence and adolescent autonomy but also to poorer metabolic control and poorer parental psychosocial well-being. The results are interpreted within a developmental perspective that views discrepancies as reflecting normative developmental processes of autonomy but as being associated with disruptions in well-being in the short term. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Evaluating Positive Social Competence in Preschool Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joy, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

Social competence is seen as a critical aspect of academic and social success; however, the construct is often minimized to a set of social skills or the absence of negative behaviors. The current study aims to broaden the understanding of social competence by incorporating the factors associated with the development of social competence and the…

Social instability stress in adolescent male rats reduces social interaction and social recognition performance and increases oxytocin receptor binding.

PubMed

Hodges, Travis E; Baumbach, Jennet L; Marcolin, Marina L; Bredewold, Remco; Veenema, Alexa H; McCormick, Cheryl M

2017-09-17

Social experiences in adolescence are essential for displaying context-appropriate social behaviors in adulthood. We previously found that adult male rats that underwent social instability stress (SS) in adolescence had reduced social interactions with unfamiliar peers compared with non-stressed controls (CTL). Here we determined whether SS altered social recognition and social reward and brain oxytocin and vasopressin receptor density in adolescence. We confirmed that SS rats spent less time interacting with unfamiliar peers than did CTL rats (p=0.006). Furthermore, CTL rats showed a preference for novel over familiar conspecifics in a social recognition test whereas SS rats did not, which may reflect reduced recognition, impaired memory, or reduced preference for novelty in SS rats. The reward value of social interactions was not affected by SS based on conditioned place preference tests and based on the greater time SS rats spent investigating stimulus rats than did CTL rats when the stimulus rat was behind wire mesh (p=0.03). Finally, oxytocin receptor binding density was higher in the dorsal lateral septum and nucleus accumbens shell in SS rats compared with CTL rats (p=0.02, p=0.01, respectively). No effect of SS was found for vasopressin 1a receptor binding density in any of the brain regions analyzed. We discuss the extent to which the differences in social behavior exhibited after social instability in adolescence involve changes in social salience and social competency, and the possibility that changes in oxytocin signaling in the brain underlie the differences in social behavior. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New Directions in Evaluating Social Problem Solving in Childhood: Early Precursors and Links to Adolescent Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Susan H.; Smith, Karen E.; Swank, Paul R.

2009-01-01

A major objective of this chapter is to present a novel, ecologically sensitive social problem-solving task for school-aged children that captures the complexity of social and cognitive demands placed on children in naturalistic situations. Competence on this task correlates with a range of skills including executive functions, verbal reasoning,…

School Social Behavior Scales: an adaptation study of the Portuguese version of the social competence scale from SSBS-2.

PubMed

Raimundo, Raquel; Carapito, Elsa; Pereira, Ana Isabel; Marques Pinto, Alexandra; Lima, Maria Luísa; Ribeiro, Maria Teresa

2012-11-01

This study analyses the psychometric proprieties of a Portuguese version of the social competence scale from the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-2, Merrell, 2002). It is a rating instrument of children and adolescents behavior, to be used by teachers and other school personnel. This scale includes 3 subscales: self-management/compliance, peer relations and academic behavior. In our first sample, 175 teachers rated 344 students from grade 1 through 12. On the second sample 13 teachers rated 251 3rd and 4th grades students. The results from the Portuguese adaptation support the multidimensional structure of the social competence scale from the SSBS-2, although an alternative model demonstrated a better fit to the data than the model originally proposed by the author. The scale showed good internal consistency and good intercorrelations between subscales, as well as between subscales and the total scale. The final model was well replicated in the second sample. These results encourage us to pursue the SSBS-2 Portuguese adaptation, in order to provide a useful and validated instrument for the assessment of social competence and for educational interventions.

Single Mothers of Early Adolescents: Perceptions of Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckert, Troy E.; Strom, Paris S.; Strom, Robert D.; Darre, Kathryn; Weed, Ane

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in single mothers' and adolescents' perceptions of parenting competencies from a developmental assets approach. A multi-source (mothers [n = 29] and 10-14-year-old adolescent children [n = 29]), single-method (both generations completed the Parent Success Indicator)…

Longitudinal stability of social competence indicators in a Portuguese sample: Q-sort profiles of social competence, measures of social engagement, and peer sociometric acceptance.

PubMed

Santos, António J; Vaughn, Brian E; Peceguina, Inês; Daniel, João R

2014-03-01

This study examines the temporal stability (over 3 years) of individual differences in 3 domains relevant to preschool children's social competence: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. Each domain was measured with multiple indicators. Sociometric status categories (Asher & Dodge, 1986) and reciprocated friendships were derived from sociometric data. Composites for social competence domains were significantly associated across all time points. Within age-periods, social competence domains were associated with both sociometric and friendship status categories; however, neither sociometric status nor reciprocated friendships were stable over time. Nevertheless, analyses examining the social competence antecedents to reciprocated friendship at age-4 and age-5 suggested that more socially competent children in the prior year were more likely to have a reciprocated friendship in the current year. Popular and rejected sociometric status categories were also associated with social competence indicators in prior years, but this was most clearly seen at age-5. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Social Tools and Rules for Teens (The START Program): Program Description and Preliminary Outcomes of an Experiential Socialization Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, Ty W.; Miller, Amber R.; Ko, Jordan A.; Wu, Victoria L.

2016-01-01

Experiential learning is an essential process in the development of core social competencies. Unfortunately, adolescents with autism spectrum disorders often do not possess the prerequisite skillset and motivation to sustain the level of social immersion needed to benefit from this learning process. These persisting social vulnerabilities can…

Peer Acceptance and Social Behavior during Childhood and Adolescence: How Important Are Appearance, Athleticism, and Academic Competence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vannatta, Kathryn; Gartstein, Maria A.; Zeller, Meg; Noll, Robert B.

2009-01-01

Efforts to identify factors associated with peer acceptance have historically focused on behavioral and social cognitive processes, whereas less empirical attention has focused on the impact of children's other personal attributes and competencies that are not inherently a component of social competence. The current study examined the association…

Parents Perceive Improvements in Socio-Emotional Functioning in Adolescents with ASD Following Social Skills Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lordo, Danielle N.; Bertolin, Madison; Sudikoff, Eliana L.; Keith, Cierra; Braddock, Barbara; Kaufman, David A. S.

2017-01-01

The current study examined the effectiveness of a social skills treatment (PEERS) for improving socio-emotional competencies in a sample of high-functioning adolescents with ASD. Neuropsychological and self- and parent-report measures assessing social, emotional, and behavioral functioning were administered before and after treatment. Following…

Associations between behavior regulation, competence, physical activity, and health for adolescent females.

PubMed

Craike, Melinda Jane; Polman, Remco; Eime, Rochelle; Symons, Caroline; Harvey, Jack; Payne, Warren

2014-02-01

This study investigated the association between the different types of behavior regulation and competence on sport and physical activity (PA) and perceived health, and the influence of school year level (ie, year 7 and year 11) and setting (ie, metropolitan and rural) on these relationships. A cross sectional self-complete survey was conducted. Competence was measured using the 5-item perceived competence subscale of the 21-item Athletic Identity Questionnaire (AIQ); behavior regulation was measured using a modified version of the Behavior Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2); PA was measured using an item to assess if adolescents are meeting recommended levels of PA; and perceived health was measured using the Short Form 1 (SF-1). This study included 732 participants, 71.2% from metropolitan schools, and 66.8% in year 7. Self-determined behavior regulation and competence were positively associated with PA and health. Intrinsic motivation was more strongly related to older adolescents' PA than it was for younger adolescents. Behavior regulators and competence were more strongly associated with health than PA. The findings of this study suggest that strategies that enhance intrinsic motivation and PA competence may improve the health of adolescent females; enhancing these may lead to greater health regardless of level of PA.

A Process Model of Parenting and Adolescents' Friendship Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Emily C.; Buehler, Cheryl; Fletcher, Anne C.

2012-01-01

This study examined the prospective relationship between negative parenting behaviors and adolescents' friendship competence in a community sample of 416 two-parent families in the Southeastern USA. Adolescents' externalizing problems and their emotional insecurity with parents were examined as mediators. Parents' psychological control was…

Accentuation of Individual Differences in Social Competence during the Transition to Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monahan, Kathryn C.; Steinberg, Laurence

2011-01-01

Using a sample of individuals (277 males, 315 females) studied since birth in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the present study investigated how early pubertal maturation and school transition alter youth trajectories of social competence during the transition to…

Do academically-engaged adolescents experience social sanctions from the peer group?

PubMed

Schwartz, David; Kelly, Brynn M; Duong, Mylien T

2013-09-01

Existing theoretical perspectives suggest that adolescents who are characterized by high achievement may experience social sanctions from peers. The central premise is that, in many North American settings, adolescent peer groups are characterized by negative attitudes toward the school environment. To test these hypotheses, we examined associations between indicators of low social power (unpopularity and victimization by peers) and academic competence for 415 adolescents (193 boys; 222 girls) attending an urban high school. This school served neighborhoods that were characterized by a moderate degree of economic distress and the students were predominately of Hispanic American descent. A short-term longitudinal design was used, with two waves of data collected over consecutive school years. The adolescents completed a peer nomination inventory assessing relational and overt victimization by peers, unpopularity, and social rejection. In addition, we obtained math and language arts grades from school records, and we assessed behavioral engagement in school with a self-report inventory. Structural equation models did not reveal a strong pattern of longitudinal change in social standing with peers or academic functioning. However, we found positive correlations between academic achievement and problematic peer relationships in both years of the project. We also found evidence that gender moderates these associations, with the effects reaching significance only for boys. Our results provide evidence that, in some settings, high achieving adolescents can be prone to negative treatment or marginalization by peers.

Correlates of Gross Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Barnett, Lisa M; Lai, Samuel K; Veldman, Sanne L C; Hardy, Louise L; Cliff, Dylan P; Morgan, Philip J; Zask, Avigdor; Lubans, David R; Shultz, Sarah P; Ridgers, Nicola D; Rush, Elaine; Brown, Helen L; Okely, Anthony D

2016-11-01

correlate of skill composite and motor coordination, we also found indeterminate evidence for physical activity being a correlate of object control or locomotor skill competence. Few studies investigated cognitive, emotional and psychological factors, cultural and social factors or physical environment factors as correlates of motor competence. This systematic review is the first that has investigated correlates of gross motor competence in children and adolescents. A strength is that we categorized correlates according to the specific ways motor competence has been defined and operationalized (object control, motor coordination, etc.), which enables us to have an understanding of what correlates assist what types of motor competence. Indeed our findings do suggest that evidence for some correlates differs according to how motor competence is operationalized.

Self-competence Among Early and Middle Adolescents Affected by Maternal HIV/AIDS

PubMed Central

Marelich, William D.; Murphy, Debra A.; Payne, Diana L.; Herbeck, Diane M.; Schuster, Mark A.

2012-01-01

Adolescent children of mothers with HIV face a host of stressors that place them at increased risk for poor outcomes. Using covariance structure analysis, this study examines adolescent risk outcomes and their relationships to maternal health, as well as the potentially protective factors of family environment and self-competence. The final model indicated that poor maternal health was negatively related to a protective family environment, which in turn was negatively related to adolescent risk outcomes. A protective family environment was also positively related to adolescent self-competence, which was negatively related to adolescent risk outcomes. Implications of the study are discussed, including how these findings can influence interventions aimed at reducing the risk for poor outcomes among adolescent youth with HIV-infected mothers. PMID:22485061

[Developing Perceived Competence Scale (PCS) for Adolescents].

PubMed

Özer, Arif; Gençtanirim Kurt, Dilek; Kizildağ, Seval; Demırtaş Zorbaz, Selen; Arici Şahın, Fatma; Acar, Tülin; Ergene, Tuncay

2016-01-01

In this study, Perceived Competence Scale was developed to measure high school students' perceived competence. Scale development process was verified on three different samples. Participants of the research are some high school students in 2011-2012 academic terms from Ankara. Participants' numbers are incorporated in exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability respectively, as follows: 372, 668 and 75. Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's and stratified α) are calculated separately for each group. For data analysis Factor 8.02 and LISREL 8.70 package programs were used. According to results of the analyses, internal consistency coefficients (α) are .90 - .93 for academic competence, .82 - .86 for social competence in the samples that exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis performed. For the whole scale internal consistency coefficient (stratified α) is calculated as .91. As a result of test-retest reliability, adjusted correlation coefficients (r) are .94 for social competence and .90 for academic competence. In addition, to fit indexes and regression weights obtained from factor analysis, findings related convergent and discriminant validity, indicating that competence can be addressed in two dimensions which are academic (16 items) and social (14 items).

Improving adolescent social competence and behavior: a randomized trial of an 11-week equine facilitated learning prevention program.

PubMed

Pendry, Patricia; Carr, Alexa M; Smith, Annelise N; Roeter, Stephanie M

2014-08-01

There is growing evidence that promoting social competence in youth is an effective strategy to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in adulthood. Research suggests that programs delivered in collaboration with schools are particularly effective when they target social and emotional skill building, utilize an interactive instructional style, provide opportunities for youth participation and self-direction, and include explicit attempts to enhance youth social competence. A relatively new but popular approach that incorporates these characteristics is human animal interaction, which can be implemented in educational settings. We report the results from a randomized clinical trial examining the effects of an 11-week equine facilitated learning (EFL) program on the social competence and behavior of 5th-8th grade children. Children (N = 131) were recruited through referral by school counselors and school-based recruitment and then screened for low social competence. Researchers randomly assigned children to an experimental (n = 53) or waitlisted control group (n = 60). Children in the experimental group participated in an 11-week EFL program consisting of once-weekly, 90-min sessions of individual and team-focused activities, whereas children in the control group served as a wait-listed control and participated 16 weeks later. Parents of children in both groups rated child social competence at pretest and posttest. Three independent raters observed and reported children's positive and negative behavior using a validated checklist during each weekly session. Results indicated that program participation had a moderate treatment effect (d = .55) on social competence (p = .02) that was independent of pretest levels, age, gender, and referral status. Results showed that higher levels of program attendance predicted children's trajectories of observed positive (β = .500; p = .003) and negative behavior (β = -.062; p < .001) over the 11-week program.

LGBT-Competence in Social Work Education: The Relationship of School Contexts to Student Sexual Minority Competence.

PubMed

McCarty-Caplan, David

2018-01-01

This study examined the relationship between master of social work programs' (MSW) support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT-competence) and the sexual minority competence (LGB-competence) of social work students. Data were gathered from a sample of MSW program directors, faculty members, and students (N = 1385) within 34 MSW programs in the United States. A series of hierarchical linear models tested if a MSW program's LGBT-competence was associated with the LGB-competence of its students. Results showed a significant relationship between organizational LGBT-competence and individual LGB-competence within schools of social work, and that programs with greater LGBT-competence also had students who felt more competent to work with sexual minorities. These findings suggest schools of social work can take substantive action at an organizational level to improve the professional LGB-competence of future social workers. Implications for social work education are discussed.

Environmental resources moderate the relationship between social support and school sports participation among adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis.

PubMed

Graham, Dan J; Schneider, Margaret; Dickerson, Sally S

2011-04-18

Most Americans are not active at recommended levels. Adolescence is a developmental period when physical activity (PA) decreases markedly. This study investigates whether access to environmental PA resources moderates the relationship between psychosocial resources (social support and perceived competence) and PA among 192 adolescents. Environmental access to PA resources (determined via GIS-based assessment of the number of gyms, schools, trails, parks and athletic fields within 0.5 miles of each participant's home) moderated the association between social support and PA; among adolescents with high levels of environmental resources, greater social support was associated with students participating in a greater number of sports in school, whereas no such relationship emerged among adolescents with low environmental resources. PA-promotion interventions should aim to enhance both social and environmental resources; targeting either one alone may be insufficient.

A new instrument to measure sexual competence and interaction competence in youth: psychometric properties in female adolescents.

PubMed

Grauvogl, Andrea; Peters, Madelon L; Evers, Silvia M A A; van Lankveld, Jacques J D M

2015-01-01

The Sexual Competence and Interaction Competence in Youth is a self-report questionnaire that aims to measure sexual competence and interaction competence in adolescents. The study sample consisted of 276 female undergraduate students (M = 20.95 years, SD = 2.00 years). The factor structure of the questionnaire was calculated on full sample data. A subsample was used to calculate the validity and internal consistency (N = 236; M = 20.88 years, SD = 1.96). The test-retest reliability was also calculated in a subsample (N = 82; M = 21.45 years, SD = 1.74 years). On the basis of an exploratory factor analysis, 8 factors were extracted: (a) communication about sex, (b) refusing sex, (c) positive sexual attitudes, (d) male role in sexual interaction, (e) contraceptive use, (f) not suppressing problems and desires regarding sex, (g) sexual assertiveness, and (h) sexual hedonism. The subscales possess adequate internal consistency and moderate to excellent test-retest reliability. A higher order principal component analysis revealed a 2-factor structure that appears to adequately represent the sexual competence and interaction competence constructs. Furthermore, convergent and discriminant validity were considered to be good. The results indicate that the Sexual Competence and Interaction Competence in Youth may be a useful instrument to measure sexual and interaction competence among adolescents.

Affective dysfunctions in adolescents at risk for psychosis: emotion awareness and social functioning.

PubMed

van Rijn, Sophie; Schothorst, Patricia; Wout, Mascha van 't; Sprong, Mirjam; Ziermans, Tim; van Engeland, Herman; Aleman, André; Swaab, Hanna

2011-05-15

Studies of individuals at ultra high risk (UHR) for psychosis have revealed deviations in cognitive and neural development before the onset of psychosis. As affective impairments are among the core dysfunctions in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, this study assessed emotion processing and the relationship with social competence in adolescents at risk for psychosis. Thirty-four adolescents at UHR for psychosis and twenty-three non-clinical controls completed the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, a measure of emotion awareness. Social inadequacy was measured using the Dutch Personality Questionnaire. Schizophrenia spectrum psychopathology was assessed using self-report and clinical instruments. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was used to evaluate intellectual functioning. UHR adolescents showed difficulties in identifying and verbalizing their own emotions, independent of intelligence scores. Emotion awareness problems were related to social inadequacy and schizotypal traits in the high risk group. These findings suggest that UHR adolescents may have reduced emotion awareness, independent of intellectual functioning. The relationship with social inadequate behavior fits with the idea that emotion awareness is a prerequisite for the regulation of emotions in social contexts. In the search for early vulnerability markers of risk for psychosis, studying emotion processing besides cognitive abilities might increase our understanding of 'at risk' developmental pathways. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Competence skills help deter smoking among inner city adolescents

PubMed Central

Epstein, J.; Griffin, K.; Botvin, G.

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE—To test whether higher levels of general competence are linked to more frequent use of refusal assertiveness that is in turn related to less subsequent smoking among inner city adolescents.
METHODS—Longitudinal study conducted during three year middle school or junior high school period. A sample of 1459 students attending 22 middle (ages 11-14 years) and junior high (ages 12-15 years) schools in New York City participated. Students completed surveys at baseline, one year follow up, and two year follow up. The students self reported smoking, decision making skills, personal efficacy, and refusal assertiveness. Teams of three to five data collectors administered the questionnaire following a standardised protocol. These data were collected in school during a regular 40 minute class period.
RESULTS—Based on the tested structural equation model, decision making and personal efficacy (that is, general competence) predicted higher refusal assertiveness and this greater assertiveness predicted less smoking at the two year follow up. The tested model had a good fit and was parsimonious and consistent with theory.
CONCLUSIONS—Adolescent smoking prevention programmes often teach refusal skills in order to help youth resist peer pressure to smoke. The present findings suggest that teaching general competence skills as well may help to reduce smoking because youth with better personal efficacy and decision making skills are better able to implement smoking refusal strategies.


Keywords: adolescent smoking; competence skills; refusal assertiveness; peer pressure PMID:10691756

Motivation and perceived competence for healthy eating and exercise among overweight/obese adolescents in comparison to normal weight adolescents.

PubMed

Mokhtari, Suzanne; Grace, Benjamin; Pak, Youngju; Reina, Astrid; Durand, Quinn; Yee, Jennifer K

2017-01-01

The current literature on determinants of behavior change in weight management lacks sufficient studies on type of motivation among children/adolescents, on perceived competence, and in relation to healthy eating. This study aimed to investigate type of motivation and levels of perceived competence for healthy diet and exercise, as well as general self efficacy among adolescents. We hypothesized that overweight/obese adolescents would demonstrate lower autonomous motivation and perceived competence regarding diet and exercise, and lower self-efficacy in general, and that the scores would be influenced by socioeconomic factors. Normal weight ( n  = 40, body mass index < 85% for age and gender) and overweight or obese adolescents ( n  = 60, body mass index ≥ 85% for age and gender) aged 13-18 years were recruited from pediatric ambulatory clinics. Information was collected about demographics, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle behaviors. The study subjects completed a survey including the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) and the Perceived Competence Scale (PCS) for healthy eating and exercise, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Composite scores for the three scales were compared between the two groups using the using the two-sample t-test (for normal data) or the Mann-Whitney U test (for non-parametric data). Relationships between the composite scores and patient characteristics were determined using Pearson or Spearman's correlations. The average age of the total cohort was 15.9 ± 1.9 years. 54% were female, and 82% identified as Latino/Hispanic. In comparison to normal weight subjects, overweight/obese adolescents exhibited higher scores for controlled motivation (mean ± standard deviation 28.3 ± 9.3 vs 18.1 ± 8.1) and higher perceived competence [median and 25-75% interquartile range 22.5 (19.0-26.0) vs 20.0 (15.5-25.0)] in relation to eating a healthy diet. These differences persisted after

Environmental resources moderate the relationship between social support and school sports participation among adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Most Americans are not active at recommended levels. Adolescence is a developmental period when physical activity (PA) decreases markedly. Methods This study investigates whether access to environmental PA resources moderates the relationship between psychosocial resources (social support and perceived competence) and PA among 192 adolescents. Results Environmental access to PA resources (determined via GIS-based assessment of the number of gyms, schools, trails, parks and athletic fields within 0.5 miles of each participant's home) moderated the association between social support and PA; among adolescents with high levels of environmental resources, greater social support was associated with students participating in a greater number of sports in school, whereas no such relationship emerged among adolescents with low environmental resources. Conclusions PA-promotion interventions should aim to enhance both social and environmental resources; targeting either one alone may be insufficient. PMID:21501504

[Effects of core competency support program on depression and suicidal ideation for adolescents].

PubMed

Park, Hyun Sook

2009-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a core competency support program on depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study. Participants for the study were high school students, 27 in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN. 14.0 program with X(2) test, t-test, and ANCOVA. Participants in the core competency support program reported decreased depression scores significantly different from those in the control group. Participants in the core competency support program reported decreased suicidal ideation scores, also significantly different from those in the control group. The core competency support program was effective in decreasing depression and suicidal ideation for adolescents. Therefore, this approach is recommended as a suicide prevention strategy for adolescents.

Socialization of Social Anxiety in Adolescent Crowds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Zalk, Nejra; Van Zalk, Maarten Herman Walter; Kerr, Margaret

2011-01-01

In this study, we looked at whether social anxiety is socialized, or influenced by peers' social anxiety, more in some peer crowds than others. Adolescents in crowds with eye-catching appearances such as Goths and Punks (here termed "Radical"), were compared with three comparison groups. Using data from 796 adolescents (353 girls and 443 boys; M…

Early Adolescent Peer Foundations of Late Adolescent and Young Adult Psychological Adjustment

PubMed Central

Chango, Joanna M.; Allen, Joseph P.; Szwedo, David; Schad, Megan M.

2014-01-01

The long-term impacts of failing to establish autonomy and relatedness within close friendships are poorly understood. Adolescent behaviors undermining autonomy and relatedness in friendships at 13 were examined as predictors of friendship competence at 18 and depressive symptoms and social withdrawal at 21. A diverse community sample of 184 adolescents participated in self, peer, and observational assessments. Teens’ inability to establish autonomy and connection with friends at 13 predicted decreases in friendship competence at 18 (ß=-.20, p=.02). Direct links to increases in depressive symptoms (ß=.34, p<.001) and social withdrawal (ß=.18, p=.03) were observed, with friendship competence partially mediating these relations. Results highlight the importance of problematic adolescent peer relationships as risk factors for the development of young adult internalizing symptoms. PMID:26640356

Longitudinal Stability of Social Competence Indicators in a Portuguese Sample: Q-Sort Profiles of Social Competence, Measures of Social Engagement, and Peer Sociometric Acceptance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, António J.; Vaughn, Brian E.; Peceguina, Inês; Daniel, João R.

2014-01-01

This study examines the temporal stability (over 3 years) of individual differences in 3 domains relevant to preschool children's social competence: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. Each domain was measured with multiple…

Influence of homogeneity of student characteristics in a group-based social competence intervention.

PubMed

Stichter, Janine P; Herzog, Melissa J; Malugen, Emily; Schoemann, Alexander M

2018-06-18

Although some literature reviews cited mixed results for group-based social competence interventions in schools, existing descriptions of intervention efficacy often lack attention on important factors that may moderate differential response. Some studies suggest that individual characteristics such as diagnosis (i.e., specific deficit clusters) or behavioral profiles may be important social outcome moderators. Given the interactive nature of group-based interventions, understanding how individual characteristics combine to influence outcomes for the group as a whole is an important next step. By using a multisite cluster randomized control trial (n = 274), the current study explores the impact that varying student characteristics have on outcomes of the Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A; Stichter, Herzog, Owens, & Malugen, 2016; Stichter et al., 2010) compared to outcomes of business-as-usual (BAU) practices. Researchers hypothesized that (a) SCI-A would be more effective than BAU in improving ratings of students' social functioning when students within groups were more similar to each other on relevant diagnostic and behavioral indicators, and (b) that within SCI-A only, more versus less homogenous groups would demonstrate greater social outcome gains. Results offer some support for these hypotheses: SCI-A was more effective in improving social communication and motivation when groups were diagnostically similar (ds > 0.55). Considering changes in social awareness and communication, SCI-A was more effective when groups were heterogeneous on socially competent behavior (ds > 1.32) and less effective when groups were heterogeneous on antisocial behavior (ds > 1.00). The authors discuss the implications and importance of research exploring factors such as group composition that may moderate intervention response in applied settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A nested case-control study: personal, social and environmental correlates of vigorous physical activity in adolescents with asthma.

PubMed

Westergren, Thomas; Ommundsen, Yngvar; Lødrup Carlsen, Karin C; Carlsen, Kai-Håkon; Mowinckel, Petter; Fegran, Liv; Berntsen, Sveinung

2015-03-01

Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits. Children and adolescents with asthma may be limited in their PA, particularly at vigorous intensity due to asthma symptoms or poor psychological adjustment to asthma. We aimed to investigate if self-perceived competence, enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment were associated with vigorous physical activity (VPA) and secondarily to assess if such associations were modified by asthma and asthma severity. Data from a nested case-control study at 13 years of age within the birth-cohort Environment and Childhood Asthma Study were compiled from 95 participants with and 79 without asthma. The participants completed a questionnaire designed to capture self-perceived competence, enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment. VPA, defined as ≥ 6 Metabolic Equivalents, was recorded objectively by SenseWear™ Pro2 Armband. Asthma severity was assessed pragmatically by lung function and use of inhaled glucocorticosteroids and β2-agonists and incidence of exacerbations in the last 14 days. Data were analysed using linear regression analysis. No significant differences between adolescents with and without asthma were identified in terms of VPA, competence-enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment. Peer support (b = 0.29 (0.05-0.52)) and competence-enjoyment (b = 0.23 (0.01-0.44)) were significantly and positively associated with VPA, and teacher support (b = -0.26 (-0.50 to -0.02)) were inversely associated. The model explained 25% of the variance in VPA. Peer support and competence-enjoyment were positively associated with increased VPN in adolescents irrespectively of asthma and asthma severity.

Being Close and Being Social: Peer Ratings of Distinct Aspects of Young Adult Social Competence

PubMed Central

Larson, Justine J.; Whitton, Sarah W.; Hauser, Stuart T.; Allen, Joseph P.

2012-01-01

The present study had three main objectives: (1) to develop and validate scales of young adult social competence in two domains, close relationships and social groups, using peer ratings of California Q-sort (Block, 1974; Kremen & Block, 2002) items; (2) to test the hypothesis that social competence is associated with young adult well-being and ego development; (3) to test the hypothesis that close relationship competence aligns more closely than social group competence with young adult functioning. Psychometric data on peer ratings of social competence are presented. For 133 young adults, peer ratings of social competence were correlated in expected directions with indices of functioning (e.g., self-worth, education, psychological distress, criminal behavior, and ego development). Associations were generally stronger for competence in close relationships than in social groups. PMID:17764391

iSocial: Delivering the Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A) in a 3D Virtual Learning Environment for Youth with High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stichter, Janine P.; Laffey, James; Galyen, Krista; Herzog, Melissa

2014-01-01

One consistent area of need for students with autism spectrum disorders is in the area of social competence. However, the increasing need to provide qualified teachers to deliver evidence-based practices in areas like social competence leave schools, such as those found in rural areas, in need of support. Distance education and in particular, 3D…

Social abilities and gender roles in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome - a pilot study.

PubMed

Zachurzok, Agnieszka; Gawlik, Aneta; Nowak, Aleksandra; Drosdzol-Cop, Agnieszka; Małecka-Tendera, Ewa

2014-01-01

Clinical and hormonal features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which may be present already in adolescence, can significantly influence the psychological development and wellbeing of a young woman.The aim of this pilot study was to determine social competence and gender roles in adolescent girls with PCOS compared to healthy peers, and to evaluate the relationship between psychological profile and clinical and hormonal components of PCOS. In 28 adolescent girls with PCOS, and 12 healthy regularly menstruating girls, clinical evaluation and hormonal profile were assessed and social competence inventory (SCI) and psychological gender inventory (PGI) tests were performed. There were no significant differences in all parts of SCI in absolute numbers or in sten scores between the study and the control group. Also in PGI, in both the feminine and masculine gender schemes, the differences between the groups were statistically insignificant. In the study group, DHEAS concentration correlated positively with self presentation score (r = 0.4, p = 0.03). There was also a significant negative correlation between testosterone level and SCI score (r = -0.5, p = 0.01) as well as assertiveness score (r = -0.5, p = 0.02). No significant correlations between SCI or PGI with BMI z-score or hirsutism score were found. Despite the existence of clinical and biochemical features that can influence sociopsychological condition, in adolescent girls with PCOS, social abilities and sex-typical behaviours do not seem to be disturbed.

Social identity change: shifts in social identity during adolescence.

PubMed

Tanti, Chris; Stukas, Arthur A; Halloran, Michael J; Foddy, Margaret

2011-06-01

This study investigated the proposition that adolescence involves significant shifts in social identity as a function of changes in social context and cognitive style. Using an experimental design, we primed either peer or gender identity with a sample of 380 early- (12-13 years), mid- (15-16 years), and late-adolescents (18-20 years) and then measured the effect of the prime on self-stereotyping and ingroup favouritism. The findings showed significant differences in social identity across adolescent groups, in that social identity effects were relatively strong in early- and late-adolescents, particularly when peer group identity rather than gender identity was salient. While these effects were consistent with the experience of change in educational social context, differences in cognitive style were only weakly related to ingroup favouritism. The implications of the findings for theory and future research on social identity during adolescence are discussed. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Adolescents’ Competence and the Balance of Adolescent Autonomy and Adolescent and Parent Well-Being in the Context of Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Butner, Jonathan; Berg, Cynthia A.; Osborn, Peter; Butler, Jorie M.; Godri, Carine; Fortenberry, Katie T.; Barach, Ilana; Le, Hai; Wiebe, Deborah J.

2009-01-01

We examined whether intra-family discrepancies in perceptions of the adolescent’s competence and independence were associated with autonomy and also well-being for adolescents and parents. The latent discrepancy model was used to examine the ways that mothers and fathers consistently differed from their adolescent across measures of independence and competence regarding type 1 diabetes, a stressful context for families. One-hundred and eighty-five mothers, fathers, and adolescents (M age= 12.5 SD= 1.3) completed measures of the adolescent’s independence in completing diabetes tasks, problems with diabetes management, adherence to the medical regimen, measures of well-being, and metabolic control. The latent discrepancy model was conducted via structural equation modeling that generated latent discrepancies from the adolescent for mothers and fathers. Both mothers and fathers viewed the adolescent’s competence more negatively than did the adolescent. These discrepancies related to more parental encouragement of independence and adolescent autonomy, but also poorer metabolic control, and poorer parental psychosocial well-being. The results are interpreted within a developmental perspective that views discrepancies as reflecting normative developmental processes of autonomy, but associated with disruptions in well-being in the short term. PMID:19413435

Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A): measuring social anxiety among Finnish adolescents.

PubMed

Ranta, Klaus; Junttila, Niina; Laakkonen, Eero; Uhmavaara, Anni; La Greca, Annette M; Niemi, Päivi M

2012-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety and the psychometric properties of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) among Finnish adolescents, 13-16 years of age. Study 1 (n = 867) examined the distribution of SAS-A scores according to gender and age, and the internal consistency and factor structure of the SAS-A. In a subsample (n = 563; Study 2) concurrent and discriminant validity of the SAS-A were examined relative to the Social Phobia Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory. Test-retest stability was examined over a 30-month period by repeated measures every 6 months in another subsample (n = 377; Study 3). Results mostly revealed no gender differences in social anxiety, except that boys reported more general social avoidance and distress than girls. Older adolescents (14-16-year-olds) reported higher social anxiety than younger adolescents (12-13-year-olds). Internal consistency for the SAS-A was acceptable for both genders and for all three SAS-A subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the original 18-item three-factor structure of the SAS-A, accounting for 61% of the variance between items. Evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity was found. Test-retest stability over 6 months was satisfactory. Results support the reliability and validity of the Finnish adaptation of the SAS-A, and further indicate that gender differences in adolescents' social anxiety may vary across Western countries.

A Study of Childhood Social Competence, Adult Premorbid Competence, and Psychiatric Outcome in Three Schizophrenic Subtypes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewine, R. J.; And Others

1978-01-01

School and hospital records were used to examine childhood social competence, adult premorbid competence, and psychiatric outcome in adult schizoaffective, paranoid, and undifferentiated schizophrenics. A significant difference existed in childhood interpersonal competence and adult social competence among the subtypes. Results reflect…

Parent-Adolescent Informant Discrepancies of Social Skill Importance and Social Skill Engagement for Higher-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

McMahon, Camilla M.; Solomon, Marjorie

2015-01-01

Parent- and adolescent-report of social skill importance and social skill engagement on the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) were assessed in higher-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Compared to parents, adolescents reported that social skills were less important. Additionally, adolescents reported that they engaged in social skills more frequently than parents reported them to be engaging in social skills. Parents, but not adolescents, reported a discrepancy between importance and engagement, such that the importance of social skills was rated higher than the frequency of adolescent engagement in social skills. These results suggest that social skills interventions for individuals with ASD may need to target awareness of social skill importance and accurate monitoring of social skill engagement. PMID:26077952

Risk Competence in Dealing With Alcohol and Other Drugs in Adolescence.

PubMed

Nagy, Ede; Verres, Rolf; Grevenstein, Dennis

2017-12-06

Adolescence is a critical phase for the development substance use patterns. We propose that individual competence in dealing with psychoactive substances is crucial for the development of healthy substance use behavior and prevention of substance misuse or addiction. We present a new concept of health related skills in dealing with alcohol and other drugs in adolescence, its operationalization and validation. Our conception of risk competence (RICO) consists of the four major factors being Reflective, Informed, Self-Controlled and Life-Oriented, and their sub-facets. Based on a sample of N = 753 adolescents we used classical test theory as well as item response theory to create a new measure of RICO. Validity was investigated in a new sample of N = 229 with regard to substance use, risk perception, and measures of personality (Big Five, sense of coherence, general self-efficacy). RICO contains 7 scales with 28 items that measure independent aspects of risk competence. Cross-sectional criterion validity for most of the scales could be shown. Conclusions/Importance: The new RICO scales are a valid measure of different aspects of risk competence in dealing with psychoactive substances. The questionnaire can be used in general research settings, but may also be applied to assess the effects of interventions.

Assessing the Social Skills and Problem Behaviors of Adolescents With Severe Disabilities Enrolled in General Education Classes.

PubMed

Lyons, Gregory L; Huber, Heartley B; Carter, Erik W; Chen, Rui; Asmus, Jennifer M

2016-07-01

Although enhancing the social competence of students with severe disabilities has long remained a prominent focus of school-based intervention efforts, relatively little attention has focused on identifying the most critical social and behavioral needs of students during high school. We examined the social skills and problem behaviors of 137 adolescents with severe disabilities from the vantage point of both special educators and parents. We sought to identify areas of potential intervention need, explore factors associated with social skill and problem behavior ratings, and examine the extent to which teachers and parents converged in their assessments of these needs. Our findings indicate teachers and parents of high school students with severe disabilities rated social skills as considerably below average and problem behaviors as above average. In addition, lower social skills ratings were evident for students with greater support needs, lower levels of overall adaptive behavior, and a special education label of autism. We found moderate consistency in the degree to which teachers and parents aligned in their assessments of both social skills and problem behavior. We offer recommendations for assessment and intervention focused on strengthening the social competence of adolescents with severe disabilities within secondary school classrooms, as well as promising avenues for future research.

Teacher Assertiveness in the Development of Students' Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villena Martínez, M. D.; Justicia, F. Justicia; Fernández de Haro, E.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Social competence in school students has been studied extensively in terms of their being socially competent or not. However, there has been little analysis of how teachers contribute to the development of these skills. This research assesses the influence of teachers' assertiveness on the social competence of their students and on…

Predicting dating behavior from aggression and self-perceived social status in adolescence.

PubMed

Lee, Kirsty S; Brittain, Heather; Vaillancourt, Tracy

2018-03-14

We investigated the longitudinal associations between self-reported aggression, self-perceived social status, and dating in adolescence using an intrasexual competition theoretical framework. Participants consisted of 536 students in Grade 9 (age 15), recruited from a community sample, who were assessed on a yearly basis until they were in Grade 11 (age 17). Adolescents self-reported their use of direct and indirect aggression, social status, and number of dating partners. A cross-lagged panel model that controlled for within-time covariance and across-time stability while examining cross-lagged pathways was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that direct aggression did not predict dating behavior and was negatively associated with self-perceived social status in Grade 10. Self-perceived social status in Grade 9 was positively associated with greater use of indirect aggression in Grade 10. Regarding dating, in Grade 9, self-perceived social status positively predicted more dating partners the following year, while in Grade 10, it was higher levels of indirect aggression that predicted greater dating activity the following year. Overall, there were no significant sex differences in the model. The study supports the utility of evolutionary psychological theory in explaining peer aggression, and suggests that although social status can increase dating opportunities, as adolescents mature, indirect aggression becomes the most successful and strategic means of competing intrasexually and gaining mating advantages. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigating Social Competence in Students with High Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schirvar, Wendi Margaret

2013-01-01

Social competence is vital for healthy development (Canto-Sperber & Dupuy, 2001; Spence, Barrett & Tuner, 2003). Beginning in childhood and heavily influenced by culture, social competence develops as we combine personal and environmental resources for positive social outcomes and includes the absence of negative behaviors alongside the…

Relationships among Shyness, Social Competence, Peer Relations, and Theory of Mind among Pre-Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokkinos, Constantinos M.; Kakarani, Styliani; Kolovou, Demetra

2016-01-01

The present study examined the relationships between shyness, a number of personal and interpersonal variables (i.e. social skills, self-esteem, attachment style, advanced Theory of Mind skills and peer relations) in a sample of 243 Greek pre-adolescents. Participants completed self-reports of the variables. Results indicated that females scored…

Social Competencies Identification for Realization of Successful Engineering Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivanova, Malinka

2012-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to identify the main social competencies that future engineers need to become recognized professionals. In the paper the key competencies for contemporary engineers are examined and the focus is given on the importance of social competencies for professional development. A competency research model is developed…

Does competence mediate the associations between puberty and internalizing or externalizing problems in adolescent girls?

PubMed

Negriff, Sonya; Hillman, Jennifer B; Dorn, Lorah D

2011-10-01

To examine separate mediational models linking (a) menarcheal status or (b) pubertal timing to internalizing and externalizing problems through competence. This study involved cross-sectional analyses of 262 adolescent girls (age: 11-17 years; mean = 14.93, standard deviation = 2.17) enrolled in a longitudinal study examining the association of psychological functioning and smoking with reproductive and bone health. Measures of menarcheal status (pre/post), pubertal timing (early, on-time, or late), internalizing and externalizing behavior, and perceived competence (parent and adolescent report) were obtained. Structural equation modeling was used for analyses. Perceived competence was found to fully mediate the association between menarcheal status and parent report of internalizing and externalizing problems. For adolescent report, there was a full mediation effect for internalizing problems but a partial mediation effect for externalizing problems. Being menarcheal was related to lower competence, which was in turn related to higher internalizing and externalizing problems. Models including pubertal timing were not significant. Perceived competence is important in understanding the associations between menarcheal status and internalizing and externalizing problems. Interventions targeting competence, particularly in postmenarcheal girls, may reduce or prevent problem behaviors. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal change in the neural bases of adolescent social self-evaluations: effects of age and pubertal development.

PubMed

Pfeifer, Jennifer H; Kahn, Lauren E; Merchant, Junaid S; Peake, Shannon J; Veroude, Kim; Masten, Carrie L; Lieberman, Matthew D; Mazziotta, John C; Dapretto, Mirella

2013-04-24

Self-evaluations undergo significant transformation during early adolescence, developing in parallel with the heightened complexity of teenagers' social worlds. Intuitive theories of adolescent development, based in part on animal work, suggest that puberty is associated with neural-level changes that facilitate a "social reorientation" (Nelson et al., 2005). However, direct tests of this hypothesis using neuroimaging are limited in humans. This longitudinal fMRI study examined neurodevelopmental trajectories associated with puberty, self-evaluations, and the presumed social reorientation during the transition from childhood to adolescence. Participants (N = 27, mean age = 10.1 and 13.1 years at time points one and two, respectively) engaged in trait evaluations of two targets (the self and a familiar fictional other), across two domains of competence (social and academic). Responses in ventromedial PFC increased with both age and pubertal development during self-evaluations in the social domain, but not in the academic domain. These results suggest that changes in social self-evaluations are intimately connected with biology, not just peer contexts, and provide important empirical support for the relationship between neurodevelopment, puberty, and social functioning.

Patterns of Competence and Adjustment among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamborn, Susie D.; And Others

1991-01-01

Of 4,100 adolescents, those who characterized their parents as authoritative scored highest on psychosocial competence and lowest on behavioral dysfunction. The reverse was true for neglected adolescents. Adolescents from authoritarian homes scored high on obedience but low on self-perception. Adolescents from indulgent homes evidenced…

Improving Social Competence in a Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levinsohn, Mary; Klyap, John M.

This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a social competence promotion program conducted in the sixth grade of a middle school. The need to increase social competence within the school arose from the results of enumerative and stakeholder data collected at the school. This paper outlines the steps of the needs assessment, program…

A Multimethod Assessment of Children's Social Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Jan; And Others

The purposes of this study were to investigate the interrelatedness of several measures of social competence and to determine a valid and practical combination of procedures for assessing social competence in school or clinic settings. A total of 51 sixth-grade children (23 boys and 28 girls) were administered the following measures of social…

Bullying in preschool: The associations between participant roles, social competence, and social preference.

PubMed

Camodeca, Marina; Caravita, Simona C S; Coppola, Gabrielle

2015-01-01

The different roles of bullying participation (bully, follower, victim, defender of the victim, and outsider) have not been investigated in preschool children. The aims of this study were to use a peer-report measure to assess these roles and to investigate their associations with social competence among pre-schoolers. We also explored whether status among peers, indicated by being socially preferred, mediates the relationship between social competence and bullying roles. Three hundred twenty 3- to 6-year-old children participated in the study. Bullying roles and social preference were assessed by means of peer reports, whereas social competence was investigated with a Q-Sort methodology, based on observations in classrooms. Bullying was also assessed by means of teacher reports. The results showed quite a clear distinction among roles and a correspondence between peer and teacher assessments, except for the role of outsider. The role of defender was positively associated with social competence, whereas the other roles were negatively associated. In a subsample, social preference statistically predicted the role of bully and mediated between social competence and bullying. The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of assessing bullying and its correlates at a very young age, although roles may further develop when children grow up. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adolescent vulnerability to cardiovascular consequences of chronic social stress: Immediate and long-term effects of social isolation during adolescence.

PubMed

Cruz, Fábio C; Duarte, Josiane O; Leão, Rodrigo M; Hummel, Luiz F V; Planeta, Cleopatra S; Crestani, Carlos C

2016-01-01

It has been demonstrated that disruption of social bonds and perceived isolation (loneliness) are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Adolescence is proposed as a period of vulnerability to stress. Nevertheless, the impact of chronic social stress during this ontogenic period in cardiovascular function is poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the impact in cardiovascular function of social isolation for 3 weeks in adolescent and adult male rats. Also, the long-term effects of social isolation during adolescence were investigated longitudinally. Social isolation reduced body weight in adolescent, but not in adult animals. Disruption of social bonds during adolescence increased arterial pressure without affecting heart rate and pulse pressure (PP). Nevertheless, social isolation in adulthood reduced systolic arterial pressure and increased diastolic arterial pressure, which in turn decreased PP without affecting mean arterial pressure. Cardiovascular changes in adolescents, but not adults, were followed by facilitation of both baroreflex sensitivity and vascular reactivity to the vasodilator agent acetylcholine. Vascular responsiveness to either the vasodilator agent sodium nitroprusside or the vasoconstrictor agent phenylephrine was not affected by social isolation. Except for the changes in body weight and baroreflex sensitivity, all alterations evoked by social isolation during adolescence were reversed in adulthood after moving animals from isolated to collective housing. These findings suggest a vulnerability of adolescents to the effects of chronic social isolation in cardiovascular function. However, results indicate minimal cardiovascular consequences in adulthood of disruption of social bonds during adolescence. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Expanding Multicultural Competence through Social Justice Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arredondo, Patricia; Perez, Patricia

2003-01-01

Social justice and multicultural competence have been inextricably linked for nearly four decades, influencing the development of multicultural competency standards and guidelines and organizational change in psychology. This response provides a historical perspective on the evolution of competencies and offers clarifications regarding their…

Social Competence and Aggressive Behavior in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodge, Kenneth A.

A model describing the cognitive processes in which a child must engage in order to respond competently in social situations is presented in this document as the framework for several series of studies dealing with provocation by peers. A major tenet of the model is that in order to perform competently in a social situation the child must first…

SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FLOURISHING.

PubMed

Uysal, Recep

2015-10-01

This study examined whether flourishing mediated the social competence and psychological vulnerability. Participants were 259 university students (147 women, 112 men; M age = 21.3 yr., SD = 1.7) who completed the Turkish versions of the Perceived Social Competence Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale. Mediation models were tested using the bootstrapping method to examine indirect effects. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results indicated a positive relationship between social competence and flourishing, and a negative relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. Results of the bootstrapping method revealed that flourishing significantly mediated the relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. The significance and limitations of the results were discussed.

Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A): Measuring Social Anxiety among Finnish Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranta, Klaus; Junttila, Niina; Laakkonen, Eero; Uhmavaara, Anni; La Greca, Annette M.; Niemi, Paivi M.

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety and the psychometric properties of the "Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents" (SAS-A) among Finnish adolescents, 13-16 years of age. Study 1 (n = 867) examined the distribution of SAS-A scores according to gender and age, and the internal consistency and factor structure…

Social competence and learning difficulties: Teacher perceptions.

PubMed

Wight, Megan; Chapparo, Christine

2008-12-01

Social competence has been linked to children's classroom performance with three out of four children with learning difficulties reported to have problems with social skills. Social participation remains a predominant childhood occupation and a key indicator of school performance. Occupational therapists work with teachers to accurately assess the social performance of children in context and to provide targeted intervention. There is limited research about what teachers perceive are the specific nature of social difficulties experienced by children with learning difficulties in the classroom. This study investigated teacher perceptions of the social competence of a small sample of Australian boys with learning difficulties within the classroom context. The Teacher Skillstreaming Checklist was used to investigate teacher perceptions of the social abilities of 21 primary school aged boys with learning difficulties compared to a control group. A correlational analysis was used to examine the relationship. The study identified that the boys with learning difficulties were perceived by their teachers as having poorer social performance across multiple domains when compared to their typically developing peers. Implications of these findings are that children's social performance may negatively impact learning and classroom participation and that for some children, social competence should be a focus of occupational therapy assessment and treatment.

Social Perception in Learning Disabled Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Axelrod, Lee

1982-01-01

Nonverbal social perception in 54 learning disabled adolescents was investigated using standardized tests of social intelligence and nonverbal communication. LD adolescents (grades 8 and 9) were significantly lower in nonverbal social perception skill than controls. (Author/CL)

Social, Emotional, and Academic Competence among Children Who Have Had Contact with Child Protective Services: Prevalence and Stability Estimates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaffee, Sara R.; Gallop, Robert

2007-01-01

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and stability of social, emotional, and academic competence in a nationally representative sample of children involved with child protective services. Method: Children were assessed as part of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Children (N = 2,065) ranged in age from 8 to 16 years and were…

Developing Schemas for Assessing Social Competences among Unskilled Young People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aarkrog, Vibe; Wahlgren, Bjarne

2017-01-01

Social competences are crucial parts of vocational education and training (VET) competences. As part of a development project preparing unskilled young people for VET, an action research project was conducted with the aim of developing a schema for assessing and grading social competences. The development included defining the social competences…

Social Competence among Low-Income Preschoolers: Emotion Socialization Practices and Social Cognitive Correlates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Pamela W.; And Others

1994-01-01

Two studies investigated the relationship between emotion socialization variables, social cognitive knowledge, and children's social competence in preschoolers from low-income families. Found that mothers' self-reported emotion socialization practices were related to children's emotional knowledge and sibling caregiving behavior. (MDM)

Social influences of error monitoring in adolescent girls.

PubMed

Barker, Tyson V; Troller-Renfree, Sonya V; Bowman, Lindsay C; Pine, Daniel S; Fox, Nathan A

2018-04-22

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased social motivation and a heightened concern of peer evaluation. However, little research has examined social influences on neural functioning in adolescence. One psychophysiological measure of motivation, the error-related negativity (ERN), is an ERP following an error. In adults, the ERN is enhanced by contextual factors that influence motivation, such as social observation and evaluation. The current study examined relations among age and neural responses in social contexts in adolescence. Seventy-six adolescent girls (9-17 years old) completed a flanker task under two different conditions. In the social condition, adolescent girls were informed that two other adolescents would be observing and providing feedback about their performance. In the nonsocial condition, adolescent girls completed a flanker task alone and were told feedback was computer generated. Results revealed that younger adolescents exhibited a larger ERN in social contexts than nonsocial contexts. In contrast, there were no differences in the ERN between contexts among older adolescents. In addition, enhancements of the ERN in social contexts among younger adolescents diminished the relation between the ERN and age. These findings suggest that the ERN is sensitive to social contexts in early adolescence, and developmental changes in the ERN may be partially explained by contextual factors that influence motivation. © 2018 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Social Competencies in Childhood and Adolescence and Entrepreneurship in Young Adulthood: A Two-Study Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obschonka, Martin; Duckworth, Kathryn; Silbereisen, Rainer K.; Schoon, Ingrid

2012-01-01

Contributing to the literature on early precursors of entrepreneurship, this study investigated the role of early social competencies for an entrepreneurial career choice and entrepreneurial success in young adulthood.We utilized data from the British Cohort Study and the Thuringian Founder Study (Germany), thereby comparing results across…

Adolescent Neurobiological Susceptibility to Social Context

PubMed Central

Schriber, Roberta A.; Guyer, Amanda E.

2016-01-01

Adolescence has been characterized as a period of heightened sensitivity to social contexts. However, adolescents vary in how their social contexts affect them. According to neurobiological susceptibility models, endogenous, biological factors confer some individuals, relative to others, with greater susceptibility to environmental influences, whereby more susceptible individuals fare the best or worst of all individuals, depending on the environment they encounter (e.g., high vs. low parental warmth). Until recently, research guided by these theoretical frameworks has not incorporated direct measures of brain structure or function to index this sensitivity. Drawing on prevailing models of adolescent neurodevelopment and a growing number of neuroimaging studies on the interrelations among social contexts, the brain, and developmental outcomes, we review research that supports the idea of adolescent neurobiological susceptibility to social context for understanding why and how adolescents differ in development and well-being. We propose that adolescent development is shaped in part by brain-based individual differences in sensitivity to social contexts – be they positive or negative – such as those created through relationships with parents/caregivers and peers. As such, we recommend that future research measure brain function and structure to operationalize susceptibility factors that moderate the influence of social contexts on developmental outcomes. PMID:26773514

Social Information Processing in Deaf Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Jesús; Saldaña, David; Rodríguez-Ortiz, Isabel R.

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to compare the processing of social information in deaf and hearing adolescents. A task was developed to assess social information processing (SIP) skills of deaf adolescents based on Crick and Dodge's (1994; A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment.…

Self-Perceived Competence as a Mediator between Maternal Feedback and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacquez, Farrah; Cole, David A.; Searle, Barbara

2004-01-01

Self-report, other-report, clinical interview, and behavioral observations of evaluative maternal feedback (e.g., positive feedback, criticism), adolescent depressive symptoms, and self-perceived competence were obtained from 72 adolescents and their mothers. Most path analyses supported the hypothesis that adolescent self-perceived competence…

Adolescents' social status goals: relationships to social status insecurity, aggression, and prosocial behavior.

PubMed

Li, Yan; Wright, Michelle F

2014-01-01

Peer status is an important aspect of adolescents' social lives and is pursued actively by them. Although extensive research has examined how social behaviors are related to peer status (e.g., social preference, popularity), little attention has been given to adolescents' social goals to obtain a desired peer status. Thus, this study examined two types of social status goals, popularity goal and social preference goal, and their relationships to social status insecurity and social behaviors among 405 ethnically diverse early adolescents (267 girls; M age = 12.92 years; age range = 11-15 years). After accounting for adolescents' attained peer statuses (popularity and social preference), both social status goals were related distinctly to aggressive and prosocial behaviors as measured by self reports and peer nominations. Specifically, higher endorsement of the popularity goal was related to more self-reported relational aggression, but less peer-nominated prosocial behavior. In contrast, higher endorsement of the social preference goal was linked to less self-reported overt and relational aggression, but more self-reported and peer-nominated prosocial behavior. In addition, this study reveals that adolescents' social status insecurity was related positively to both social status goals and had an indirect effect on adolescents' social behaviors through the mediation of popularity goal endorsement. There were variations in goal endorsement as shown by groups of adolescents endorsing different levels of each goal. The group comparison results on social behaviors were largely consistent with the correlational findings. This study provides new insights into adolescents' social cognitive processes about peer status and the implications of the two social status goals on adolescents' behavioral development.

Social support influences on eating awareness in children and adolescents: the mediating effect of self-regulatory strategies.

PubMed

Gaspar de Matos, Margarida; Palmeira, Antonio L; Gaspar, Tania; De Wit, John B F; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

2016-01-01

The impact of the social environment on healthy eating awareness results from complex interactions among physical, economic, cultural, interpersonal and individual characteristics. This study investigated the impact of social support and social influence on healthy eating awareness, controlling for socio-economic status, gender and age. Additionally, the mediating effect of self-regulation strategies was examined. A total of 2764 children and adolescents aged 10-17 from four European countries completed self-report measures on healthy eating awareness, social influence and the use of self-regulation strategies. Healthy eating awareness and the use of self-regulation strategies were more likely to occur among younger participants. An interaction between gender and age was related to the use of some self-regulation strategies; compared to girls, boys decreased the use of self-regulation strategies more from pre-adolescence to adolescence. Peer social influence was associated with more unhealthy eating in older participants. Results suggest a need to promote self-regulatory competences among young people in order to assist them with regulating their eating behaviours, especially in the presence of peers. Both school-based interventions and family-based interventions, focusing on self-regulation cognitions and social (peer) influence, could help children and adolescents to use self-regulatory strategies which are essential to eat healthier.

Does Competence Mediate the Associations between Puberty and Internalizing or Externalizing Problems in Adolescent Girls

PubMed Central

Negriff, Sonya; Hillman, Jennifer, B.; Dorn, Lorah D.

2011-01-01

Purpose To examine separate mediational models linking a) menarcheal status or b) pubertal timing to internalizing and externalizing problems through competence. Method Cross-sectional analyses of 262 adolescent girls (11–17 years; M=14.93, SD=2.17) enrolled in a longitudinal study examining the association of psychological functioning and smoking with reproductive and bone health. Measures of menarcheal status (pre/post), pubertal timing (early, on-time, or late), internalizing and externalizing behavior, and perceived competence (parent and adolescent report) were obtained. Structural Equation Modeling was used for analyses. Results Perceived competence was found to fully mediate the association between menarcheal status and parent report of internalizing and externalizing problems. For adolescent report, there was a full mediation effect for internalizing problems but a partial mediation effect for externalizing problems. Being menarcheal was related to lower competence which was related to higher internalizing and externalizing problems. Models including pubertal timing were not significant. Conclusions Perceived competence is important in understanding the associations between menarcheal status and internalizing and externalizing problems. Interventions targeting competence, particularly in post-menarcheal girls, may reduce or prevent problem behaviors. PMID:21939864

Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1-A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships.

PubMed

Nesi, Jacqueline; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Prinstein, Mitchell J

2018-04-07

Investigators have long recognized that adolescents' peer experiences provide a crucial context for the acquisition of developmental competencies, as well as potential risks for a range of adjustment difficulties. However, recent years have seen an exponential increase in adolescents' adoption of social media tools, fundamentally reshaping the landscape of adolescent peer interactions. Although research has begun to examine social media use among adolescents, researchers have lacked a unifying framework for understanding the impact of social media on adolescents' peer experiences. This paper represents Part 1 of a two-part theoretical review, in which we offer a transformation framework to integrate interdisciplinary social media scholarship and guide future work on social media use and peer relations from a theory-driven perspective. We draw on prior conceptualizations of social media as a distinct interpersonal context and apply this understanding to adolescents' peer experiences, outlining features of social media with particular relevance to adolescent peer relations. We argue that social media transforms adolescent peer relationships in five key ways: by changing the frequency or immediacy of experiences, amplifying experiences and demands, altering the qualitative nature of interactions, facilitating new opportunities for compensatory behaviors, and creating entirely novel behaviors. We offer an illustration of the transformation framework applied to adolescents' dyadic friendship processes (i.e., experiences typically occurring between two individuals), reviewing existing evidence and offering theoretical implications. Overall, the transformation framework represents a departure from the prevailing approaches of prior peer relations work and a new model for understanding peer relations in the social media context.

The social competence of Latino kindergartners and growth in mathematical understanding.

PubMed

Galindo, Claudia; Fuller, Bruce

2010-05-01

We know that social competence contributes to young children's adaptation to, and cognitive learning within, classroom settings. Yet initial evidence is mixed on the social competencies that Latino children bring to kindergarten and the extent to which these skills advance cognitive growth. Building from ecocultural and developmental-risk theory, this paper shows children's social competence to be adaptive to the normative expectations and cognitive requirements of culturally bounded settings in both the home and classroom. Latino socialization in the home may yield social competencies that teachers value rather than reflect "risk factors" that constrain children's school readiness. We draw on the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, kindergarten cohort (N = 19,590) to detail 5 social competencies at entry to school--self-control, interpersonal skills, approaches to learning, internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors--and to examine variability among Latino subgroups. We then test the extent to which baseline variation in social competence accounts for children's cognitive growth during the kindergarten year. We find that Latino children from poor, but not middle-class, families display weaker social competencies vis-à-vis White children (all relationships p < or = .05). Social competence levels contribute to Latino children's cognitive growth, which is shaped most strongly by positive approaches to learning. The disparities in competencies observed for Latino children from poor families, relative to White children, are significant yet much smaller than gaps in baseline levels of mathematical understanding. We discuss how the consonance or mismatch between competencies acquired at home and those valued by teachers must consider cultural differences, social-class position, and variation among diverse Latino subgroups. 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Adolescent social media use and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives.

PubMed

Barry, Christopher T; Sidoti, Chloe L; Briggs, Shanelle M; Reiter, Shari R; Lindsey, Rebecca A

2017-12-01

This study investigated adolescent and parent reports of adolescent social media use and its relation to adolescent psychosocial adjustment. The sample consisted of 226 participants (113 parent-adolescent dyads) from throughout the United States, with adolescents (55 males, 51 females, 7 unreported) ranging from ages 14 to 17. Parent and adolescent reports of the number of adolescents' social media accounts were moderately correlated with parent-reported DSM-5 symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, ODD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as adolescent-reported fear of missing out (FoMO) and loneliness. Lastly, anxiety and depressive symptoms were highest among adolescents with a relatively high number of parent-reported social media accounts and relatively high FoMO. The implications of these findings and need for related longitudinal studies are discussed. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethnic Socialization in Neighborhood Contexts: Implications for Ethnic Attitude and Identity Development Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents.

PubMed

White, Rebecca M B; Knight, George P; Jensen, Michaeline; Gonzales, Nancy A

2018-05-01

Neighborhood Latino ethnic concentration, above and beyond or in combination with mothers' and fathers' ethnic socialization, may have beneficial implications for minority adolescents' ethnic attitude and identity development. These hypotheses, along with two competing hypotheses, were tested prospectively (from x¯age = 12.79-15.83 years) in a sample of 733 Mexican-origin adolescents. Neighborhood ethnic concentration had beneficial implications for ethnic identity processes (i.e., ethnic exploration and perceived peer discrimination) but not for ethnic attitudes. For Mexico-born adolescents, high maternal ethnic socialization compensated for living in neighborhoods low on ethnic concentration. Findings are discussed vis-à-vis the ways in which they address major gaps in the neighborhood effects literature and the ethnic and racial identity development literature. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Role of Social Networking Sites in Early Adolescents' Social Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antheunis, Marjolijn L.; Schouten, Alexander P.; Krahmer, Emiel

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in early adolescents' social lives. First, we investigated the relation between SNS use and several aspects of early adolescents' social lives (i.e., friendship quality, bridging social capital, and bonding social capital). Second, we examined whether there are…

Delinquent-oriented attitudes mediate the relation between parental inconsistent discipline and early adolescent behavior.

PubMed

Halgunseth, Linda C; Perkins, Daniel F; Lippold, Melissa A; Nix, Robert L

2013-04-01

Although substantial research supports the association between parental inconsistent discipline and early adolescent behaviors, less is understood on mechanisms underlying this relation. This study examined the mediating influence of delinquent-oriented attitudes in early adolescence. Using a longitudinal sample of 324 rural adolescents and their parents, findings revealed that inconsistent discipline in sixth grade predicted an increase in adolescent delinquent-oriented attitudes by seventh grade which, in turn, predicted both an increase in early adolescent antisocial behaviors and a decrease in socially competent behaviors by eighth grade. Therefore, it appears that accepting attitudes toward delinquency may in part develop from experiencing inconsistent discipline at home and may offer a possible explanation as to why early adolescents later engage in more antisocial and less socially competent behaviors. Findings may inform family-based preventive intervention programs that seek to decrease behavior problems and promote social competence in early adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Delinquent-Oriented Attitudes Mediate the Relation Between Parental Inconsistent Discipline and Early Adolescent Behavior

PubMed Central

Halgunseth, Linda C.; Perkins, Daniel F.; Lippold, Melissa A.; Nix, Robert L.

2013-01-01

Although substantial research supports the association between parental inconsistent discipline and early adolescent behaviors, less is understood on mechanisms underlying this relation. This study examined the mediating influence of delinquent-oriented attitudes in early adolescence. Using a longitudinal sample of 324 rural adolescents and their parents, findings revealed that inconsistent discipline in 6th grade predicted an increase in adolescent delinquent-oriented attitudes by 7th grade which, in turn, predicted both an increase in early adolescent antisocial behaviors and a decrease in socially competent behaviors by 8th grade. Therefore, it appears that accepting attitudes toward delinquency may in part develop from experiencing inconsistent discipline at home and may offer a possible explanation as to why early adolescents later engage in more antisocial and less socially competent behaviors. Findings may inform family-based preventive intervention programs that seek to decrease behavior problems and promote social competence in early adolescents. PMID:23544924

Deflected Pathways: Becoming Aggressive, Socially Withdrawn, or Prosocial with Peers During the Transition to Adolescence

PubMed Central

Monahan, Kathryn C.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn

2014-01-01

Although research has suggested strong continuity in children's adaptive or maladaptive behavior with peers across the transition to adolescence, less is known about deflected developmental pathways of peer social competence across this transition. This study investigates how mother-child and best friend relationship quality predict the deflection of youth from adaptive to maladaptive behavior with peers or the reverse. Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N=1055), high-quality friendships were associated with changes in peer social competence from 3rd to 6th grade. More positive and fewer negative interactions with a friend were linked with becoming more prosocial with peers, whereas less positive interactions with a friend were linked to becoming aggressive or withdrawn. PMID:27231420

The Development of Technological Competence from Adolescence to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Autio, Ossi

2011-01-01

This article builds on earlier research that defined and assessed technological competence among adolescents. It tracks students who took part in a measurements of technical abilities study fifteen years ago. The researcher had no previous knowledge of the test subjects' current employment status, but in favorable circumstances, these test…

Social Cognition Dysfunction in Adolescents with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome): Relationship with Executive Functioning and Social Competence/Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, L. E.; McCabe, K. L.; Melville, J. L.; Strutt, P. A.; Schall, U.

2015-01-01

Background: Social difficulties are often noted among people with intellectual disabilities. Children and adults with 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) often have poorer social competence as well as poorer performance on measures of executive and social-cognitive skills compared with typically developing young people. However, the relationship…

Adolescents and their parents' perceptions about parenting characteristics. Who can better predict the adolescent's academic competence?

PubMed

Pelegrina, Santiago; García-Linares, M Cruz; Casanova, Pedro F

2003-12-01

This study examined family factors reported by parents and their children in relation to children's academic competence. Adolescents and their parents (N=323) reported about the same family characteristics: parental acceptance and involvement in the children's education. Measures related to children's academic competence were: academic competence rated by the teacher, self-reported grades, perceived academic competence and motivational orientation. The results revealed low interrater agreement in family measures. Moreover, ratings by children about parenting characteristics seem higher than those of their parents in predicting academic-related measures. This was true especially in the case of children's reports on acceptance. However, in the case of involvement, parent's reports contributed towards predicting a higher number of variables.

Social Information Processing in Deaf Adolescents.

PubMed

Torres, Jesús; Saldaña, David; Rodríguez-Ortiz, Isabel R

2016-07-01

The goal of this study was to compare the processing of social information in deaf and hearing adolescents. A task was developed to assess social information processing (SIP) skills of deaf adolescents based on Crick and Dodge's (1994; A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74-101) reformulated six-stage model. It consisted of a structured interview after watching 18 scenes of situations depicting participation in a peer group or provocations by peers. Participants included 32 deaf and 20 hearing adolescents and young adults aged between 13 and 21 years. Deaf adolescents and adults had lower scores than hearing participants in all the steps of the SIP model (coding, interpretation, goal formulation, response generation, response decision, and representation). However, deaf girls and women had better scores on social adjustment and on some SIP skills than deaf male participants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Role of Socialization, Effortful Control, and Ego Resiliency in French Adolescents’ Social Functioning

PubMed Central

Hofer, Claire; Eisenberg, Nancy; Reiser, Mark

2010-01-01

The relations among effortful control, ego resiliency, socialization, and social functioning were examined with a sample of 182 French adolescents (14–20 years old). Adolescents, their parents, and/or teachers completed questionnaires on these constructs. Effortful control and ego resiliency were correlated with adolescents’ social functioning, especially with low externalizing and internalizing behaviors and sometimes with high peer competence. Furthermore, aspects of socialization (parenting practices more than family expressiveness) were associated with adolescents’ effortful control, ego resiliency, and social functioning. Effortful control and ego resiliency mediated the relations between parental socialization and adolescents’ peer competence and internalizing problems. Furthermore, effortful control mediated the relations between socialization and adolescents’ externalizing behavior. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural and developmental variation. PMID:21228912

Individual and Social Predictors of Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Lai, Frank H. Y.; Siu, Andrew M. H.; Shek, Daniel T. L.

2015-01-01

Based on the human ecological model, this study hypothesized that individual competence in empathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and social influence from parents, peers, and school are the key determinants of prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. We recruited a sample of high school students who engaged in volunteering activities regularly (N = 580). They completed a self-administrated questionnaire designed to measure prosocial behavior and its hypothesized predictors using a number of standardized instruments. The results of multiple regression show that social influence factors, including peer, school, and parent influence, are strong predictors of helping intention and prosocial behavior, while individual competence factors like empathy and prosocial moral reasoning are not. Male participants had higher empathy scores and helping intention than females, perceived their parents as more helpful, and their schools as more supportive of prosocial behavior. However, the significant predictors of prosocial behavior and helping intention were similar across gender. The findings indicate that social influence is strongly linked to prosocial behavior. This implies that socialization and social support for prosocial norms and behavior can exert a powerful influence on the behavior of young people in a Chinese population. PMID:26029684

Individual and Social Predictors of Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Lai, Frank H Y; Siu, Andrew M H; Shek, Daniel T L

2015-01-01

Based on the human ecological model, this study hypothesized that individual competence in empathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and social influence from parents, peers, and school are the key determinants of prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. We recruited a sample of high school students who engaged in volunteering activities regularly (N = 580). They completed a self-administrated questionnaire designed to measure prosocial behavior and its hypothesized predictors using a number of standardized instruments. The results of multiple regression show that social influence factors, including peer, school, and parent influence, are strong predictors of helping intention and prosocial behavior, while individual competence factors like empathy and prosocial moral reasoning are not. Male participants had higher empathy scores and helping intention than females, perceived their parents as more helpful, and their schools as more supportive of prosocial behavior. However, the significant predictors of prosocial behavior and helping intention were similar across gender. The findings indicate that social influence is strongly linked to prosocial behavior. This implies that socialization and social support for prosocial norms and behavior can exert a powerful influence on the behavior of young people in a Chinese population.

Prevalence and correlates of resistance training skill competence in adolescents.

PubMed

Smith, Jordan J; DeMarco, Matthew; Kennedy, Sarah G; Kelson, Mark; Barnett, Lisa M; Faigenbaum, Avery D; Lubans, David R

2018-06-01

The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence and correlates of adolescents' resistance training (RT) skill competence. Participants were 548 adolescents (14.1 ± 0.5 years) from 16 schools in New South Wales, Australia. RT skills were assessed using the Resistance Training Skills Battery. Demographics, BMI, muscular fitness, perceived strength, RT self-efficacy, and motivation for RT were also assessed. The proportion demonstrating "competence" and "near competence" in each of the six RT skills were calculated and sex differences explored. Associations between the combined RT skill score and potential correlates were examined using multi-level linear mixed models. Overall, the prevalence of competence was low (range = 3.3% to 27.9%). Females outperformed males on the squat, lunge and overhead press, whereas males performed better on the push-up (p < .05). Significant associations were seen for a number of correlates, which largely differed by sex. Muscular fitness was moderately and positively associated with RT skills among both males (β = 0.34, 95%CIs = 0.23 to 0.46) and females (β = 0.36, 95%CIs = 0.23 to 0.48). Our findings support a link between RT skills and muscular fitness. Other associations were statistically significant but small in magnitude, and should therefore be interpreted cautiously.

Adolescents' Uses of Media for Self-Socialization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen

1995-01-01

A typology of adolescent media uses is presented, discussing five uses--entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and youth culture identification--in relation to adolescent socialization. Media differ from other socializing agents in that adolescents have greater control over their media choices, resulting in substantial…

Social Anxiety and Social Adaptation among Adolescents at Three Age Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peleg, Ora

2012-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between social anxiety and social adaptation among adolescents. This is the first study to research these parameters among three age groups: early, middle and late adolescence. On the whole, a negative relation was found between social anxiety and social adaptation. Specifically, for adolescents…

Socialization and Adolescent Self-Esteem: Symbolic Interaction and Social Learning Explanations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Openshaw, D. Kim; And Others

1983-01-01

Investigated the effects of social learning and symbolic interaction on adolescent self-esteem. Adolescents (N=368) and their parents completed measures of self-esteem, parental behavior and parental power. Results suggested adolescent self-esteem is more a function of social interaction and the reflected appraisals of others than a modeling of…

Dispositional Hope as a Moderator of the Link between Social Comparison with Friends and Eighth-Grade Students' Perceptions of Academic Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bissell-Havran, Joanna M.

2015-01-01

We examined the link between social comparison with friends and self-perceptions of academic competence during adolescence and how personality may play a role in this link. Participants were 193 eighth-grade students who attended a rural, mid-Atlantic middle school. We used difference scores to measure the extent to which students' nominated and…

Social Competence Intervention for Parents (SCI-P): Comparing Outcomes for a Parent Education Program Targeting Adolescents with ASD

PubMed Central

Schultz, Tia R.; Stichter, Janine P.; Herzog, Melissa J.; McGhee, Stephanie D.; Lierheimer, Kristin

2012-01-01

Research has shown that parent education programs can address some of the distinct challenges that parents of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) encounter. This study examined the effectiveness of the Social Competence Intervention for Parents (SCI-P), a parent education program, administered in conjunction with a social competence intervention that targeted youth with ASD ages 11–14 (SCI-A). Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, parents were assigned to either the SCI-P group (n = 16) or to the waitlist comparison group (n = 10). Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) revealed a significant effect for parent education participation such that SCI-P participants experienced significantly greater reductions in levels of stress and a trend for increases in parenting sense of competence from pre- to post-intervention. Moreover, parents in the SCI-P group reported high satisfaction with the program. These findings suggest that parent education can result in positive outcomes for parents' well being. PMID:22934178

Ontology-Based Approach to Social Data Sentiment Analysis: Detection of Adolescent Depression Signals

PubMed Central

Jung, Hyesil; Song, Tae-Min

2017-01-01

Background Social networking services (SNSs) contain abundant information about the feelings, thoughts, interests, and patterns of behavior of adolescents that can be obtained by analyzing SNS postings. An ontology that expresses the shared concepts and their relationships in a specific field could be used as a semantic framework for social media data analytics. Objective The aim of this study was to refine an adolescent depression ontology and terminology as a framework for analyzing social media data and to evaluate description logics between classes and the applicability of this ontology to sentiment analysis. Methods The domain and scope of the ontology were defined using competency questions. The concepts constituting the ontology and terminology were collected from clinical practice guidelines, the literature, and social media postings on adolescent depression. Class concepts, their hierarchy, and the relationships among class concepts were defined. An internal structure of the ontology was designed using the entity-attribute-value (EAV) triplet data model, and superclasses of the ontology were aligned with the upper ontology. Description logics between classes were evaluated by mapping concepts extracted from the answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) onto the ontology concepts derived from description logic queries. The applicability of the ontology was validated by examining the representability of 1358 sentiment phrases using the ontology EAV model and conducting sentiment analyses of social media data using ontology class concepts. Results We developed an adolescent depression ontology that comprised 443 classes and 60 relationships among the classes; the terminology comprised 1682 synonyms of the 443 classes. In the description logics test, no error in relationships between classes was found, and about 89% (55/62) of the concepts cited in the answers to FAQs mapped onto the ontology class. Regarding applicability, the EAV triplet models of the

Cognitive, emotive, and cognitive-behavioral correlates of suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Kwok, Sylvia Lai Yuk Ching; Shek, Daniel Tan Lei

2010-03-05

Utilizing Daniel Goleman's theory of emotional competence, Beck's cognitive theory, and Rudd's cognitive-behavioral theory of suicidality, the relationships between hopelessness (cognitive component), social problem solving (cognitive-behavioral component), emotional competence (emotive component), and adolescent suicidal ideation were examined. Based on the responses of 5,557 Secondary 1 to Secondary 4 students from 42 secondary schools in Hong Kong, results showed that suicidal ideation was positively related to adolescent hopelessness, but negatively related to emotional competence and social problem solving. While standard regression analyses showed that all the above variables were significant predictors of suicidal ideation, hierarchical regression analyses showed that hopelessness was the most important predictor of suicidal ideation, followed by social problem solving and emotional competence. Further regression analyses found that all four subscales of emotional competence, i.e., empathy, social skills, self-management of emotions, and utilization of emotions, were important predictors of male adolescent suicidal ideation. However, the subscale of social skills was not a significant predictor of female adolescent suicidal ideation. Standard regression analysis also revealed that all three subscales of social problem solving, i.e., negative problem orientation, rational problem solving, and impulsiveness/carelessness style, were important predictors of suicidal ideation. Theoretical and practice implications of the findings are discussed.

Is Inspiring Group Members an Effective Predictor of Social Dominance in Early Adolescence? Direct and Moderated Effects of Behavioral Strategies, Social Skills, and Gender on Resource Control and Popularity.

PubMed

Vermande, Marjolijn M; Gilholm, Patricia A; Reijntjes, Albert H A; Hessen, Dave J; Sterck, Elisabeth H M; Overduin-de Vries, Anne M

2018-03-13

Dominance in the peer group is important for adolescents. Resource Control Theory posits that both coercive and prosocial (positively assertive) strategies are associated with dominance. Combining Resource Control Theory with Socioanalytic Theory on personality, we hypothesized that inspiring group members would be an additional effective strategy. This study examined whether the three behavioral strategies and two types of social skills (social competence and manipulation) predicted dominance (resource control and popularity). Participants were 619 Dutch adolescents (M age  = 13.1; 47% female) in the first grade of secondary school. They completed peer reports (behavioral strategies and dominance) and self-reports (social skills). Only inspirational and coercive strategies substantially predicted dominance. Main effects of social skills emerged. Moderation between strategies and social skills was only observed for girls (e.g., coercive strategy use was associated with more popularity for girls with higher levels of social manipulation skills). This study furthered our understanding of the predictors of dominance in adolescence by including inspirational behavior and examining prosocial and antisocial skills.

Adolescents' social environment and depression: social networks, extracurricular activity, and family relationship influences.

PubMed

Mason, Michael J; Schmidt, Christopher; Abraham, Anisha; Walker, Leslie; Tercyak, Kenneth

2009-12-01

The present study examined components of adolescents' social environment (social network, extracurricular activities, and family relationships) in association with depression. A total of 332 adolescents presenting for a routine medical check-up were self-assessed for social network risk (i.e., smoking habits of best male and female friends), extracurricular activity level (i.e., participation in organized sports teams, clubs, etc.), family relationship quality (i.e., cohesion and conflict), and symptoms of depression (i.e., minimal, mild, moderate/severe). Results of a forward linear regression modeling indicate that social environment components were associated with a significant proportion of the variance in adolescent depression (Adjusted R (2) = .177, p < or = .05). Specifically, adolescent females (beta = .166, p < .01) and those having more smokers in their social network (beta = .107, p < .05) presented with significantly greater depression symptoms. Conversely, adolescents who engaged in more extracurricular activities (beta = -.118, p < .05) and experienced higher quality family relationships (beta = -.368, p < .001) presented with significantly lower depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the important role that the social environment plays in adolescent depression, as well as yields new insights into socially-based intervention targets that may ameliorate adolescent depression. These intervention targets may be gender-specific, include positive social network skills training, increase adolescents' engagement in organized activities, and attend to the quality of their family relationships.

The Socioemotional Costs and Benefits of Social-Evaluative Concerns: Do Girls Care Too Much?

PubMed Central

Rudolph, Karen D.; Conley, Colleen S.

2011-01-01

This research investigated the hypothesis that girls’ heightened concerns about social evaluation contribute to sex differences in depression and interpersonal competence during early adolescence. A short-term longitudinal study was conducted with 474 adolescents to examine the consequences of heightened social-evaluative concerns. Adolescents reported on their levels of social-evaluative concerns and depressive symptoms. Teachers provided ratings of adolescents’ competence with peers (displays of prosocial and aggressive behavior). As anticipated, girls demonstrated higher levels of social-evaluative concerns, depressive symptoms, and interpersonal competence than did boys. Moreover, path analysis confirmed that heightened social-evaluative concerns were associated both concurrently and over time with higher levels of depression, as well as with higher levels of interpersonal competence. Notably, social-evaluative concerns accounted fully for the sex difference in depression and partially for the sex difference in interpersonal competence. These findings highlight the need to consider both the socioemotional costs and benefits of sex-linked relational orientations. PMID:15660675

Social Justice, Research, and Adolescence

PubMed Central

Russell, Stephen T.

2016-01-01

In what ways might research on adolescence contribute to social justice? My 2014 Presidential Address identified strategies for social justice in our field. First, we need research that is conscious of biases, power, and privilege in science, as well as in our roles as scholars. Second, we need research that attends to inequities in lives of adolescents, and as scholars we need to question the ways that our research may unwittingly reinforce those inequalities. Third, we need research that attends to urgencies, that is, issues or conditions that influence adolescents’ well-being which demand attention and action. I draw from a range of concepts and theoretical perspectives to make the case for a framework of social justice in research on adolescence. PMID:27307689

Core Competencies and the Prevention of Adolescent Substance Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haegerich, Tamara M.; Tolan, Patrick H.

2008-01-01

Adolescence is a developmental period during which youth are at increased risk for using substances. An empirical focus on core competencies illustrates that youth are less likely to use substances when they have a positive future orientation, a belief in the ability to resist substances, emotional and behavioral control, sound decision-making…

Individual responsibility and social constraint: the construction of adolescent motherhood in social scientific research.

PubMed

Breheny, Mary; Stephens, Christine

2007-01-01

Research has an important role in the production of knowledge and in shaping dominant social attitudes towards adolescent motherhood. Although adolescent motherhood has been framed as a social problem in social scientific research, recent researchers have attempted to go beyond the focus on disadvantage to suggest that outcomes for adolescent mothers depend upon individual differences and contextual factors related to successful mothering. Social structures have also been considered, and adolescent motherhood has been investigated from the perspective of the mothers themselves. Each of these approaches to researching adolescent motherhood provides a subject position for adolescent mothers with associated potential for both positive and negative impact on their social lives. These implications and the alternatives to individualizing success and discounting social constraint require consideration. Useful strategies could include valuing motherhood regardless of the social and economic position of the mother, and addressing structures which contribute to the exclusion of adolescent mothers from education and economic participation.

The impact of social media on the sexual and social wellness of adolescents.

PubMed

Cookingham, Lisa M; Ryan, Ginny L

2015-02-01

For most adolescents in the United States, the use of social media is an integral part of daily life. While the advent of the Internet has enhanced information dispersal and communication worldwide, it has also had a negative impact on the sexual and social wellness of many of its adolescent users. The objective of this review is to describe the role of social media in the evolution of social norms, to illustrate how online activity can negatively impact adolescent self-esteem and contribute to high-risk adolescent behaviors, to elucidate how this activity can result in real-world consequences with life-long results, and to provide guidance regarding social media use for those who care for adolescents. Although research is now aimed at use of social media for positive health and wellness interventions, much work needs to be done to determine the utility of these programs. Adolescent healthcare providers are important contributors to this new field of study and must resolve to stay informed and to engage this up-and-coming generation on the benefits and risks of social media use. Copyright © 2015 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Study on Social Competence and Temperament of Pre-School Children's

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pekdogan, Serpil; Kanak, Mehmet

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research is to explore the social competence and temperament of 4-6 age group children attending pre-school education institutions, to identify whether their social competence levels vary by gender, and to show the relationship between the sub-dimensions of social competence and those of temperament. The study group consists of…

Social Identity Change: Shifts in Social Identity during Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanti, Chris; Stukas, Arthur A.; Halloran, Michael J.; Foddy, Margaret

2011-01-01

This study investigated the proposition that adolescence involves significant shifts in social identity as a function of changes in social context and cognitive style. Using an experimental design, we primed either peer or gender identity with a sample of 380 early- (12-13 years), mid- (15-16 years), and late-adolescents (18-20 years) and then…

Self-Efficacy Regarding Social Work Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holden, Gary; Barker, Kathleen; Kuppens, Sofie; Rosenberg, Gary

2017-01-01

Purpose: The need for psychometrically sound measurement approaches to social work educational outcomes assessment is increasing. Method: The research reported here describes an original and two replication studies of a new scale (N = 550) designed to assess an individual's self-efficacy regarding social work competencies specified by the Council…

Competence skills help deter smoking among inner city adolescents.

PubMed

Epstein, J A; Griffin, K W; Botvin, G J

2000-03-01

To test whether higher levels of general competence are linked to more frequent use of refusal assertiveness that is in turn related to less subsequent smoking among inner city adolescents. Longitudinal study conducted during three year middle school or junior high school period. A sample of 1459 students attending 22 middle (ages 11-14 years) and junior high (ages 12-15 years) schools in New York City participated. Students completed surveys at baseline, one year follow up, and two year follow up. The students self reported smoking, decision making skills, personal efficacy, and refusal assertiveness. Teams of three to five data collectors administered the questionnaire following a standardised protocol. These data were collected in school during a regular 40 minute class period. Based on the tested structural equation model, decision making and personal efficacy (that is, general competence) predicted higher refusal assertiveness and this greater assertiveness predicted less smoking at the two year follow up. The tested model had a good fit and was parsimonious and consistent with theory. Adolescent smoking prevention programmes often teach refusal skills in order to help youth resist peer pressure to smoke. The present findings suggest that teaching general competence skills as well may help to reduce smoking because youth with better personal efficacy and decision making skills are better able to implement smoking refusal strategies.

Military Social Work as an Exemplar in Teaching Social Work Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daley, James G.; Carlson, Joan; Evans, Pinkie

2015-01-01

This article is for social work educators unfamiliar with military social work and receptive to a number of exemplars to enhance teaching strategies within their courses. Because examples of military social work are directly tied to the Council on Social Work Education competencies, this article offers a number of suggested teaching strategies…

Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence

PubMed Central

Magis-Weinberg, Lucía; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-01-01

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults. PMID:25810453

Social influence on risk perception during adolescence.

PubMed

Knoll, Lisa J; Magis-Weinberg, Lucía; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-05-01

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults. © The Author(s) 2015.

Initial Reliability and Validity of the Perceived Social Competence Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Butcher, Dawn; Iachini, Aidyn L.; Amorose, Anthony J.

2008-01-01

Objective: This study describes the development and validation of a perceived social competence scale that social workers can easily use to assess children's and youth's social competence. Method: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on a calibration and a cross-validation sample of youth. Predictive validity was also…

Associations between Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Competence and Preliteracy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curby, Timothy W.; Brown, Chavaughn A.; Bassett, Hideko Hamada; Denham, Susanne A.

2015-01-01

Identifying and understanding the predictors of preliteracy skills can set the stage for success in a child's academic career. Recent literature has implicated social-emotional competence as a potential component in helping children learn preliteracy skills. To further understand the role of social-emotional competence in preliteracy, the…

Enhancing Social Competence in the Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gooding, Lori

2009-01-01

Strong social skills are vital for successful functioning in life. Social skills can affect academic success, peer relationships, family relationships, employment, and extracurricular and leisure activities. Children and adolescents who display academic, social, and behavioral deficits are at risk for both short-term and long-term negative social…

A model of therapist competencies for the empirically supported interpersonal psychotherapy for adolescent depression.

PubMed

Sburlati, Elizabeth S; Lyneham, Heidi J; Mufson, Laura H; Schniering, Carolyn A

2012-06-01

In order to treat adolescent depression, a number of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) have been developed from both the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A) frameworks. Research has shown that in order for these treatments to be implemented in routine clinical practice (RCP), effective therapist training must be generated and provided. However, before such training can be developed, a good understanding of the therapist competencies needed to implement these ESTs is required. Sburlati et al. (Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 14:89-109, 2011) developed a model of therapist competencies for implementing CBT using the well-established Delphi technique. Given that IPT-A differs considerably to CBT, the current study aims to develop a model of therapist competencies for the implementation of IPT-A using a similar procedure as that applied in Sburlati et al. (Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 14:89-109, 2011). This method involved: (1) identifying and reviewing an empirically supported IPT-A approach, (2) extracting therapist competencies required for the implementation of IPT-A, (3) consulting with a panel of IPT-A experts to generate an overall model of therapist competencies, and (4) validating the overall model with the IPT-A manual author. The resultant model offers an empirically derived set of competencies necessary for effectively treating adolescent depression using IPT-A and has wide implications for the development of therapist training, competence assessment measures, and evidence-based practice guidelines. This model, therefore, provides an empirical framework for the development of dissemination and implementation programs aimed at ensuring that adolescents with depression receive effective care in RCP settings. Key similarities and differences between CBT and IPT-A, and the therapist competencies required for implementing these treatments, are also highlighted throughout this article.

Attempts at Defining Interpersonal Competencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, Leonard L.

This review was intended to identify generic skills in interpersonal relations and to examine the implications of research for attempts to assess these skills. Using a developmental framework, three areas of research were reviewed: the social development of children and adolescents, clinical studies of interpersonal competence, and studies of…

The effects of aerobic exercise on psychosocial functioning of adolescents who are overweight or obese.

PubMed

Goldfield, Gary S; Adamo, Kristi B; Rutherford, Jane; Murray, Marisa

2012-01-01

To evaluate effects of stationary cycling to music versus interactive video game cycling on psychosocial functioning in obese adolescents. 30 obese adolescents aged 12-17 years were randomized to twice weekly laboratory-based sessions of stationary cycling to music or interactive video game cycling for a 10-week trial. Participant's self-reported measures of scholastic competence, social competence, athletic competence, body image, and self-esteem were obtained. Aerobic fitness and body composition were directly measured. Although no differences emerged between exercise groups over time, when collapsed across exercise modality, significant pre-post improvements were found for body image, perceived scholastic competence and social competence. Changes in aerobic fitness, but not body composition, were positively associated with psychosocial functioning. Aerobic exercise was associated with improvements in body image, perceived academic performance, and social competence in obese adolescents, and these psychological benefits were related to improved aerobic fitness but not changes in body composition.

Decision-Making Competence, Social Orientation, Time Style, and Perceived Stress.

PubMed

Geisler, Martin; Allwood, Carl Martin

2018-01-01

Peoples' decision-making competence, defined as tendency to follow normative rational principles in their decision making, is important as it may influence the extent that requirements are met and levels of perceived stress. In addition, perceived stress could be influenced by social orientation and time style; for example, decisions need to comply with given deadlines and the expectations of others. In two studies, with students ( n = 118) and professionals (police investigators, n = 90), we examined how the three individual difference features: decision-making competence, social orientation, and time approach relate to perceived stress. Results showed that social orientation and time approach were related to levels of perceived stress, but decision-making competence was not. These results indicate that social orientation and time approach are important to consider in relation to perceived stress, but the role of decision-making competence may be less important for perceived stress. However, the role of decision-making competence for perceived stress needs to be further researched.

Decision-Making Competence, Social Orientation, Time Style, and Perceived Stress

PubMed Central

Geisler, Martin; Allwood, Carl Martin

2018-01-01

Peoples’ decision-making competence, defined as tendency to follow normative rational principles in their decision making, is important as it may influence the extent that requirements are met and levels of perceived stress. In addition, perceived stress could be influenced by social orientation and time style; for example, decisions need to comply with given deadlines and the expectations of others. In two studies, with students (n = 118) and professionals (police investigators, n = 90), we examined how the three individual difference features: decision-making competence, social orientation, and time approach relate to perceived stress. Results showed that social orientation and time approach were related to levels of perceived stress, but decision-making competence was not. These results indicate that social orientation and time approach are important to consider in relation to perceived stress, but the role of decision-making competence may be less important for perceived stress. However, the role of decision-making competence for perceived stress needs to be further researched. PMID:29686634

Reliability of Direct Behavior Ratings - Social Competence (DBR-SC) data: How many ratings are necessary?

PubMed

Kilgus, Stephen P; Riley-Tillman, T Chris; Stichter, Janine P; Schoemann, Alexander M; Bellesheim, Katie

2016-09-01

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the reliability of Direct Behavior Ratings-Social Competence (DBR-SC) ratings. Participants included 60 students identified as possessing deficits in social competence, as well as their 23 classroom teachers. Teachers used DBR-SC to complete ratings of 5 student behaviors within the general education setting on a daily basis across approximately 5 months. During this time, each student was assigned to 1 of 2 intervention conditions, including the Social Competence Intervention-Adolescent (SCI-A) and a business-as-usual (BAU) intervention. Ratings were collected across 3 intervention phases, including pre-, mid-, and postintervention. Results suggested DBR-SC ratings were highly consistent across time within each student, with reliability coefficients predominantly falling in the .80 and .90 ranges. Findings further indicated such levels of reliability could be achieved with only a small number of ratings, with estimates varying between 2 and 10 data points. Group comparison analyses further suggested the reliability of DBR-SC ratings increased over time, such that student behavior became more consistent throughout the intervention period. Furthermore, analyses revealed that for 2 of the 5 DBR-SC behavior targets, the increase in reliability over time was moderated by intervention grouping, with students receiving SCI-A demonstrating greater increases in reliability relative to those in the BAU group. Limitations of the investigation as well as directions for future research are discussed herein. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A developmental social neuroscience model for understanding loneliness in adolescence.

PubMed

Wong, Nichol M L; Yeung, Patcy P S; Lee, Tatia M C

2018-02-01

Loneliness is prevalent in adolescents. Although it can be a normative experience, children and adolescents who experience loneliness are often at risk for anxiety, depression, and suicide. Research efforts have been made to identify the neurobiological basis of such distressful feelings in our social brain. In adolescents, the social brain is still undergoing significant development, which may contribute to their increased and differential sensitivity to the social environment. Many behavioral studies have shown the significance of attachment security and social skills in adolescents' interactions with the social world. In this review, we propose a developmental social neuroscience model that extends from the social neuroscience model of loneliness. In particular, we argue that the social brain and social skills are both important for the development of adolescents' perceived loneliness and that adolescents' familial attachment sets the baseline for neurobiological development. By reviewing the related behavioral and neuroimaging literature, we propose a developmental social neuroscience model to explain the heightened perception of loneliness in adolescents using social skills and attachment style as neurobiological moderators. We encourage future researchers to investigate adolescents' perceived social connectedness from the developmental neuroscience perspective.

The Case for the Perceived Social Competence Scale II

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Butcher, Dawn; Amorose, Anthony J.; Lower, Leeann M.; Riley, Allison; Gibson, Allison; Ruch, Donna

2016-01-01

Objective: This study examines the psychometric properties of the revised Perceived Social Competence Scale (PSCS), a brief, user-friendly tool used to assess social competence among youth. Method: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) examined the factor structure and invariance of an enhanced scale (PSCS-II), among a sample of 420 youth.…

Unified Model for Academic Competence, Social Adjustment, and Psychopathology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaefer, Earl S.; And Others

A unified conceptual model is needed to integrate the extensive research on (1) social competence and adaptive behavior, (2) converging conceptualizations of social adjustment and psychopathology, and (3) emerging concepts and measures of academic competence. To develop such a model, a study was conducted in which teacher ratings were collected on…

Peer Exclusion During the Pubertal Transition: The Role of Social Competence.

PubMed

Carter, Rona; Halawah, Amira; Trinh, Sarah L

2018-01-01

For some youth, early puberty is accompanied by peer exclusion. Yet early developers may experience less peer exclusion if they have social competence, which would bolster their ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with their peers. Accordingly, the present study tests whether pubertal timing and tempo predicts decrements in children's social competence and whether decrements in social competence account for associations between puberty (timing and tempo) and peer exclusion over time. Longitudinal data were drawn from 1364 families (48% female; 76% White; M = 9.32 years, SD = .48, at Wave 3) who participated in Waves 3-5 (i.e., grades 4-6) of Phase III of the NICHD-SECCYD. The results from latent growth curve models indicated that earlier pubertal timing and more rapid pubertal tempo among girls were associated with high initial levels of peer exclusion. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that early developers' susceptibility to peer exclusion was associated with their initial level of social competence. In boys, pubertal timing and tempo were not directly associated with peer exclusion; instead, indirect effects of pubertal timing on peer exclusion (intercept, slope) occurred through initial levels of social competence. On average, early developers' who had low levels of social competence also had high initial levels of peer exclusion but experienced decrements in peer exclusion over time. The association between the intercepts for puberty and peer exclusion and the slopes for social competence and peer exclusion were stronger for boys than girls. Overall, our findings suggest that early developers' susceptibility to and experiences of peer exclusion are associated with their development of social competence.

Key Competencies: Social Studies, Secondary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philadelphia School District, PA. Office of Curriculum and Instruction.

Specific competencies are outlined for social studies education in grades seven through 12 in the Philadelphia school system. The focus of social studies education is seen to be the transmission of knowledge and inculcation of skills and attitudes essential for good citizenship in an interdependent world. Five areas which contribute to good…

Cultural Integrity and Social and Emotional Competence Promotion: Work Notes on Moral Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jagers, Robert J.

2001-01-01

Describes evolving efforts to promote African American children's social and emotional competencies, examining moral competence. Proposes a cultural psychology framework to highlight the theme of communalism and morality of care. Identifies various moral events, offering knowledge of moral emotions and moral self-efficacy as key constructs.…

An Initial Investigation of the Generalization of a School-Based Social Competence Intervention for Youth with High-Functioning Autism

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Carla; Stichter, Janine P.; Lierheimer, Kristin; McGhee, Stephanie; O'Connor, Karen V.

2011-01-01

This study evaluated the impact of generalization of the Social Competence Intervention-Adolescent (SCI-A) curriculum in a school setting for individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome (N = 6). This study examined to what degree the generalization of the SCI-A curriculum could be measured when delivered in a school setting. Across the six participants preliminary results suggest improvement on teacher reports of social skills and executive functioning. Some improvements were also evident in direct measures of facial-expression recognition. Data collected in the nonintervention settings indicated that some generalization of social interaction skills may have occurred for all six participants. Future research directions are discussed. PMID:22937252

Tipping points in adolescent adjustment: predicting social functioning from adolescents' conflict with parents and friends.

PubMed

Ehrlich, Katherine B; Dykas, Matthew J; Cassidy, Jude

2012-10-01

Despite widespread interest in examining the role of conflict for adolescent development, researchers only rarely have examined adolescents' experiences of conflict across relationships. The present study examined how adolescents' experiences of conflict with parents and friends were linked to their social functioning. Adolescents (n = 189) and their mothers and fathers participated in semistructured discussions about areas of parent-adolescent conflict in the laboratory. In addition, adolescents reported about conflict in their best friendships, and peers reported about adolescents' social acceptance and behavior in social settings. Parent-adolescent conflict was associated with peer-reported aggression and delinquency, and friendship conflict was associated with delinquency and prosocial behavior. In addition, significant Parent-Adolescent Conflict × Friend-Adolescent Conflict interactions revealed that parent-adolescent conflict was associated with poor social functioning only when conflict with best friends was also high. The findings suggest that consideration of conflict across relationships may yield insight into the specific contexts in which conflict is associated with negative outcomes for adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Social cognitive development during adolescence

PubMed Central

Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne; Charman, Tony

2006-01-01

Social relationships are particularly important during adolescence. In recent years, histological and MRI studies have shown that the brain is subject to considerable structural development during adolescence. Brain regions that are implicated in social cognition, including parts of prefrontal, parietal and superior temporal cortex, undergo the most pronounced and prolonged change. However, the development of social cognition during adolescence and its neural underpinnings remains poorly understood. Here, we begin by outlining how the brain changes between childhood and adulthood. We then describe findings that have emerged from behavioural and neuroimaging studies of the recognition of facial expression during adolescence. Finally, we present new data that demonstrate development of emotional perspective taking during adolescence. In this study, 112 participants, aged 8–36 years, performed a computerised task that involved taking an emotional perspective either from the participant's own point of view or from that of another person. The results showed that average difference in reaction time (RT) to answer questions in the first person perspective (1PP) and third person perspective (3PP) significantly decreased with age. The RT difference of adults tended to cluster close to the zero line (3PP = 1PP), while a greater proportion of pre-adolescents had higher difference values in both the positive (3PP > 1PP) and negative direction (1PP > 3PP) of the scale. The data suggest that the efficiency, and possibly strategy, of perspective taking develop in parallel with brain maturation and psychosocial development during adolescence. PMID:18985103

Depressed adolescents' positive and negative use of social media.

PubMed

Radovic, Ana; Gmelin, Theresa; Stein, Bradley D; Miller, Elizabeth

2017-02-01

This qualitative study examined descriptions of social media use among 23 adolescents (18 female, 5 male) who were diagnosed with depression to explore how social media use may influence and be influenced by psychological distress. Adolescents described both positive and negative use of social media. Positive use included searching for positive content (i.e. for entertainment, humor, content creation) or for social connection. Negative use included sharing risky behaviors, cyberbullying, and for making self-denigrating comparisons with others. Adolescents described three types of use in further detail including "oversharing" (sharing updates at a high frequency or too much personal information), "stressed posting" (sharing negative updates with a social network), and encountering "triggering posts." In the context of treatment, these adolescents shifted their social media use patterns from what they perceived as negative to more positive use. Implications for clinicians counseling depressed adolescents on social media use are discussed. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developmental cascades: Externalizing, internalizing, and academic competence from middle childhood to early adolescence

PubMed Central

Moilanen, Kristin L.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Maxwell, Kari L.

2011-01-01

The current study was initiated to increase understanding of developmental cascades in childhood in a sample of at-risk boys (N = 291; 52% White). Mothers, teachers, and boys reported on boys’ externalizing problems, internalizing difficulties, and academic competence. Consistent with hypotheses regarding school-related transitions, high levels of externalizing problems were associated with both low levels of academic competence and high levels of internalizing problems during the early school-age period, and with elevations in internalizing problems during the transition to adolescence. Low levels of academic competence were associated with high levels of internalizing problems in middle childhood, and with high levels of externalizing problems during the transition from elementary school to middle school. Shared risk factors played a minimal role in these developmental cascades. Results suggest that there are cascading effects of externalizing problems and academic competence in childhood and early adolescence, and that some cascading effects are more likely to occur during periods of school-related transitions. Implications of developmental cascade effects for research and intervention are discussed. PMID:20576184

Brief Report: Associations between Emotional Competence and Adolescent Risky Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hessler, Danielle M.; Katz, Lynn Fainsilber

2010-01-01

The current study examines associations between emotional competence (i.e., awareness, regulation, comfort with expression) and adolescent risky behavior. Children from a longitudinal study participated at age 9 and 16 (N = 88). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children about their emotional experiences and coded for areas of…

Competing opinion diffusion on social networks.

PubMed

Hu, Haibo

2017-11-01

Opinion competition is a common phenomenon in real life, such as with opinions on controversial issues or political candidates; however, modelling this competition remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap, we propose a model of competing opinion diffusion on social networks taking into account degree-dependent fitness or persuasiveness. We study the combined influence of social networks, individual fitnesses and attributes, as well as mass media on people's opinions, and find that both social networks and mass media act as amplifiers in opinion diffusion, the amplifying effect of which can be quantitatively characterized. We analytically obtain the probability that each opinion will ultimately pervade the whole society when there are no committed people in networks, and the final proportion of each opinion at the steady state when there are committed people in networks. The results of numerical simulations show good agreement with those obtained through an analytical approach. This study provides insight into the collective influence of individual attributes, local social networks and global media on opinion diffusion, and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of competing diffusion behaviours in the real world.

Navigating the obesogenic environment: how psychological sensitivity to the food environment and self-regulatory competence are associated with adolescent unhealthy snacking.

PubMed

Stok, F Marijn; De Vet, Emely; Wardle, Jane; Chu, Maria T; De Wit, John; De Ridder, Denise T D

2015-04-01

Living in an obesogenic environment may not affect all adolescents to the same extent, depending on their psychological sensitivity to the food environment and their self-regulatory competence. The purpose of the current study was to examine associations of these two factors with unhealthy snacking among adolescents. We also investigated whether self-regulatory competence could attenuate the negative effects of being sensitive to the food environment. A survey was completed by 11,392 European adolescents (10-17years old). The survey measured psychological sensitivity to the food environment, self-regulatory competence and self-reported unhealthy snack intake. Higher food environment sensitivity and lower self-regulatory competence were associated with more unhealthy snacking. The two factors also interacted, with self-regulatory competence attenuating the influence of high food environment sensitivity. Adolescents who are sensitive to the food environment reported higher unhealthy snack intake. More frequent use of self-regulation strategies on the other hand was associated with lower unhealthy snack intake. Moreover, self-regulatory competence was found to moderate the influence of psychological sensitivity to the food environment on unhealthy snacking, although the effect size was small. Fostering adolescents' self-regulatory competence can help enable them to better navigate the obesogenic environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Adolescent Social Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loeb, Emily; Hessel, Elenda T.; Allen, Joseph

2016-01-01

Adolescents' negative social expectations of their peers were examined as long-term predictors of problematic self-reported social functioning. Early adolescent negative expectations were hypothesized to predict risk-averse functioning in late adolescence that would ultimately contribute to confirmation of those expectations. Utilizing…

Internalizing, social competence, and substance initiation: influence of gender moderation and a preventive intervention.

PubMed

Lillehoj, Catherine J; Trudeau, Linda; Spoth, Richard; Wickrama, K A S

2004-05-01

Using latent growth curve modeling, the current study investigated gender moderation of the longitudinal pathways from internalizing to both social competency (i.e., social assertiveness) and the initiation of substance use (i.e., tobacco, alcohol, marijuana), as well as the effect of a preventive intervention on that process. Rural Midwestern adolescents who were participating in a school-based preventive intervention study were an average of 12.3 years old at the pretest assessment conducted in 1998. A latent growth curve comparison analysis found that internalizing was related inversely to initial levels of social assertiveness skill among girls; further, internalizing was related positively to substance use initiation growth trajectories among girls. Girls who participated in the preventive intervention demonstrated a slower increase over time in substance use initiation and a faster increase in social assertiveness. Gender moderation of the impact of internalizing and social assertiveness on substance use initiation and response to the intervention, as well as the utility of latent growth curve modeling in the study of longitudinal change, are discussed.

The Role of Socialization, Effortful Control, and Ego Resiliency in French Adolescents' Social Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofer, Claire; Eisenberg, Nancy; Reiser, Mark

2010-01-01

The relations among effortful control, ego resiliency, socialization, and social functioning were examined with a sample of 182 French adolescents (14-20 years old). Adolescents, their parents, and/or teachers completed questionnaires on these constructs. Effortful control and ego resiliency were correlated with adolescents' social functioning,…

Ontology-Based Approach to Social Data Sentiment Analysis: Detection of Adolescent Depression Signals.

PubMed

Jung, Hyesil; Park, Hyeoun-Ae; Song, Tae-Min

2017-07-24

Social networking services (SNSs) contain abundant information about the feelings, thoughts, interests, and patterns of behavior of adolescents that can be obtained by analyzing SNS postings. An ontology that expresses the shared concepts and their relationships in a specific field could be used as a semantic framework for social media data analytics. The aim of this study was to refine an adolescent depression ontology and terminology as a framework for analyzing social media data and to evaluate description logics between classes and the applicability of this ontology to sentiment analysis. The domain and scope of the ontology were defined using competency questions. The concepts constituting the ontology and terminology were collected from clinical practice guidelines, the literature, and social media postings on adolescent depression. Class concepts, their hierarchy, and the relationships among class concepts were defined. An internal structure of the ontology was designed using the entity-attribute-value (EAV) triplet data model, and superclasses of the ontology were aligned with the upper ontology. Description logics between classes were evaluated by mapping concepts extracted from the answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) onto the ontology concepts derived from description logic queries. The applicability of the ontology was validated by examining the representability of 1358 sentiment phrases using the ontology EAV model and conducting sentiment analyses of social media data using ontology class concepts. We developed an adolescent depression ontology that comprised 443 classes and 60 relationships among the classes; the terminology comprised 1682 synonyms of the 443 classes. In the description logics test, no error in relationships between classes was found, and about 89% (55/62) of the concepts cited in the answers to FAQs mapped onto the ontology class. Regarding applicability, the EAV triplet models of the ontology class represented about 91

Social connectedness, mental health and the adolescent brain.

PubMed

Lamblin, M; Murawski, C; Whittle, S; Fornito, A

2017-09-01

Social relationships promote health and wellbeing. Brain regions regulating social behavior continue to develop throughout adolescence, as teens learn to navigate their social environment with increasing sophistication. Adolescence is also a time of increased risk for the development of psychiatric disorders, many of which are characteristically associated with social dysfunction. In this review, we consider the links between adolescent brain development and the broader social environment. We examine evidence that individual differences in social ability, partly determined by genetic influences on brain structure and function, impact the quality and quantity of social ties during adolescence and that, conversely, the structure of one's social network exerts complex yet profound influences on individual behavior and mental health. In this way, the brain and social environment sculpt each other throughout the teenage years to influence one's social standing amongst peers. Reciprocal interactions between brain maturation and the social environment at this critical developmental stage may augment risk or promote resilience for mental illness and other health outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children's negative emotions and ego-resiliency: longitudinal relations with social competence.

PubMed

Taylor, Zoe E; Eisenberg, Nancy; VanSchyndel, Sarah K; Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D; Spinrad, Tracy L

2014-04-01

We examined the relations of negative emotions in toddlerhood to the development of ego-resiliency and social competence across early childhood. Specifically, we addressed whether fear and anger/frustration in 30-month-old children (N = 213) was associated with the development of ego-resiliency across 4 time points (42 to 84 months), and, in turn, whether ego-resiliency predicted social competence at 84 months. Child anger/frustration negatively predicted the intercept of ego-resiliency at 42 months (controlling for prior ego-resiliency at 18 months) as well as the slope. Fear did not significantly predict either the intercept or slope of ego-resiliency in the structural model, although it was positively correlated with anger/frustration and was negatively related to ego-resiliency in zero-order correlations. The slope of ego-resiliency was positively related to children's social competence at 84 months; however, the intercept of ego-resiliency (set at 42 months) was not a significant predictor of later social competence. Furthermore, the slope of ego-resiliency mediated the relations between anger/frustration and children's later social competence. The results suggest that individual differences in anger/frustration might contribute to the development of ego-resiliency, which, in turn, is associated with children's social competence.

Developmental Pathways Linking Externalizing Symptoms, Internalizing Symptoms, and Academic Competence to Adolescent Substance Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Englund, Michelle M.; Siebenbruner, Jessica

2012-01-01

This study extends previous research investigating the developmental pathways predicting adolescent alcohol and marijuana use by examining the cascading effects of externalizing and internalizing symptoms and academic competence in the prediction of use and level of use of these substances in adolescence. Participants (N = 191) were drawn from a…

Treatment Adherence, Competence, and Outcome in Individual and Family Therapy for Adolescent Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogue, Aaron; Henderson, Craig E.; Dauber, Sarah; Barajas, Priscilla C.; Fried, Adam; Liddle, Howard A.

2008-01-01

This study examined the impact of treatment adherence and therapist competence on treatment outcome in a controlled trial of individual cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) for adolescent substance use and related behavior problems. Participants included 136 adolescents (62 CBT, 74 MDFT) assessed at intake,…

I'll show them: the social construction of (in)competence in survivors of childhood brain tumors.

PubMed

Boydell, Katherine M; Stasiulis, Elaine; Greenberg, Mark; Greenberg, Corin; Spiegler, Brenda

2008-01-01

Multimodal therapy for the treatment of childhood cancer has resulted in increased survival rates, yet as growing cohorts of children mature, late effects are becoming apparent. Specifically, brain tumor survivors tend to have poor social skills, peer relationship problems, academic difficulties, and delayed college entry. This article addresses findings specific to the unique experience of childhood cancer survivors as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. Qualitative methods involving focus groups and in-depth interviews with 14 childhood cancer survivors and 22 family members were used. The dialectic of incompetence/competence pervaded all narratives. Contradictory concepts of integration/ isolation, realistic/unrealistic goals, and the need for special help/no help were underscored by respondents. The struggle to deal with these contradictory factors led to the simultaneous resistance and acceptance of feelings of competence.

Are the discrepancies between self- and others' appraisals of competence predictive or reflective of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: a longitudinal study, Part II.

PubMed

Hoffman, K B; Cole, D A; Martin, J M; Tram, J; Seroczynski, A D

2000-11-01

Two cohorts of children and adolescents (who started 6th grade in 1993 and 1996), parents, teachers, and peers participated in a 4-wave, 2-year, longitudinal study of perceived competence and depressive symptoms. The authors assessed children's tendencies to underestimate their competence (discrepant self-appraisals) relative to the appraisals of significant others. We also assessed the degree to which self-appraisals reflected the evaluations of others (reflective self-appraisals). Domains of competence were academic competence, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, social acceptance, and athletic competence. Cross-sectional analyses indicated that depressive symptoms correlated with reflective and discrepant self-appraisals. Longitudinal analyses revealed that reflective and discrepant self-appraisals predicted subsequent depressive symptoms and that depressive symptoms predicted discrepant but not reflective self-appraisals. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Assessing the Impact of Homophobic Name Calling on Early Adolescent Mental Health: A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis of Competing Peer Influence Effects.

PubMed

DeLay, Dawn; Hanish, Laura D; Zhang, Linlin; Martin, Carol Lynn

2017-05-01

The goal of the current study was to improve our understanding of why adolescence is a critical period for the consideration of declining mental health. We did this by focusing on the impact of homophobic name calling on early adolescent mental health after the transition to middle school. Because we know that homophobic name calling emerges within a dynamic peer group structure, we used longitudinal social network analysis to assess the relation between homophobic name calling, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem while simultaneously limiting bias from alternative peer socialization mechanisms. A sample of adolescents who recently transitioned to a large public middle school (N = 299; 53 % girls; M age  = 11.13 years, SD = 0.48) were assessed. Longitudinal assessments of peer relationship networks, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem were collected during the fall and spring of the academic year. The results suggest that, after accounting for the simultaneous effect of alternative peer socialization processes, adolescent experiences of homophobic name calling in the fall predict higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of self-esteem over the course of the academic year. These findings provide evidence of a significant influence of homophobic name calling on adolescent mental health.

Friendship quality, social preference, proximity prestige, and self-perceived social competence: interactive influences on children's loneliness.

PubMed

Zhang, Fengjuan; You, Zhiqi; Fan, Cuiying; Gao, Chuang; Cohen, Robert; Hsueh, Yeh; Zhou, Zongkui

2014-10-01

The purpose of this study was to test an integrative model in which peer relations at different levels of social complexity (friendship quality, social preference, and proximity prestige) are associated with children's loneliness, with children's self-perceived social competence acting as a mediator of these associations. A middle childhood sample of 509 Chinese children (233 girls and 276 boys; 3rd to 6th grade) completed a battery of sociometric and self-report questionnaires. Bootstrap analysis showed that self-perceived social competence mediated the relations between each peer variable and loneliness. In the integrative model tested with SEM, the mediating effect of self-perceived social competence in the relation between friendship quality and loneliness and between social preference and loneliness remained significant. However, self-perceived social competence no longer mediated the association between proximity prestige and loneliness, when considering the simultaneous influences of the three peer variables (friendship quality, social preference, and proximity prestige). The whole model accounted for 56% of the variance in loneliness. These findings suggest that self-perceived social competence played an important role in children's loneliness, that the quality and the quantity of direct peer relations (friendship quality, social preference, and part of proximity prestige) were associated with loneliness, and that indirect friends had a relatively lower but significant influence on children's loneliness. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for preventing children's loneliness. Copyright © 2014 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-perceived competence and social acceptance of young children who stutter: Initial findings.

PubMed

Hertsberg, Naomi; Zebrowski, Patricia M

The goals of this study were to determine whether young children who stutter (CWS) perceive their own competence and social acceptance differently than young children who do not stutter (CWNS), and to identify the predictors of perceived competence and social acceptance in young speakers. We administered the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSA; Harter & Pike, 1984) to 13 CWS and 14 CWNS and examined group differences. We also collected information on the children's genders, temperaments, stuttering frequencies, language abilities, and phonological skills to identify which of these factors predicted PSPCSA scores. CWS, as a group, did not differ from CWNS in their perceived general competence or social acceptance. Gender predicted scores of perceived general competence, and stuttering frequency predicted perceived social acceptance. Temperament, language abilities, and phonological skills were not significant predictors of perceived competence or social acceptance in our sample. While CWS did not significantly differ from CWNS in terms of perceived competence and social acceptance, when both talker groups were considered together, girls self-reported greater perceived competence than boys. Further, lower stuttering frequency was associated with greater perceived social acceptance. These preliminary findings provide motivation for further empirical study of the psychosocial components of childhood stuttering. Readers will be able to describe the constructs of perceived competence and social acceptance in young children, and whether early stuttering plays a role in the development of these constructs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance of Young Children Who Stutter: Initial Findings

PubMed Central

Hertsberg, Naomi; Zebrowski, Patricia M.

2016-01-01

Purpose The goals of this study were to determine whether young children who stutter (CWS) perceive their own competence and social acceptance differently than young children who do not stutter (CWNS), and to identify the predictors of perceived competence and social acceptance in young speakers. Method We administered the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSA; Harter & Pike, 1984) to 13 CWS and 14 CWNS and examined group differences. We also collected information on the children's genders, temperaments, stuttering frequencies, language abilities, and phonological skills to identify which of these factors predicted PSPCSA scores. Results CWS, as a group, did not differ from CWNS in their perceived general competence or social acceptance. Gender predicted scores of perceived general competence, and stuttering frequency predicted perceived social acceptance. Temperament, language abilities, and phonological skills were not significant predictors of perceived competence or social acceptance in our sample. Conclusions While CWS did not significantly differ from CWNS in terms of perceived competence and social acceptance, when both talker groups were considered together, girls self-reported greater perceived competence than boys. Further, lower stuttering frequency was associated with greater perceived social acceptance. These preliminary findings provide motivation for further empirical study of the psychosocial components of childhood stuttering. PMID:27614314

Social Phobia as a Predictor of Social Competence Perceived by Teenagers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ates, Bünyamin

2016-01-01

In this research, it was analyzed to what extent the variables of social avoidance, concern for being criticized and sense of individual worthlessness as sub-dimensions of social phobia predicted the perceived social competence levels of teenagers. The study group of this study included totally 648 students including 301 (46.5%) female and 347…

[Social inequalities in adolescent depression: social support and optimism as mediators?].

PubMed

Pikó, Bettina; Luszczynska, Alekszandra

2010-01-01

A number of studies have demonstrated that socioeconomic inequalities have profound effects on health status. The relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and health status, however, does not appear to be consistent across the life cycle and during adolescence and young adulthood fewer inequalities are detected in mortality and morbidity. However, social inequalities in psychological health and mental disorders are much higher in occurrence. Thus it is important to further investigate possible influences and mediators in adolescent mental health. This study examines the role of perceived parental social support and optimism in understanding the relationship between adolescent depression and SES. Data were collected in a sample of Hungarian high school students (N = 881; aged between 14-20 years) in Szeged, Hungary. Using Structural Equation Modeling we examined associations between objective SES, subjective SES, parental support, optimism (LOT), depression (CDI), and self-perceived health (SPH). Findings suggest: 1.SES variables may generate social inequalities in adolescent health (namely, depression and self-perceived health) through parental social support; and 2. Social inequalities in adolescent health may be explained by differences in parents' resources (both in terms of material, emotional, or security aspects) which provide youth with social support that may strengthen optimism during the socialization process. Results seem to suggest that experts in mental health promotion might want to take into account socioeconomic differences in attitudes and coping skills which may influence psychosocial adjustment and health among youth. While parents from lower social classes may lack the necessary material and psychosocial resources, therapy sessions and special programs could contribute to strengthening certain attitudes (such as optimism) and thus lowering social inequalities in health later in adulthood.

The Contribution of Inhibitory Control to Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhoades, Brittany L.; Greenberg, Mark T.; Domitrovich, Celene E.

2009-01-01

Social-emotional competence is a key developmental task during early childhood. This study examined concurrent relationships between maternal education and employment status, children's sex, ethnicity, age, receptive vocabulary, emotional knowledge, attention skills, inhibitory control and social-emotional competence in a sample of 146 preschool,…

Impact of Violent Video Games on the Social Behaviors of Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Emotional Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

You, Sukkyung; Kim, Euikyung; No, Unkyung

2015-01-01

Recently, research studies and media have reported on the detrimental effects violent video games have on the social behaviors of adolescents. For example, previous studies have found that playing video games is positively associated with aggressive behaviors and negatively associated with prosocial behaviors. However, very few studies have…

"She Was a Little Social Butterfly": A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Perception of Social Functioning in Adolescent and Young Adult Brain Tumor Survivors.

PubMed

Wilford, Justin; Buchbinder, David; Fortier, Michelle A; Osann, Kathryn; Shen, Violet; Torno, Lilibeth; Sender, Leonard S; Parsons, Susan K; Wenzel, Lari

Psychosocial sequelae of diagnosis and treatment for childhood brain tumor survivors are significant, yet little is known about their impact on adolescent and young adult (AYA) brain tumor survivors. Interviews were conducted with parents of AYA brain tumor survivors with a focus on social functioning. Semistructured interviews were conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking parents of AYA brain tumor survivors ≥10 years of age who were >2 years postdiagnosis, and analyzed using emergent themes theoretically integrated with a social neuroscience model of social competence. Twenty parents representing 19 survivors with a survivor mean age 15.7 ± 3.3 years and 10.1 ± 4.8 years postdiagnosis were interviewed. Several themes relevant to the social neuroscience social competence model emerged. First, parents' perceptions of their children's impaired social functioning corroborated the model, particularly with regard to poor social adjustment, social withdrawal, impaired social information processing, and developmentally inappropriate peer communication. Second, ongoing physical and emotional sequelae of central nervous system insults were seen by parents as adversely affecting social functioning among survivors. Third, a disrupted family environment and ongoing parent psychosocial distress were experienced as salient features of daily life. We document that the aforementioned framework is useful for understanding the social impact of diagnosis and treatment on AYA brain tumor survivorship. Moreover, the framework highlights areas of intervention that may enhance social functioning for AYA brain tumor survivors.

Career Practitioners' Conceptions of Competency for Social Media in Career Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettunen, Jaana; Sampson, James P., Jr.; Vuorinen, Raimo

2015-01-01

This article reports findings from a phenomenographic investigation into career practitioners' understanding of competency for social media in career services. Sixteen Danish and Finnish practitioners with experience using social media in career services were interviewed in focus groups. Competency for social media in career services was conceived…

Social support and social network as intermediary social determinants of dental caries in adolescents.

PubMed

Fontanini, Humberto; Marshman, Zoe; Vettore, Mario

2015-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between intermediary social determinants, namely social support and social network with dental caries in adolescents. An adapted version of the WHO social determinants of health conceptual framework was used to organize structural and intermediary social determinants of dental caries into six blocks including perceived social support and number of social networks. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample of 542 students between 12 and 14 years of age in public schools located in the city of Dourados, Brazil in 2012. The outcome variables were caries experience (DMFT ≥ 1) and current dental caries (component D of DMFT ≥ 1) recorded by a calibrated dentist. Individual interviews were performed to collect data on perceived social support and numbers of social networks from family and friends and covariates. Multivariate Poisson regressions using hierarchical models were conducted. The prevalence of adolescents with caries experience and current dental caries was 55.2% and 32.1%, respectively. Adolescents with low numbers of social networks and low levels of social support from family (PR 1.47; 95% CI = 1.01-2.14) were more likely to have DMFT ≥ 1. Current dental caries was associated with low numbers of social networks and low levels of social support from family (PR 2.26; 95% CI = 1.15-4.44). Social support and social network were influential psychosocial factors to dental caries in adolescents. This finding requires confirmation in other countries but potentially has implications for programmes to promote oral health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bidirectional Associations Among Sensitive Parenting, Language Development, and Social Competence

PubMed Central

Barnett, Melissa A.; Gustafsson, Hanna; Deng, Min; Mills-Koonce, W. Roger; Cox, Martha

2014-01-01

Rapid changes in language skills and social competence, both of which are linked to sensitive parenting, characterize early childhood. The present study examines bidirectional associations among mothers’ sensitive parenting and children’s language skills and social competence from 24 to 36 months in a community sample of 174 families. In addition, this study examines how these developmental pathways vary by child sex. Findings indicate stability across time in sensitive parenting, expressive language skills, and social competence, as well as positive main effects of sensitive parenting on expressive and receptive language skills for girls and boys. We find mixed evidence over time of reciprocal links between social competence and sensitive parenting. Further, boys’ receptive language skills at 24 months uniquely contribute to increases in mothers’ observed sensitive parenting from 24 to 36 months. These findings highlight the utility of applying transactional frameworks to the study of sex-based differences in early developmental processes. PMID:25126021

Benefits and Costs of Social Media in Adolescence.

PubMed

Uhls, Yalda T; Ellison, Nicole B; Subrahmanyam, Kaveri

2017-11-01

In 2015, American adolescents aged 13 to 18 years reported using social media 1 hour and 11 minutes a day, 7 days a week. Social media are used for a variety of activities, including sharing information, interacting with peers, and developing a coherent identity. In this review of the research, we examine how social media are intertwined with adolescent development and assess both the costs and benefits of adolescent social media use. We include suggestions for further research and recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and educators. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Competing opinion diffusion on social networks

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Opinion competition is a common phenomenon in real life, such as with opinions on controversial issues or political candidates; however, modelling this competition remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap, we propose a model of competing opinion diffusion on social networks taking into account degree-dependent fitness or persuasiveness. We study the combined influence of social networks, individual fitnesses and attributes, as well as mass media on people’s opinions, and find that both social networks and mass media act as amplifiers in opinion diffusion, the amplifying effect of which can be quantitatively characterized. We analytically obtain the probability that each opinion will ultimately pervade the whole society when there are no committed people in networks, and the final proportion of each opinion at the steady state when there are committed people in networks. The results of numerical simulations show good agreement with those obtained through an analytical approach. This study provides insight into the collective influence of individual attributes, local social networks and global media on opinion diffusion, and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of competing diffusion behaviours in the real world. PMID:29291101

LGBT-Competence in Social Work Education: The Relationship of School Factors to Professional Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarty-Caplan, David

2015-01-01

Background: In recent years, social work has become increasingly concerned with efforts to produce professionals capable of effectively supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients. Research examining LGBT-competence in social work remains limited, however, because it often neglects to address the role social work education…

Social information influences trust behaviour in adolescents.

PubMed

Lee, Nikki C; Jolles, Jelle; Krabbendam, Lydia

2016-01-01

Trust plays an integral role in daily interactions within adolescents' social environment. Using a trust game paradigm, this study investigated the modulating influence of social information about three interaction partners on trust behaviour in adolescents aged 12-18 (N = 845). After receiving information about their interaction partners prior to the task, participants were most likely to share with a 'good' partner and rate this partner as most trustworthy. Over the course of the task all interaction partners showed similar levels of trustworthy behaviour, but overall participants continued to trust and view the good partner as more trustworthy than 'bad' and 'neutral' partners throughout the game. However, with age the ability to overcome prior social information and adapt trust behaviour improved: middle and late adolescents showed a larger decrease in trust of the good partner than early adolescents, and late adolescents were more likely to reward trustworthy behaviour from the negative partner. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Collaborative Musical Theater on the Development of Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Aldeguer, Santiago

2013-01-01

Introduction: This study analyzes the social competence of university students of the Music Education Teaching Degree through variables group climate, team cohesion and social skills. The need to develop good social competence was the basis to implement a project based on the musical theater applied according to the collaborative learning…

Neural mechanisms of social influence in adolescence

PubMed Central

Welborn, B. Locke; Lieberman, Matthew D.; Goldenberg, Diane; Fuligni, Andrew J.; Galván, Adriana

2016-01-01

During the transformative period of adolescence, social influence plays a prominent role in shaping young people’s emerging social identities, and can impact their propensity to engage in prosocial or risky behaviors. In this study, we examine the neural correlates of social influence from both parents and peers, two important sources of influence. Nineteen adolescents (age 16–18 years) completed a social influence task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Social influence from both sources evoked activity in brain regions implicated in mentalizing (medial prefrontal cortex, left temporoparietal junction, right temporoparietal junction), reward (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), and self-control (right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex). These results suggest that mental state reasoning, social reward and self-control processes may help adolescents to evaluate others’ perspectives and overcome the prepotent force of their own antecedent attitudes to shift their attitudes toward those of others. Findings suggest common neural networks involved in social influence from both parents and peers. PMID:26203050

Adolescent romance and depressive symptoms: the moderating effects of positive coping and perceived friendship competence.

PubMed

Szwedo, David E; Chango, Joanna M; Allen, Joseph P

2015-01-01

Youths' ability to positively cope with negative emotions and their self-perceived friendship competence were examined as potential moderators of links between multiple aspects of romantic relationships and residualized increases in depressive symptoms from late adolescence into early adulthood. Participants included 184 teens (46% male; 42% non-White) assessed at ages 15 to 19 and 21, as well as a subsample of 62 romantic partners of participants assessed when teens were 18. Results of hierarchical linear regressions showed that positive coping served as a buffer against depressive symptoms for romantically involved adolescents and also for teens receiving more intense emotional support from their romantic partners, but not for youth whose relationship had ended and had not been replaced by a new relationship. Higher perceived friendship competence served as a buffer against depressive symptoms for youth enduring the dissolution and nonreplacement of their romantic relationship. Greater use of positive coping skills and higher perceived friendship competence may help protect adolescents from depressive symptoms in different types of romantic experiences.

Development and Validation of a Parent Report Measure for Assessing Social-Emotional Competencies of Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrell, Kenneth W.; Felver-Gant, Josh C.; Tom, Karalyn M.

2011-01-01

Based on the premises that strength-based assessment of children and adolescents is an important emerging area, and that additional tools for this purpose are needed, this study details development and validation efforts on a new strength-based assessment: the Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scale, parent form (SEARS-P). Following careful…

The relationship among physical activity, motor competence and health-related fitness in 14-year-old adolescents.

PubMed

Hands, B; Larkin, D; Parker, H; Straker, L; Perry, M

2009-10-01

Physical activity, physical fitness and motor competence are important health-related constructs. However, the relationship among them, particularly for children and adolescents, is still unclear. In this study, motor competence (measured by the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development), pedometer-determined physical activity and physical fitness (aerobic fitness, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and body composition) were examined in a cohort of 1585 adolescents (771 girls, 814 boys) of mean age 14.06 years. Significant gender differences were observed for all measures except motor competence. Apart from hip and shoulder flexibility, males outperformed females. For both males and females, motor competence was associated with all fitness measures, physical activity was associated only with aerobic fitness and aerobic fitness was associated with physical activity, motor competence, BMI and chest pass. Among males, aerobic fitness was also associated with all other fitness tests. The correlations were, in general, moderate to weak. The results challenge the current focus on physical activity rather than physical fitness as the preferred intervention.

Fitness, motor competence, and body composition are weakly associated with adolescent back pain.

PubMed

Perry, Mark; Straker, Leon; O'Sullivan, Peter; Smith, Anne; Hands, Beth

2009-06-01

Cross-sectional survey. To assess the associations between adolescent back pain and fitness, motor competence, and body composition. Although deficits in physical fitness and motor control have been shown to relate to adult back pain, the evidence in adolescents is less clear. In this cross-sectional study, 1608 "Raine" cohort adolescents (mean age, 14 years) answered questions on lifetime, month, and chronic prevalence of back pain, and participated in a range of physical tests assessing aerobic capacity, muscle performance, flexibility, motor competence, and body composition.A history of any diagnosed back pain in the adolescent was obtained from the primary caregiver. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, increased likelihood of back pain in boys was associated with greater aerobic capacity, greater waist girth, and both reduced and greater flexibility. Back pain in girls was associated with greater abdominal endurance, reduced kinesthetic integration, and both reduced and greater back endurance. Lower likelihood of back pain was associated with greater bimanual dexterity in boys and greater lower extremity power in girls. Physical characteristics are commonly cited as important risk factors in back pain development. Although some factors were associated with adolescent back pain, and these differed between boys and girls, they made only a small contribution to logistic regression models for back pain. The results suggest future work should explore the interaction of multiple domains of risk factors (physical, lifestyle, and psychosocial) and subgroups of adolescent back pain, for whom different risk factors may be important.

Bidirectional Associations among Sensitive Parenting, Language Development, and Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Melissa A.; Gustafsson, Hanna; Deng, Min; Mills-Koonce, W. Roger; Cox, Martha

2012-01-01

Rapid changes in language skills and social competence, both of which are linked to sensitive parenting, characterize early childhood. The present study examines bidirectional associations among mothers' sensitive parenting and children's language skills and social competence from 24 to 36?months in a community sample of 174 families. In addition,…

Empirically Valid Strategies to Improve Social and Emotional Competence of Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Paul C.; Altamura, Michelle

2011-01-01

Research over the past few decades has highlighted the importance of social and emotional competence in preschool children on later academic, social, and psychological outcomes. Children who are socially and emotionally competent have increased socialization opportunities with peers, develop more friends, have better relationships with their…

Social Goals and Grade as Moderators of Social Normative Influences on Adolescent Alcohol Use

PubMed Central

Meisel, Samuel N.; Colder, Craig R.

2016-01-01

Background The literature distinguishes two types of social normative influences on adolescent alcohol use, descriptive norms (perceived peer alcohol use) and injunctive norms (perceived approval of drinking). Although theoretical formulations suggest variability in the salience and influence of descriptive and injunctive norms, little is understood regarding for whom and when social norms influence adolescent drinking. Strong agentic and communal social goals were hypothesized to moderate the influence of descriptive and injunctive norms on early adolescent alcohol use, respectively. Developmental changes were also expected, such that these moderating effects were expected to get stronger at later grades. Methods This longitudinal study included 387 adolescents and 4 annual assessments (spanning 6th to 10th grade). Participants completed questionnaire measures of social goals, social norms, and alcohol use at each wave. Results Multilevel logistic regressions were used to test prospective associations. As hypothesized, descriptive norms predicted increases in the probability of alcohol use for adolescents with strong agentic goals, but only in later grades. Injunctive norms were associated with increases in the probability of drinking for adolescents with low communal goals at earlier grades, whereas injunctive norms were associated with an increased probability of drinking for adolescents with either low or high communal goals at later grades. Although not hypothesized, descriptive norms predicted increases in the probability of drinking for adolescents high in communal goals in earlier grades whereas descriptive norms predicted drinking for adolescents characterized by low communal goals in later grades. Conclusions The current study highlights the importance of social goals when considering social normative influences on alcohol use in early and middle adolescence. These findings have implications for whom and when normative feedback interventions might be most

Childhood Predictors of Adolescent Competence and Self-Worth in Rural Youth

PubMed Central

Rew, Lynn; Grady, Matthew W.; Spoden, Micajah

2012-01-01

Problem Urban children who become competent adults despite circumstances that place their development and mental health at risk are considered to be resilient. Less is known about the risk and protective factors that characterize resilience among Hispanic/Latinos living in rural areas. Methods Data for regression analyses were collected when children (N = 603; 54% Hispanic/Latino) enrolled in the study in fifth grade, (M=10.4 years of age) and again five years later when they were in high school (M=15 years of age). Findings Statistically significant predictors of competence and self-worth in high schoolers included gender, ethnicity, and mother’s education, as well as stress, temperament (task persistence), and competences measured in grade school. Conclusions Parents’ perceptions of child’s temperament is a significant predictor of future competence and self-worth among rural adolescents. PMID:23121139

Childhood predictors of adolescent competence and self-worth in rural youth.

PubMed

Rew, Lynn; Grady, Matthew W; Spoden, Micajah

2012-11-01

Urban children who become competent adults despite circumstances that place their development and mental health at risk are considered to be resilient. Less is known about the risk and protective factors that characterize resilience among Hispanic/Latinos living in rural areas. Data for regression analyses were collected when children (n = 603; 54% Hispanic/Latino) enrolled in the study in fifth grade (M = 10.4 years of age), and again 5 years later when they were in high school (M = 15 years of age). Statistically significant predictors of competence and self-worth in high schoolers included gender, ethnicity, and mother's education, as well as stress, temperament (task persistence), and competences measured in grade school. Parents' perception of child's temperament is a significant predictor of future competence and self-worth among rural adolescents. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adolescent Daughters' Romantic Competence: The Role of Divorce, Quality of Parenting, and Maternal Romantic History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulman, Shmuel; Zlotnik, Aynat; Shachar-Shapira, Lital; Connolly, Jennifer; Bohr, Yvonne

2012-01-01

This study examined the links between parental divorce, quality of maternal parenting, spousal relationships and middle adolescent romantic competence in 80 mother-adolescent daughter pairs (40 divorced). Mothers were asked to describe their attitudes and behaviors with regard to their daughters' romantic behavior. In addition, mothers were…

Social Competence of Preschool Children Born Very Preterm

PubMed Central

Jones, Kelly M.; Champion, Patricia R.; Woodward, Lianne J.

2014-01-01

Background Relatively little is known about the early social development of children born very preterm despite clear suggestions of later interpersonal difficulties. Aims To compare the social competence of very preterm (VPT) and full term (FT) born children at age 4 and identify infant, social and family factors associated with later risk. Study design Prospective longitudinal study. Subjects A regionally representative cohort of 103 VPT (≤32 weeks gestation) children and a comparison group of 105 FT children (36-41 weeks gestation) born between 1998 and 2000. Outcome measures At corrected age 4 years, a range of parent report, observational and laboratory measures assessed children's emotional and behavioral adjustment, emotional regulation, social interactive behavior and theory of mind understanding. Extensive perinatal, social background and family functioning data were also available from birth to age 4. Results Compared to their FT peers, VPT born children had poorer emotional and behavioural adjustment, were less effective in regulating their emotions, had lower levels of positive peer play and had less synchronous interactions with their parents. Within the VPT group, predictors of poor social competence included family socioeconomic disadvantage, extreme prematurity, severity of cerebral white matter abnormalities and early childhood exposure to high levels of maternal anxiety and negative parenting. Conclusions VPT pre-schoolers are characterized by a range of subtle social difficulties likely to adversely affect their ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with others. These difficulties need to be monitored alongside other potential neurodevelopmental concerns and parents supported to actively nurture child social competence. PMID:23870752

Social Competence at the Playground: Preschoolers during Recess

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veiga, Guida; de Leng, Wendy; Cachucho, Ricardo; Ketelaar, Lizet; Kok, Joost N.; Knobbe, Arno; Neto, Carlos; Rieffe, Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interactions at the playground have been represented as a rich learning opportunity to hone and master social skills at preschool years. Specifically, all forms of social play (fantasy, role, exercise or rough-and-tumble) have been related to children's social competence. The main goal of this study was to examine whether it is a certain…

Social networking for adolescents with severe haemophilia.

PubMed

Khair, K; Holland, M; Carrington, S

2012-05-01

Access to modern treatments allows adolescents with haemophilia to manage their haemophilia at home, with improved treatment outcomes and quality of life, but has reduced peer support and the potential for experiential learning from older peers. Social networking, aided by modern communication technologies, may offer health benefits through peer support. We sought to assess whether or not disease-specific social networking could benefit adolescents with severe haemophilia. A total of 150 adolescents (aged 10-18) with severe haemophilia A or B from 11 UK treatment centres or those who had attended focus groups to explore the potential for a social network designed specifically for their use were surveyed. Teenage boys with severe haemophilia in the UK who responded to an online and paper questionnaire (n = 47; 31% response rate) rarely knew of or socialized with others with haemophilia outside their families. Two-thirds of respondents said they would like to meet others. For 70% of boys, parents were the major source of information about haemophilia, yet more than half said they often had trouble finding answers to their questions. These boys frequently used online social networks to chat with friends. Adolescents with severe haemophilia frequently have limited contact with others and many wish to have greater contact. They may benefit from peer support and experiential learning gained through online social networking. The SixVibe restricted access social network is to be launched in 2011. It includes features designed to promote and facilitate the development of peer-to peer disease management skills for adolescents with severe haemophilia. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Brief Report: Parent-Adolescent Informant Discrepancies of Social Skill Importance and Social Skill Engagement for Higher-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMahon, Camilla M.; Solomon, Marjorie

2015-01-01

Parent- and adolescent-report of social skill importance and social skill engagement on the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham and Elliott in The social skills rating system, American Guidance Service, Circle Pines, 1990) were assessed in higher-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Compared to parents, adolescents…

[Faustlos -- promotion of social-emotional competences in elementary schools and kindergartens].

PubMed

Schick, Andreas; Cierpka, Manfred

2005-11-01

Aggressive and violent behavior of children often is caused by a lack of social and emotional competences, which blocks constructive problem- and conflict-management. Therefore lots of different US-American prevention approaches for the promotion of crucial social competences have been developed. Faustlos is the first German violence prevention curriculum, which promotes the social and emotional competences of first grade pupils and kindergarten aged children. The curriculum builds on the promotion of empathy, impulse control and anger management. Evaluation studies on the effectiveness of Faustlos prove its positive effects on aggressive behavior and on the promotion of social-emotional competence. Further, the feedback of people working with Faustlos concerning the acceptance and practicability of the program is positive too. Besides the development of additive materials (e. g. Faustlos for parents) evaluation studies on the long-term effects of the program are needed.

Social bonds and internet pornographic exposure among adolescents.

PubMed

Mesch, Gustavo S

2009-06-01

Concern has grown regarding possible harm to the social and psychological development of children and adolescents exposed to Internet pornography. Parents, academics and researchers have documented pornography from the supply side, assuming that its availability explains consumption satisfactorily. The current paper explored the user's dimension, probing whether pornography consumers differed from other Internet users, as well as the social characteristics of adolescent frequent pornography consumers. Data from a 2004 survey of a national representative sample of the adolescent population in Israel were used (n=998). Adolescent frequent users of the Internet for pornography were found to differ in many social characteristics from the group that used the Internet for information, social communication and entertainment. Weak ties to mainstream social institutions were characteristic of the former group but not of the latter. X-rated material consumers proved to be a distinct sub-group at risk of deviant behaviour.

Early Adolescents' Social Goals and School Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawes, Molly

2017-01-01

What are the common types of social goals endorsed by early adolescents and how are they related to their school adjustment? This article discusses the importance of assessing students' social goals during the early adolescent developmental period when peers become increasingly important and youth experience tremendous changes to the school…

Psicologia social de la adolescencia (Social Psychology of the Adolescent).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Havighurst, Robert J.

An attempt is made (1) to define adolescence as a biological phenomenon, (2) to describe the characteristics of the adolescent in Latin America, and (3) to identify the adolescent within certain social and cultural groups of specific Latin American countries. The perspective of the four-part monograph is entirely sociological, and the report is…

Social support for diabetes illness management: supporting adolescents and caregivers.

PubMed

Idalski Carcone, April; Ellis, Deborah A; Weisz, Arlene; Naar-King, Sylvie

2011-10-01

The aim of this research study was to examine the relationship between 4 sources of social support (support for the adolescent from family, support for the adolescent from friends, support for the caregiver from another adult, and support to the family from the health care provider) and adolescents' diabetes outcomes (illness management behavior and health status) using a diverse sample of urban adolescents. One hundred forty-one adolescents with insulin-managed diabetes and their primary caregivers completed questionnaires assessing social support and illness management behavior. Glucose meters were downloaded and hemoglobin A1c assays were obtained. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model social support informed by social ecological theory. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that support for the caregiver from another adult was directly and positively related to support for the adolescent from family and indirectly related to better illness management. Support for the adolescent from family was directly related to better diabetes management and, through better management, to better diabetes health. Support to the family from the health care provider was not related to support for the adolescent and support to the adolescent from friends was not related to illness management, as hypothesized. This study identifies a novel target for social support intervention to improve adolescents' illness management behavior-the caregivers of adolescents with diabetes. By enhancing the social support caregivers receive from other adults in their lives, caregivers' ability to support their adolescent children with diabetes might also be improved which, in turn, improves adolescents' illness outcomes.

Multiple social identifications and adolescents' self-esteem.

PubMed

Benish-Weisman, Maya; Daniel, Ella; Schiefer, David; Möllering, Anna; Knafo-Noam, Ariel

2015-10-01

The research examined the relationship between multiple social identifications and self-esteem. Early adolescents (M = 11.4, SD = .95) and mid-adolescents (M = 15.9, SD = 1.18) from Germany and Israel (n = 2337) were studied. Respondents described their social identification as students, family members, and as members of the majority national group and reported self-esteem. A longitudinal, cross-sectional and cross-cultural design revealed, as predicted, multiple social identifications related positively to self-esteem concurrently; they also related positively to self-esteem longitudinally over the course of a year. Moreover, multiple social identifications were found to be antecedent to self-esteem, not vice versa. Finally, multiple social identifications were found to decrease over time. The article discusses the contribution of multiple social identifications to self-esteem at different ages and in various contexts. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-Views and Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Qingfang; Wang, Qi

2013-01-01

This study examined mother-child reminiscing about children's experiences with peers and its relation to children's peer-related self-views and social competence. Sixty-three mothers and their preschool-aged children discussed at home two specific past events involving the child and his or her peers, one event being positive and one negative. The…

Children’s Negative Emotions and Ego-Resiliency: Longitudinal Relations With Social Competence

PubMed Central

Taylor, Zoe E.; Eisenberg, Nancy; VanSchyndel, Sarah K.; Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D.; Spinrad, Tracy L.

2015-01-01

We examined the relations of negative emotions in toddlerhood to the development of ego-resiliency and social competence across early childhood. Specifically, we addressed whether fear and anger/frustration in 30-month-old children (N = 213) was associated with the development of ego-resiliency across 4 time points (42 to 84 months), and, in turn, whether ego-resiliency predicted social competence at 84 months. Child anger/frustration negatively predicted the intercept of ego-resiliency at 42 months (controlling for prior ego-resiliency at 18 months) as well as the slope. Fear did not significantly predict either the intercept or slope of ego-resiliency in the structural model, although it was positively correlated with anger/frustration and was negatively related to ego-resiliency in zero-order correlations. The slope of ego-resiliency was positively related to children’s social competence at 84 months; however, the intercept of ego-resiliency (set at 42 months) was not a significant predictor of later social competence. Furthermore, the slope of ego-resiliency mediated the relations between anger/frustration and children’s later social competence. The results suggest that individual differences in anger/frustration might contribute to the development of ego-resiliency, which, in turn, is associated with children’s social competence. PMID:24364850

Perceived Social Support and Maternal Competence in Primipara Women during Pregnancy and After Childbirth.

PubMed

Esmaelzadeh Saeieh, Sara; Rahimzadeh, Mitra; Yazdkhasti, Mansooreh; Torkashvand, Shoukofeh

2017-10-01

Developing maternal competence in first time mothers has a significant impact on neonate's growth psychosocial development and neonates growth and psychological development. Social support can be an important element for becoming a new mother. We aimed to investigate how social support and maternal competence change during pregnancy and 4 months after it and examine the relationships among social support and maternal competence. This longitudinal study was conducted on 100 first time mothers attending health centers in Alborz city, Alborz Province, between February 2015 and January 2016. Data were collected through perceived social support questionnaire that consisted of 12 questions and Parenting Sense of Competence Scale consisting of 17 items scored based on Likert's scale. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 16. Repeated-measure test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used. P<0.05 was considered significant. Maternal competence significantly reduced during the study (P=0.008), while perceived social support did not show any significant reduction (P=0.286). A direct relationship was found between social support and maternal competent six weeks after childbirth (r=0.19, P=0.049), and also social support and maternal competence sixteen weeks after childbirth (r=0.23, P=0.01). Considering the reduction of maternal competency during the study, social support by healthcare providers may be helpful for the mothers' transition to motherhood, and midwives must design specific interventions to promote the sense of maternal competence and perceived social support in first time mothers.

Socio-cultural and economic factors influencing adolescents' resilience against the threat of teenage pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey in Accra, Ghana.

PubMed

Ahorlu, Collins K; Pfeiffer, Constanze; Obrist, Brigit

2015-12-23

Adolescent pregnancy exposes female adolescents to medical, social and economic risks. In Ghana, adolescent mothers are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy and delivery as compared to older mothers. This study examined the competencies of adolescent girls to either proactively prevent teenage pregnancy or reactively cope effectively with it. A cross-sectional survey approach was used to interview 820 adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in Accra, Ghana. The main focus of the study was to examine how social capital (various kinds of valued relations with significant others), economic capital (command over economic resources, mainly cash and assets), cultural capital (personal dispositions and habits; knowledge and tradition stored in material forms and institutionalized) and symbolic capital (honour, recognition and prestige) contribute to the development of competencies of adolescents to deal with the threat of teenage pregnancy and childbirth. Out of 820 adolescents interviewed, 128 (16%) were pregnant or mothers. Adolescents in both groups (62% never pregnant girls and 68% pregnant/young mothers) have access to social support, especially from their parents. Parents are taking the place of aunts and grandmothers in providing sexual education to their adolescent girls due to changing social structures where extended families no longer reside together in most cases. More (79%) pregnant girls and young mothers compared to never pregnant girls (38%) have access to economic support (P = <0.001). Access to social, economic and cultural capitals was associated with high competence to either prevent or deal with pregnancy among adolescent girls. Findings showed that adolescent girls, especially those that get pregnant should not be viewed as weak and vulnerable because many of them have developed competencies to cope with pregnancy and childbirth effectively. Thus, focusing on developing the competencies of girls to access social, economic and

Parent–Youth Agreement on Self-Reported Competencies of Youth With Depressive and Suicidal Symptoms

PubMed Central

Mbekou, Valentin; MacNeil, Sasha; Gignac, Martin; Renaud, Johanne

2015-01-01

Objective: A multi-informant approach is often used in child psychiatry. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment uses this approach, gathering parent reports on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and youth reports on the Youth Self-Report (YSR), which contain scales assessing both the child’s problems and competencies. Agreement between parent and youth perceptions of their competencies on these forms has not been studied to date. Method: Our study examined the parent–youth agreement of competencies on the CBCL and YSR from a sample of 258 parent–youth dyads referred to a specialized outpatient clinic for depressive and suicidal disorders. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for all competency scales (activity, social, and academic), with further examinations based on youth’s sex, age, and type of problem. Results: Weak-to-moderate parent–youth agreements were reported on the activities and social subscales. For the activities subscale, boys’ ratings had a strong correlation with parents’ ratings, while it was weak for girls. Also, agreement on activities and social subscales was stronger for dyads with the youth presenting externalizing instead of internalizing problems. Conclusion: Agreement on competencies between parents and adolescents varied based on competency and adolescent sex, age, and type of problem. PMID:25886673

Longitudinal examination of maternal psychological control and adolescents' self-competence as predictors of bulimic symptoms among boys and girls.

PubMed

Salafia, Elizabeth H Blodgett; Gondoli, Dawn M; Corning, Alexandra F; Bucchianeri, Michaela M; Godinez, Nicole M

2009-07-01

Because bulimia nervosa is a problem among adolescents, it remains essential to examine its precursors. The specific etiologic chain investigated in this study is such that maternal psychological control first leads to adolescents' lowered self-competence, which in turn predicts bulimic symptoms. Self-report data were collected from 58 boys and 73 girls during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Participants reported on maternal psychological control, self-competence, and bulimic symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we tested our hypothesized longitudinal indirect effects model separately for boys and girls. Results indeed indicated that high maternal psychological control in sixth grade led to lowered adolescents' self-competence in seventh grade, which in turn predicted increased bulimic symptoms in eighth grade for both boys and girls. This study uncovers one particular process wherein a psychologically controlling parenting style affects adolescents' development of bulimic symptoms, a finding that may be useful to researchers and clinicians.

Mathematically gifted adolescents have deficiencies in social valuation and mentalization.

PubMed

Yun, Kyongsik; Chung, Dongil; Jang, Bosun; Kim, Jin Ho; Jeong, Jaeseung

2011-04-04

Many mathematically gifted adolescents are characterized as being indolent, underachieving and unsuccessful despite their high cognitive ability. This is often due to difficulties with social and emotional development. However, research on social and emotional interactions in gifted adolescents has been limited. The purpose of this study was to observe differences in complex social strategic behaviors between gifted and average adolescents of the same age using the repeated Ultimatum Game. Twenty-two gifted adolescents and 24 average adolescents participated in the Ultimatum Game. Two adolescents participate in the game, one as a proposer and the other as a responder. Because of its simplicity, the Ultimatum Game is an apt tool for investigating complex human emotional and cognitive decision-making in an empirical setting. We observed strategic but socially impaired offers from gifted proposers and lower acceptance rates from gifted responders, resulting in lower total earnings in the Ultimatum Game. Thus, our results indicate that mathematically gifted adolescents have deficiencies in social valuation and mentalization.

Self-Competence Mediates Earlier and Later Anxiety in Adolescent Mothers: A 3-Year Longitudinal Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiefelbein, Virginia L.; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Dorn, Lorah D.

2005-01-01

Anxiety is prevalent in adolescents and may be particularly problematic in pregnant adolescents. The purpose of this structural equation modeling analysis was to test a biobehavioral model in which postpartum self-competence mediated pathways from anxiety and cortisol during pregnancy to anxiety 3 years later. Self-reports of anxiety and…

Low perceived social support predicts later depression but not social phobia in middle adolescence.

PubMed

Väänänen, Juha-Matti; Marttunen, Mauri; Helminen, Mika; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu

2014-01-01

Social phobia and depression are common and highly comorbid disorders in adolescence. There is a lack of studies on possible psychosocial shared risk factors for these disorders. The current study examined if low social support is a shared risk factor for both disorders among adolescent girls and boys. This study is a part of the Adolescent Mental Health Cohort Study's two-year follow-up. We studied cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of perceived social support with social phobia, depression, and comorbid social phobia and depression among girls and boys. The study sample consisted of 2070 15-year-old adolescents at baseline. Depression was measured by the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory, social phobia by the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), and perceived social support by the Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised (PSSS-R). Girls reported higher scores on the PSSS-R than boys in total scores and in friend and significant other subscales. Cross-sectional PSSS-R scores were lower among adolescents with social phobia, depression, and comorbid disorder than among those without these disorders. Low PSSS-R total score and significant other subscale were risk factors for depression among both genders, and low support from friends among girls only. Low perceived social support from any source was not a risk factor for social phobia or comorbid social phobia and depression. As conclusion of the study, low perceived social support was a risk factor for depression, but not a shared risk factor for depression and social phobia. Interventions enhancing perceived social support should be an important issue in treatment of depression.

Parent-child and triadic antecedents of children's social competence: cultural specificity, shared process.

PubMed

Feldman, Ruth; Masalha, Shafiq

2010-03-01

Guided by theories of cultural participation, the authors examined mother-child, father-child, and triadic interactive behaviors in 141 Israeli and Palestinian couples and their firstborn child at 5 and 33 months as antecedents of children's social competence. Four parent-child measures (parent sensitivity, child social engagement, parental control, dyadic reciprocity) and two family-level measures (cohesion and rigidity) were coded at each age. Children's social competence was observed at child-care locations. Cultural differences were observed for parent sensitivity and child social engagement, and the large cultural differences in sensitivity observed in infancy were attenuated by the toddler age. Interactive behaviors correlated with culture-specific parenting practices, child-rearing goals, and sex-role attitudes. Mother-child reciprocity in infancy and child engagement with father and family-level cohesion at both time points predicted social competence. Maternal sensitivity in infancy facilitated social competence only among Israeli children. Paternal control in toddlerhood interfered with Israeli children's social functioning but contributed to competence among Palestinians. Results underscore the links between early relational experiences and children's adaptation to the social milieu.

Citizenship in Young People's Daily Lives: Differences in Citizenship Competences of Adolescents in the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geijsel, Femke; Ledoux, Guuske; Reumerman, Rene; ten Dam, Geert

2012-01-01

The results of a nationwide study of the citizenship competences of adolescents in the Netherlands are presented from the perspective of democratic citizenship in this article. Citizenship competences are defined as the knowledge, skills, attitudes and reflection needed by young people in a democratic and multicultural society to adequately fulfil…

ViSC Social Competence Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strohmeier, Dagmar; Hoffmann, Christine; Schiller, Eva-Maria; Stefanek, Elisabeth; Spiel, Christiane

2012-01-01

The ViSC Social Competence Program has been implemented in Austrian schools within the scope of a national strategy plan, Together Against Violence. The program is a primary preventive program designed for grades 5 to 8. The prevention of aggression and bullying is defined as a school development task, and the initial implementation of the program…

Neural mechanisms of social influence in adolescence.

PubMed

Welborn, B Locke; Lieberman, Matthew D; Goldenberg, Diane; Fuligni, Andrew J; Galván, Adriana; Telzer, Eva H

2016-01-01

During the transformative period of adolescence, social influence plays a prominent role in shaping young people's emerging social identities, and can impact their propensity to engage in prosocial or risky behaviors. In this study, we examine the neural correlates of social influence from both parents and peers, two important sources of influence. Nineteen adolescents (age 16-18 years) completed a social influence task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Social influence from both sources evoked activity in brain regions implicated in mentalizing (medial prefrontal cortex, left temporoparietal junction, right temporoparietal junction), reward (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), and self-control (right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex). These results suggest that mental state reasoning, social reward and self-control processes may help adolescents to evaluate others' perspectives and overcome the prepotent force of their own antecedent attitudes to shift their attitudes toward those of others. Findings suggest common neural networks involved in social influence from both parents and peers. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Gender differences in the socialization of preschoolers' emotional competence.

PubMed

Denham, Susanne A; Bassett, Hideko Hamada; Wyatt, Todd M

2010-01-01

Preschoolers' socialization of emotion and its contribution to emotional competence is likely to be highly gendered. In their work, the authors have found that mothers often take on the role of emotional gatekeeper in the family, and fathers act as loving playmates, but that parents' styles of socialization of emotion do not usually differ for sons and daughters. They also found several themes in the prediction of preschoolers' emotion knowledge and regulation. For example, sometimes mother-father differences in emotional style actually seem to promote such competence, and girls seem particularly susceptible to parental socialization of emotion. (c) Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[The development of organization of medical social care of adolescents].

PubMed

Chicherin, L P; Nagaev, R Ia

2014-01-01

The model of the subject of the Russian Federation is used to consider means of development of health protection and health promotion in adolescents including implementation of the National strategy of activities in interest of children for 2012-2017 approved by decree No761 of the President of Russia in June 1 2012. The analysis is carried out concerning organization of medical social care to this group of population in medical institutions and organizations of different type in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Nowadays, in 29 territories medical social departments and rooms, 5 specialized health centers for children, 6 clinics friendly to youth are organized. The analysis of manpower support demonstrates that in spite of increasing of number of rooms and departments of medical social care for children and adolescents decreasing of staff jobs both of medical personnel and psychologists and social workers occurs. The differences in priorities of functioning of departments and rooms of medical social care under children polyclinics, health centers for children and clinics friendly to youth are established. The questionnaire survey of pediatricians and adolescents concerning perspectives of development of adolescent service established significant need in development of specialized complex center. At the basis of such center problems of medical, pedagogical, social, psychological, legal profile related to specific characteristics of development and medical social needs of adolescents can be resolved. The article demonstrates organizational form of unification on the functional basis of the department of medical social care of children polyclinic and clinic friendly to youth. During three years, number of visits of adolescents to specialists of the center increases and this testifies awareness of adolescents and youth about activities of department of medical social care. The most percentage of visits of adolescents to specialists was made with prevention purpose. Among

Sustained Attention and Social Competence in Typically Developing Preschool-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Laura M. Bennett; Laurie-Rose, Cynthia; Brinkman, Tara M.; McNamara, Kelly A.

2007-01-01

The current study examines the relationship between sustained attention and social competence in preschool children. While studies demonstrate that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit poor social competence, less is known about typically developing children. Since children with ADHD have associated behavior…

Social Activity Participation and the Drinking and Driving Behaviors of Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, David M.; Swisher, John D.

1991-01-01

Examined relationships between negative social behaviors and social activity participation to self-reported drinking and driving behaviors of adolescents. Results from 6,868 adolescents showed negative social behaviors and social activity participation were critical precursors to drinking and driving problem among adolescents. (Author/NB)

Social Anxiety, Acute Social Stress, and Reward Parameters Interact to Predict Risky Decision-Making among Adolescents

PubMed Central

Richards, Jessica M.; Patel, Nilam; Daniele, Teresa; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, C.W.; Ernst, Monique

2014-01-01

Risk-taking behavior increases during adolescence, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. Social anxiety emerges in adolescence and may compound risk-taking propensity, particularly during stress and when reward potential is high. However, the manner in which social anxiety, stress, and reward parameters interact to impact adolescent risk-taking is unclear. To clarify this question, a community sample of 35 adolescents (15 to 18 yo), characterized as having high or low social anxiety, participated in a 2-day study, during each of which they were exposed to either a social stress or a control condition, while performing a risky decision-making task. The task manipulated, orthogonally, reward magnitude and probability across trials. Three findings emerged. First, reward magnitude had a greater impact on the rate of risky decisions in high social anxiety (HSA) than low social anxiety (LSA) adolescents. Second, reaction times (RTs) were similar during the social stress and the control conditions for the HSA group, whereas the LSA group’s RTs differed between conditions. Third, HSA adolescents showed the longest RTs on the most negative trials. These findings suggest that risk-taking in adolescents is modulated by context and reward parameters differentially as a function of social anxiety. PMID:25465884

Talking to Adolescents About Social Media.

PubMed

Dawson, Rachel S

2017-08-01

I see a large number of adolescents in my clinic with issues related to their social media use. These issues range from lack of sleep, to depression, to cyberbullying, and even sex trafficking, all secondary to constant social media exposure. Pediatricians should ask about social media use when they see children and adolescents who already have access to electronic devices. They should also ask parents about controls that are set in place to monitor social media use, content, and friend connections on those sites. They should ensure that their children know personally everyone they are connected to on social media and that their accounts are always private and not public. This will help reduce many of the issues associated with the potential consequences of social media use. [Pediatr Ann. 2017;46(8):e274-e276.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Social media experiences of adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy who use augmentative and alternative communication.

PubMed

Caron, Jessica Gosnell; Light, Janice

2017-02-01

This pilot study aimed to expand the current understanding of how adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and complex communication needs use social media. An online focus group was used to investigate the social media experiences of seven individuals with CP who used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Questions posed to the group related to social media: (a) advantages; (b) disadvantages; (c) barriers; (d) supports; and (e) recommendations. Adolescents with CP who use AAC used a range of communication media to participate in daily interactions, including social media. An analysis of the focus group interaction revealed that the participants used social media to: bypass the constraints of face-to-face interactions; communicate for a number of reasons (e.g. maintain relationships, share experiences); and support independent leisure (e.g. playing games, looking at pictures/videos). Despite the advantages, the participants discussed barriers including limitations related to AAC technologies, social media sites and literacy skills. The results suggest that service providers should implement interventions to support social media use, including enhancement of linguistic, operational and strategic competence. Technology manufacturers should focus on improving the designs of AAC apps and social media sites to facilitate access by individuals who require AAC.

Relations of social problem solving with interpersonal competence in Japanese students.

PubMed

Sumi, Katsunori

2011-12-01

To clarify the relations of the dimensions of social problem solving with those of interpersonal competence in a sample of 234 Japanese college students, Japanese versions of the Social Problem-solving Inventory-Revised and the Social Skill Scale were administered. Pearson correlations between the two sets of variables were low, but higher within each set of subscales. Cronbach's alpha was low for four subscales assessing interpersonal competence.

The Social Competence of Play.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fein, Greta G.

This is a study of how young children gain social competence through pretend play or role playing. Subjects were 38 Caucasian children (19 females, 19 males) who were observed at four ages: 12, 18, 24 and 30 months. The same set of toys, which included a doll, a saucepan, doll bottles, coffee mug, teacup, teaspoon, doll crib, blanket, toy phone…

The Relationship between Language and Social Competence: How Language Impairment Affects Social Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Paul C.; Meller, Paul J.

2004-01-01

Given the research that suggests the social use of language is the latest developing aspect of language, it was hypothesized that children with speech/language impairment (SLI) are particularly susceptible to social interaction difficulties, resulting in diminished social competence. This hypothesis was explored with SLI and non-language-impaired…

Adolescent social defeat decreases spatial working memory performance in adulthood

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Adolescent social stress is associated with increased incidence of mental illnesses in adulthood that are characterized by deficits in cognitive focus and flexibility. Such enhanced vulnerability may be due to psychosocial stress-induced disruption of the developing mesocortical dopamine system, which plays a fundamental role in facilitating complex cognitive processes such as spatial working memory. Adolescent rats exposed to repeated social defeat as a model of social stress develop dopaminergic hypofunction in the medial prefrontal cortex as adults. To evaluate a direct link between adolescent social stress and later deficits in cognitive function, the present study tested the effects of adolescent social defeat on two separate tests of spatial working memory performance. Methods Adult rats exposed to adolescent social defeat and their controls were trained on either the delayed win-shift task or the delayed alternating T-Maze task and then challenged with various delay periods. To evaluate potential differences in motivation for the food reward used in memory tasks, consumption and conditioned place preference for sweetened condensed milk were tested in a separate cohort of previously defeated rats and controls. Results Compared to controls, adult rats defeated in adolescence showed a delay-dependent deficit in spatial working memory performance, committing more errors at a 90 s and 5 min delay period on the T-maze and win-shift tasks, respectively. Observed memory deficits were likely independent of differences in reward motivation, as conditioned place preference for the palatable food used on both tasks was similar between the adolescent social defeat group and control. Conclusions The results demonstrate that severe social stressors during adolescence can produce long term deficits in aspects of cognitive function. Given the dependence of spatial working memory on prefrontal dopamine, pharmacologically reversing dopaminergic deficiencies caused

Adolescent social defeat decreases spatial working memory performance in adulthood.

PubMed

Novick, Andrew M; Miiller, Leah C; Forster, Gina L; Watt, Michael J

2013-10-17

Adolescent social stress is associated with increased incidence of mental illnesses in adulthood that are characterized by deficits in cognitive focus and flexibility. Such enhanced vulnerability may be due to psychosocial stress-induced disruption of the developing mesocortical dopamine system, which plays a fundamental role in facilitating complex cognitive processes such as spatial working memory. Adolescent rats exposed to repeated social defeat as a model of social stress develop dopaminergic hypofunction in the medial prefrontal cortex as adults. To evaluate a direct link between adolescent social stress and later deficits in cognitive function, the present study tested the effects of adolescent social defeat on two separate tests of spatial working memory performance. Adult rats exposed to adolescent social defeat and their controls were trained on either the delayed win-shift task or the delayed alternating T-Maze task and then challenged with various delay periods. To evaluate potential differences in motivation for the food reward used in memory tasks, consumption and conditioned place preference for sweetened condensed milk were tested in a separate cohort of previously defeated rats and controls. Compared to controls, adult rats defeated in adolescence showed a delay-dependent deficit in spatial working memory performance, committing more errors at a 90 s and 5 min delay period on the T-maze and win-shift tasks, respectively. Observed memory deficits were likely independent of differences in reward motivation, as conditioned place preference for the palatable food used on both tasks was similar between the adolescent social defeat group and control. The results demonstrate that severe social stressors during adolescence can produce long term deficits in aspects of cognitive function. Given the dependence of spatial working memory on prefrontal dopamine, pharmacologically reversing dopaminergic deficiencies caused by adolescent social stress has the

Emotion Understanding, Social Competence and School Achievement in Children from Primary School in Portugal

PubMed Central

Franco, Maria da Glória; Beja, Maria J.; Candeias, Adelinda; Santos, Natalie

2017-01-01

This study analyzes the relationship between emotion understanding and school achievement in children of primary school, considering age, gender, fluid intelligence, mother’s educational level and social competence. In this study participated 406 children of primary school. The instruments used were the Test of Emotion Comprehension, Colored Progressive Matrices of Raven, Socially Action and Interpersonal Problem Solving Scale. The structural equation model showed the relationship between the emotion understanding and school performance depends on a mediator variable that in the context of the study was designated social competence. Age appear as an explanatory factor of the differences found, the mother’s educational level only predicts significantly social emotional competence, fluid intelligence is a predictor of emotion understanding, school achievement and social emotional competence. Regarding the influence of sex, emotional understanding does not emerge as a significant predictor of social emotional competence in girls or boys. Multiple relationships between the various factors associated with school achievement and social emotional competence are discussed as well as their implications in promoting child development and school success. PMID:28861014

[Competency requirements for executives in healthcare and social services organizations: Results of a Delphi study].

PubMed

Pielach, Martin; Schubert, Hans-Joachim

2018-02-07

Leadership in social services and healthcare organizations is marked by high levels of complexity and contradiction, which cannot be fully explained by politically, economically, and socially induced changes. Rather, it is the particularities of service provision in healthcare and social services that confront executives with specific demands. This study aimed to capture and prioritize required leadership competencies in healthcare and social services organizations. A three-step Delphi study was conducted with executives and managerial staff, who are job holders and thus experts on their occupation. For the first step, an explorative qualitative approach was chosen to record general opinion without prior assumptions. The following two steps weighted and selected the competency requirements in step one using rating- and ranking procedures. Results of the Delphi inquiry imply high relevance of social and personal competencies. Approximately 66 % of the competencies assessed in round three were social and personal competencies. 12 out of the 15 highest rated competencies in Delphi step three can be assigned to these two competency categories. In contrast, the importance of professional as well as methodical competencies was rated as less important. Only two methodical competencies and one professional competency were rated as very important by the panel. Nevertheless, the importance of executive professional and methodical competencies in healthcare and social services organizations is emphasized by high ratings of the competencies "Sector-specific expertise" and "Analytical skills". The methodical competency "Analytical skills" was identified by the Delphi respondents as the most important competency requirement. Social and personal requirements are of primary importance for leadership in healthcare and social services organizations. These results mostly correspond to leadership requirements posited in the literature on leadership skills. Emphasis should be on the

Multitasking during social interactions in adolescence and early adulthood

PubMed Central

Mills, Kathryn L.; Dumontheil, Iroise; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-01-01

Multitasking is part of the everyday lives of both adolescents and adults. We often multitask during social interactions by simultaneously keeping track of other non-social information. Here, we examined how keeping track of non-social information impacts the ability to navigate social interactions in adolescents and adults. Participants aged 11–17 and 22–30 years old were instructed to carry out two tasks, one social and one non-social, within each trial. The social task involved referential communication, requiring participants to use social cues to guide their decisions, which sometimes required taking a different perspective. The non-social task manipulated cognitive load by requiring participants to remember non-social information in the form of one two-digit number (low load) or three two-digit numbers (high load) presented before each social task stimulus. Participants showed performance deficits when under high cognitive load and when the social task involved taking a different perspective, and individual differences in both trait perspective taking and working memory capacity predicted performance. Overall, adolescents were less adept at multitasking than adults when under high cognitive load. These results suggest that multitasking during social interactions incurs performance deficits, and that adolescents are more sensitive than adults to the effects of cognitive load while multitasking. PMID:26715991

Multitasking during social interactions in adolescence and early adulthood.

PubMed

Mills, Kathryn L; Dumontheil, Iroise; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-11-01

Multitasking is part of the everyday lives of both adolescents and adults. We often multitask during social interactions by simultaneously keeping track of other non-social information. Here, we examined how keeping track of non-social information impacts the ability to navigate social interactions in adolescents and adults. Participants aged 11-17 and 22-30 years old were instructed to carry out two tasks, one social and one non-social, within each trial. The social task involved referential communication, requiring participants to use social cues to guide their decisions, which sometimes required taking a different perspective. The non-social task manipulated cognitive load by requiring participants to remember non-social information in the form of one two-digit number (low load) or three two-digit numbers (high load) presented before each social task stimulus. Participants showed performance deficits when under high cognitive load and when the social task involved taking a different perspective, and individual differences in both trait perspective taking and working memory capacity predicted performance. Overall, adolescents were less adept at multitasking than adults when under high cognitive load. These results suggest that multitasking during social interactions incurs performance deficits, and that adolescents are more sensitive than adults to the effects of cognitive load while multitasking.

An analysis of the concept of competence in individuals and social systems.

PubMed

Adler, P T

1982-01-01

This paper has attempted to present a unified conceptual model of positive mental health or competence from the perspective of individuals and from the perspective of social systems of varying degrees of complexity, such as families, organizations, and entire communities. It has provided a taxonomy of the elements of competence which allows the application of a common framework to the analysis of competence and to the planning and evaluation of competence building interventions at any level of social organization. Community Mental Health Centers can apply the model which has been presented in a number of different ways. At whatever level(s) the CMHCs' efforts are directed, the competence model presents a framework for analysis, intervention, and evaluation which enriches and expands upon more typical disorder-based formulations. By providing a framework which encompasses all levels of social organization, the model provides the conceptual tools for going beyond the individual and microsystem levels which have often constituted the boundaries of CMHC concern, and allows the CMHC to approach the organizational and community levels which must be encompassed by a competently comprehensive center. Application of the concept of competence to social organizations and to communities allows the CMHC to analyze and intervene at these levels. Finally, the concept of organizational competence separated into its various elements provides the CMHC with a tool for analyzing and evaluating its own environment and the competence of various aspects of its own functioning within that environment.

Social stress in early adolescents' daily lives: Associations with affect and loneliness.

PubMed

van Roekel, Eeske; Ha, Thao; Verhagen, Maaike; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Scholte, Ron H J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2015-12-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased social stress due to changes in interpersonal relationships, but little is known about daily experiences of social stress. The aim of the present study was to examine daily life predictors of increases in social stress, how these increases affected adolescents' mood, and whether loneliness moderated these relations. The Experience Sampling Method was used to measure positive and negative affect and increases in social stress in 278 early adolescents from the Netherlands. Results showed that adolescents were most likely to experience increases in social stress when they were with classmates, during week days, and in the morning. Lonely adolescents showed higher increases in social stress and responded more negatively to increases in social stress, compared to non-lonely adolescents. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Raising Confident, Competent Daughters: Strategies for Parents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ransome, Whitney, Ed.; And Others

This booklet contains five essays designed to help parents raise confident, competent daughters. They focus on ways that parents can help their preadolescent and adolescent daughters: (1) speak up in class, articulate their thoughts, and speak with self-confidence in various academic and social situations; (2) develop an interest and aptitude for…

Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) Short Form.

PubMed

Nelemans, Stefanie A; Meeus, Wim H J; Branje, Susan J T; Van Leeuwen, Karla; Colpin, Hilde; Verschueren, Karine; Goossens, Luc

2017-01-01

In this study, we examined the longitudinal measurement invariance of a 12-item short version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) in two 4-year longitudinal community samples ( N sample 1 = 815, M age T 1 = 13.38 years; N sample 2 = 551, M age T 1 = 14.82 years). Using confirmatory factor analyses, we found strict longitudinal measurement invariance for the three-factor structure of the SAS-A across adolescence, across samples, and across gender. Some developmental changes in social anxiety were found from early to mid-adolescence, as well as gender differences across adolescence. These findings suggest that the short version of the SAS-A is a developmentally appropriate instrument that can be used effectively to examine adolescent social anxiety development.

Dimensions of the Mother-Child Relationship as Predictors of Social Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christopoulos, Christina; Dell, Susan B.

An attempt was made to identify aspects of the family environment that predict social competence in the school environment. A total of 69 second graders were administered a revised verion of Furman and Buhrmester's (1985) Network of Relationships Inventory. Social competence was assessed sociometrically and with seven behavioral nominations.…

Means-Tested Public Assistance Programs and Adolescent Political Socialization.

PubMed

Barnes, Carolyn Y; Hope, Elan C

2017-07-01

In recent years, scholars have pointed to the politically demobilizing effects of means-tested assistance programs on recipients. In this study, we bridge the insights from policy feedback literature and adolescent political socialization research to examine how receiving means-tested programs shapes parent influence on adolescent political participation. We argue that there are differences in pathways to political participation through parent political socialization and youth internal efficacy beliefs for adolescents from households that do or do not receive means-tested assistance. Using data from a nationally representative sample of 536 Black, Latino, and White adolescents (50.8% female), we find that adolescents from means-tested assistance households report less parent political socialization and political participation. For all youth, parent political socialization predicts adolescent political participation. Internal political efficacy is a stronger predictor of political participation for youth from a non-means-tested assistance household than it is for youth from a household receiving means-tested assistance. These findings provide some evidence of differential paths to youth political participation via exposure to means-tested programs.

Social Media Use and Episodic Heavy Drinking Among Adolescents.

PubMed

Brunborg, Geir Scott; Andreas, Jasmina Burdzovic; Kvaavik, Elisabeth

2017-06-01

Objectives Little is known about the consequences of adolescent social media use. The current study estimated the association between the amount of time adolescents spend on social media and the risk of episodic heavy drinking. Methods A school-based self-report cross-sectional study including 851 Norwegian middle and high school students (46.1% boys). frequency and quantity of social media use. Frequency of drinking four or six (girls and boys, respectively) alcoholic drinks during a single day (episodic heavy drinking). The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale - Brief, the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items for Adolescents, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Peer Relationship problems scale, gender, and school grade. Results Greater amount of time spent on social media was associated with greater likelihood of episodic heavy drinking among adolescents ( OR = 1.12, 95% CI (1.05, 1.19), p = 0.001), even after adjusting for school grade, impulsivity, sensation seeking, symptoms of depression, and peer relationship problems. Conclusion The results from the current study indicate that more time spent on social media is related to greater likelihood of episodic heavy drinking among adolescents.

The Role of Sex Hormone Replacement Therapy on Self-Perceived Competence in Adolescents with Delayed Puberty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwab, Jacqueline; Kulin, Howard E.; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Finkelstein, Jordan W.; Chinchilli, Vernon M.; Kunselman, Susan J.; Liben, Lyye S.; D'Arcangelo, M. Rose; Demers, Lawrence M.

2001-01-01

Examined role of sex steroids in development of self-perceived competence among adolescents receiving hormone therapy for delayed puberty. Found that hormone treatments had a significant positive effect for both males and females in perceived job competence. Significant positive effects were also obtained for perceptions of romantic appeal and…

The Influence of Communicative Competence on Perceived Task, Social and Physical Attraction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duran, Robert L.; Kelly, Lynne

1988-01-01

Examines whether communicative competence influences perceived task, social, and physical attractiveness. Results indicated that communicative competence accounted for 17 percent, 14 percent and 8 percent of the variance in perceived task, social, and physical attractiveness, respectively. (MM)

Social-Perspective Coordination and Gifted Adolescents' Friendship Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masden, Catherine A.; Leung, Olivia N.; Shore, Bruce M.; Schneider, Barry H.; Udvari, Stephen J.

2015-01-01

This research examined links among academic ability, social-perspective coordination, and friendship quality, within the context of gifted adolescents' friendships. The sample consisted of 120 early adolescents (59 girls, 61 boys), 81 of whom were identified as gifted. Academic ability, sex, and grade significantly predicted social-perspective…

Autonomy and Adolescent Social Functioning: The Moderating Effect of Risk

PubMed Central

McElhaney, Kathleen Boykin; Allen, Joseph P.

2006-01-01

This study examined the moderating effect of risk on the relation between autonomy processes and family and adolescent functioning. The present sample comprised 131 adolescents from either a low-risk or high-risk social context, their mothers, and their peers. Observational ratings of autonomy processes within the mother-adolescent dyad were obtained, along with adolescent reports of the quality of the mother-adolescent relationship, and both adolescent and peer reports of the adolescent’s functioning. Consistent with past research, in low-risk families, behavior undermining autonomy was negatively related to relationship quality, and adolescents’ expressions of autonomy were linked with positive indices of social functioning. In high-risk families, however, undermining of autonomy was positively linked with mother-adolescent relationship quality, and adolescents’ expressions of autonomy were linked with negative indices of social functioning. Results are interpreted as demonstrating the ways in which the developmental task of attaining autonomy in adolescence is systematically altered depending on the level of risk and challenge in the adolescent’s social context. PMID:11280481

Self-concept and ego development in deaf adolescents: a comparative study.

PubMed

van Gent, Tiejo; Goedhart, Arnold W; Knoors, Harry E T; Westenberg, P Michiel; Treffers, Philip D A

2012-01-01

Self-concept and ego development, two intertwined aspects of self-indicating well-being and social-cognitive maturation, respectively, were examined in a representative sample of deaf adolescents of normal intelligence (N = 68), using translated and adapted versions of Harter's (1988, Manual for the self-perception profile for adolescents. Denver, CO: University of Denver) multidimensional measure of self-concept and Loevinger's (1998, Technical foundations for measuring ego development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum) measure of ego development. Compared to hearing norm groups, deaf adolescents showed lower levels of self-perceived social acceptance, close friendships and ego development and higher physical appearance. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables showed positive associations of global self-worth with support for signing during childhood and quality of parent-child communication and of ego development with attending a regular school. Cluster analysis identified three social competence profiles: uniformly low competence, uniformly high competence, and low social acceptance with high physical appearance. Cluster membership was associated with school type, ego development, and (past) neurological disorder. The results are discussed in reference to interventions aimed at the well-being of deaf youth.

Boundaryless career and career success: the impact of emotional and social competencies.

PubMed

Gerli, Fabrizio; Bonesso, Sara; Pizzi, Claudio

2015-01-01

Even though, over the last two decades, the boundaryless career concept has stimulated a wide theoretical debate, scholars have recently claimed that research on the competencies that are necessary for managing a cross-boundary career is still incomplete. Similarly, the literature on emotional and social competencies has demonstrated how they predict work performance across industries and jobs but has neglected their influence in explaining the individual's mobility across boundaries and their impact on career success. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining the effects of emotional and social competencies on boundaryless career and on objective career success. By analyzing a sample of 142 managers over a period of 8 years, we found evidence that emotional competencies positively influence the propensity of an individual to undertake physical career mobility and that career advancements are related to the possession of social competencies and depend on the adoption of boundaryless career paths. This study also provides a contribution in terms of the evaluation of the emotional and social competencies demonstrated by an individual and of the operationalization of the measurement of boundaryless career paths, considering three facets of the physical mobility construct (organizational, industrial, and geographical boundaries).

Boundaryless career and career success: the impact of emotional and social competencies

PubMed Central

Gerli, Fabrizio; Bonesso, Sara; Pizzi, Claudio

2015-01-01

Even though, over the last two decades, the boundaryless career concept has stimulated a wide theoretical debate, scholars have recently claimed that research on the competencies that are necessary for managing a cross-boundary career is still incomplete. Similarly, the literature on emotional and social competencies has demonstrated how they predict work performance across industries and jobs but has neglected their influence in explaining the individual's mobility across boundaries and their impact on career success. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining the effects of emotional and social competencies on boundaryless career and on objective career success. By analyzing a sample of 142 managers over a period of 8 years, we found evidence that emotional competencies positively influence the propensity of an individual to undertake physical career mobility and that career advancements are related to the possession of social competencies and depend on the adoption of boundaryless career paths. This study also provides a contribution in terms of the evaluation of the emotional and social competencies demonstrated by an individual and of the operationalization of the measurement of boundaryless career paths, considering three facets of the physical mobility construct (organizational, industrial, and geographical boundaries). PMID:26388809

Social Competence in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors: Application of a Model from Social Neuroscience and Developmental Psychology

PubMed Central

Hocking, Matthew C.; McCurdy, Mark; Turner, Elise; Kazak, Anne E.; Noll, Robert B.; Phillips, Peter; Barakat, Lamia P.

2014-01-01

Pediatric brain tumor (BT) survivors are at risk for psychosocial late effects across many domains of functioning, including neurocognitive and social. The literature on the social competence of pediatric BT survivors is still developing and future research is needed that integrates developmental and cognitive neuroscience research methodologies to identify predictors of survivor social adjustment and interventions to ameliorate problems. This review discusses the current literature on survivor social functioning through a model of social competence in childhood brain disorder and suggests future directions based on this model. Interventions pursuing change in survivor social adjustment should consider targeting social ecological factors. PMID:25382825

Sex Differences in the Socialization of Competence in Preschoolers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, William L.

An extension of a project that examined the associations between parental responses to children's emotional upset and children's competence in preschool, this study focuses on gender differences in the socialization of competence. Parents' warmth and responsiveness, firmness and control, and responses to their children's emotional upset were…

Preliminary Finnish measures of eating competence suggest association with health-promoting eating patterns and related psychobehavioral factors in 10-17 year old adolescents.

PubMed

Tanja, Tilles-Tirkkonen; Outi, Nuutinen; Sakari, Suominen; Jarmo, Liukkonen; Kaisa, Poutanen; Leila, Karhunen

2015-05-21

Eating competence is an attitudinal and behavioral concept, based on The Satter Eating Competence Model. In adults, it has been shown to be associated with a higher quality of diet. Eating competence or its association with the quality of diet has not been studied in adolescents. The aim of the current study was to explore the utility of using a preliminary Finnish translation of the ecSI 2.0 for evaluating presumed eating competence and its association with food selection, meal patterns and related psychobehavioral factors in 10-17 year old adolescents. Altogether 976 10-17 years old Finnish adolescents filled in the study questionnaire. When exploring the construct validity of ecSI 2.0, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated acceptable model fit and all four components of the ecSI 2.0 (eating attitudes, food acceptance, internal regulation of food intake, management of eating context) correlated with each other and were internally consistent. Over half (58%) of the adolescents scored 32 or higher and were thus classified as presumably eating competent (pEC). Eating competence was associated with greater meal frequency, more frequent consumption of vegetables and fruits, and more health-promoting family eating patterns. In addition the pEC, adolescents more often perceived their body size as appropriate, had less often tried to lose weight and had a higher self-esteem and a stronger sense of coherence than the not pEC ones. Family eating patterns and self-esteem were the main underlying factors of eating competence. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests eating competence could be a useful concept to characterize eating patterns and related behaviors and attitudes in adolescents. However, these preliminary findings need to be confirmed in further studies with an instrument fully validated for this age group.

Adolescent-specific patterns of behavior and neural activity during social reinforcement learning

PubMed Central

Jones, Rebecca M.; Somerville, Leah H.; Li, Jian; Ruberry, Erika J.; Powers, Alisa; Mehta, Natasha; Dyke, Jonathan; Casey, BJ

2014-01-01

Humans are sophisticated social beings. Social cues from others are exceptionally salient, particularly during adolescence. Understanding how adolescents interpret and learn from variable social signals can provide insight into the observed shift in social sensitivity during this period. The current study tested 120 participants between the ages of 8 and 25 years on a social reinforcement learning task where the probability of receiving positive social feedback was parametrically manipulated. Seventy-eight of these participants completed the task during fMRI scanning. Modeling trial-by-trial learning, children and adults showed higher positive learning rates than adolescents, suggesting that adolescents demonstrated less differentiation in their reaction times for peers who provided more positive feedback. Forming expectations about receiving positive social reinforcement correlated with neural activity within the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum across age. Adolescents, unlike children and adults, showed greater insular activity during positive prediction error learning and increased activity in the supplementary motor cortex and the putamen when receiving positive social feedback regardless of the expected outcome, suggesting that peer approval may motivate adolescents towards action. While different amounts of positive social reinforcement enhanced learning in children and adults, all positive social reinforcement equally motivated adolescents. Together, these findings indicate that sensitivity to peer approval during adolescence goes beyond simple reinforcement theory accounts and suggests possible explanations for how peers may motivate adolescent behavior. PMID:24550063

Adolescent-specific patterns of behavior and neural activity during social reinforcement learning.

PubMed

Jones, Rebecca M; Somerville, Leah H; Li, Jian; Ruberry, Erika J; Powers, Alisa; Mehta, Natasha; Dyke, Jonathan; Casey, B J

2014-06-01

Humans are sophisticated social beings. Social cues from others are exceptionally salient, particularly during adolescence. Understanding how adolescents interpret and learn from variable social signals can provide insight into the observed shift in social sensitivity during this period. The present study tested 120 participants between the ages of 8 and 25 years on a social reinforcement learning task where the probability of receiving positive social feedback was parametrically manipulated. Seventy-eight of these participants completed the task during fMRI scanning. Modeling trial-by-trial learning, children and adults showed higher positive learning rates than did adolescents, suggesting that adolescents demonstrated less differentiation in their reaction times for peers who provided more positive feedback. Forming expectations about receiving positive social reinforcement correlated with neural activity within the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum across age. Adolescents, unlike children and adults, showed greater insular activity during positive prediction error learning and increased activity in the supplementary motor cortex and the putamen when receiving positive social feedback regardless of the expected outcome, suggesting that peer approval may motivate adolescents toward action. While different amounts of positive social reinforcement enhanced learning in children and adults, all positive social reinforcement equally motivated adolescents. Together, these findings indicate that sensitivity to peer approval during adolescence goes beyond simple reinforcement theory accounts and suggest possible explanations for how peers may motivate adolescent behavior.

Social Competence in the Preschool: A Multivariate View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Jennifer; Doyle, Anna-Beth

This study was designed to provide additional understanding of the construct of social competence by using multiple assessments, including both behavioral and inferential techniques. Indices of qualitative social behaviors and of quantitative interaction dimensions were collected on 66 preschoolers during free play. Scores on the Kohn and Rosman…

Social skills and depressive symptoms across adolescence: social support as a mediator in girls versus boys.

PubMed

Nilsen, Wendy; Karevold, Evalill; Røysamb, Espen; Gustavson, Kristin; Mathiesen, Kristin S

2013-02-01

The current population-based study of Norwegian adolescents examined gender-specific patterns in the prospective association between social skills in early adolescence (age 12.5; n = 566) and changes in depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence (age 16.5; n = 375). Further, a potential mediation effect of social support (from peers, parents, and teachers) in middle adolescence (age 14.5; n = 456) was examined. The findings indicated that low levels of social skills in early adolescence predicted increases in depressive symptoms for both girls and boys. Low levels of friend support in middle adolescence mediated this relationship for girls, but not boys. The findings underline the importance of including social skills training in primary programs designed to prevent development of depression. Preventive programs should also include actions on how girls can cope with interpersonal difficulties. Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social scripts and stark realities: Kenyan adolescents' abortion discourse.

PubMed

Mitchell, Ellen M H; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Kamathi, Eva Muthuuri; Owino, Shirley

2006-01-01

This study explores students' narratives and discourses about adolescent pregnancy and abortion elicited via internet-based open-ended questions posed in response to a cartoon vignette. We report on content analysis of recommendations and strategies for how to manage the unplanned pregnancy of a fictional young couple and in their own personal lives. The responses of 614 young people were analysed. Strategies vary widely. They include giving birth, adoption, running away, abortion, denial, and postponement until discovery. Young people were also queried about unplanned pregnancy resolution among their peers. Discourse analysis reveals competing social scripts on abortion. Florid condemnation of abortion acts in the hypothetical cases contrasts with more frank and sober description of peers' real life abortion behaviour. Students' language is compared with that found in official curricula. The rhetorical devices, moralizing social scripts and dubious health claims about abortion in students' online narratives mirror the tenor and content of their academic curricula as well as Kenyan media presentation of the issue. The need for factual information, dispassionate dialogue and improved contraceptive access is considerable.

The development of autistic social traits across childhood and adolescence in males and females.

PubMed

Mandy, William; Pellicano, Liz; St Pourcain, Beate; Skuse, David; Heron, Jon

2018-04-19

Autism is a dimensional condition, representing the extreme end of a continuum of social competence that extends throughout the general population. Currently, little is known about how autistic social traits (ASTs), measured across the full spectrum of severity, develop during childhood and adolescence, including whether there are developmental differences between boys and girls. Therefore, we sought to chart the trajectories of ASTs in the general population across childhood and adolescence, with a focus on gender differences. Participants were 9,744 males (n = 4,784) and females (n = 4,960) from ALSPAC, a UK birth cohort study. ASTs were assessed when participants were aged 7, 10, 13 and 16 years, using the parent-report Social Communication Disorders Checklist. Data were modelled using latent growth curve analysis. Developmental trajectories of males and females were nonlinear, showing a decline from 7 to 10 years, followed by an increase between 10 and 16 years. At 7 years, males had higher levels of ASTs than females (mean raw score difference = 0.88, 95% CI [.72, 1.04]), and were more likely (odds ratio [OR]  = 1.99; 95% CI, 1.82, 2.16) to score in the clinical range on the SCDC. By 16 years this gender difference had disappeared: males and females had, on average, similar levels of ASTs (mean difference = 0.00, 95% CI [-0.19, 0.19]) and were equally likely to score in the SCDC's clinical range (OR = 0.91, 95% CI, 0.73, 1.10). This was the result of an increase in females' ASTs between 10 and 16 years. There are gender-specific trajectories of autistic social impairment, with females more likely than males to experience an escalation of ASTs during early- and midadolescence. It remains to be discovered whether the observed female adolescent increase in ASTs represents the genuine late onset of social difficulties or earlier, subtle, pre-existing difficulties becoming more obvious. © 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Components of Social Competence and Strategies of Support: Considering What to Teach and How

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Heejeong Sophia; Kemple, Kristen Mary

2006-01-01

Decisions about how to support the development of young children's social competence must be made on the basis of knowledge of important competencies to be developed, as well as effective strategies to support those competencies. This paper combines a broad-definition model of components of social competence (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, Soderman, &…

Scientific Competencies in the Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietrich, Heike; Zhang, Ying; Klopp, Eric; Brünken, Roland; Krause, Ulrike-Marie; Spinath, Frank M.; Stark, Robin; Spinath, Birgit

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to introduce a general theoretical model of scientific competencies in higher education and to adapt it to three social sciences, namely psychology, sociology, and political science, by providing evidence from expert interviews and program regulations. Within our general model, we distinguished and specified four…

Preadolescents' Daily Peer Victimization and Perceived Social Competence: Moderating Effects of Classroom Aggression.

PubMed

Morrow, Michael T; Hubbard, Julie A; Sharp, Marissa K

2018-01-29

Few studies have assessed children's daily peer experiences, and even fewer have considered their daily self-perceptions. This daily diary study examined relations between preadolescents' daily reports of peer victimization and perceived social competence, along with moderating effects of classroom aggression. A racially diverse sample of 182 children in 5th grade (105 boys; M age = 10.64 years; 35% White, 31% Black, 17% Hispanic, 17% other or not reported) completed daily measures of peer victimization and perceived social competence, with most children completing measures on 8 school days. Teachers completed measures of aggression for each participating pupil. Four types of peer victimization (verbal victimization, social manipulation, social rebuff, and property attacks) predicted decreased daily perceived social competence. Daily social rebuff predicted decreased daily perceived social competence beyond the effects of the other types of victimization. Classroom aggression moderated the relation of verbal victimization with perceived social competence, such that this relation was significant in classrooms with lower aggression and nonsignificant in classrooms with higher aggression. Results indicate that preadolescents' daily self-perceptions fluctuate with daily victimization by peers, particularly with social rebuff. Findings also suggest that the impact of verbal victimization on children's self-views could be exacerbated in classrooms that better manage peer-to-peer aggression. Accordingly, targeted interventions appear critical for children who continue to experience peer victimization in schools with highly effective aggression prevention programs.

Social networking site (SNS) use by adolescent mothers: Can social support and social capital be enhanced by online social networks? - A structured review of the literature.

PubMed

Nolan, Samantha; Hendricks, Joyce; Ferguson, Sally; Towell, Amanda

2017-05-01

to critically appraise the available literature and summarise the evidence relating to adolescent mothers' use of social networking sites in terms of any social support and social capital they may provide and to identify areas for future exploration. social networking sites have been demonstrated to provide social support to marginalised individuals and provide psycho-social benefits to members of such groups. Adolescent mothers are at risk of; social marginalisation; anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms; and poorer health and educational outcomes for their children. Social support has been shown to benefit adolescent mothers thus online mechanisms require consideration. a review of original research articles METHOD: key terms and Boolean operators identified research reports across a 20-year timeframe pertaining to the area of enquiry in: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Health Collection (Informit) and Google Scholar databases. Eight original research articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. studies demonstrate that adolescent mothers actively search for health information using the Internet and social networking sites, and that social support and social capital can be attributed to their use of specifically created online groups from within targeted health interventions. Use of a message board forum for pregnant and parenting adolescents also demonstrates elements of social support. There are no studies to date pertaining to adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of social support provision and related outcomes. further investigation is warranted to explore the potential benefits of adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of any social support provision and social capital they may provide. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Too Many Friends: Social Integration, Network Cohesion and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falci, Christina; McNeely, Clea

2009-01-01

Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents, we examine associations among social integration (network size), network cohesion (alter-density), perceptions of social relationships (e.g., social support) and adolescent depressive symptoms. We find that adolescents with either too large or too small a network have higher levels of…

Competence to waive interrogation rights and adjudicative competence in adolescent defendants: cognitive development, attorney contact, and psychological symptoms.

PubMed

Viljoen, Jodi L; Roesch, Ronald

2005-12-01

Although there is growing evidence of developmental differences in competency to waive interrogation rights and adjudicative competence, the correlates of adolescents' legal capacities remain unclear. This study examined the relationship of legal capacities to cognitive development, legal learning opportunities, and psychological symptoms. Participants were 152 male and female defendants aged 11-17, who completed Grisso's Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights, the Fitness Interview Test (Revised Edition), the Woodcock-Johnson III Cognitive Assessment Battery, and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children. Legal capacities relevant to interrogation and adjudication increased with age. These developmental differences were partially mediated or explained by cognitive development. Of the specific cognitive abilities examined (general intellectual ability, verbal ability, reasoning, long-term retrieval, attention, and executive functioning), verbal ability was a particularly strong predictor of performance on competency measures. Also, defendants obtained lower scores on competency measures if they showed evidence of attention deficits or hyperactivity, had spent limited time with their attorneys, and/or were from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Adolescent Siblings' Daily Discussions: Connections to Perceived Academic, Athletic, and Peer Competency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Corinna Jenkins; Winzeler, Abby

2007-01-01

First- and second-born adolescent siblings from 21 families completed a daily diary on each of 7 days. The frequency and content of siblings' conversations are described and the relationship between the content of siblings' discussion and their perceived academic, athletic, and peer competency is explored. Siblings most often talked about…

Building a Competency-Based Curriculum in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bracy, Wanda

2018-01-01

The focus on competency in social work education makes the development of a competency-based curriculum critical. This article describes an approach to curriculum building taking into account the integration, coherency, and integrity of such a curriculum. A presentation of how performance outcomes are fundamental to the relationship between the…

Cross-cultural adaptation of an adolescent HIV prevention program: social validation of social contexts and behavior among Botswana adolescents.

PubMed

St Lawrence, Janet S; Seloilwe, Esther; Magowe, Mabel; Dithole, Kefalotse; Kgosikwena, Billy; Kokoro, Elija; Lesaane, Dipuo

2013-08-01

An evidence-based HIV prevention intervention was adapted for Botswana youth with qualitative interviews, input from an adolescent panel, and social validation. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 boys and girls ages 13-19. An adolescent panel then drafted scenarios reflecting social situations described in the interviews that posed risk for HIV. A social validation sample (N = 65) then indicated the prevalence and difficulty of each situation. Youth described informational needs, pressures to use alcohol and drugs, peer pressure for unprotected sex, and intergenerational sex initiations as risk-priming situations. From 17% to 57% of the social validation sample had personally experienced the situations drafted by the adolescent panel. There were no differences in the ratings of boys versus girls, but youth over age 16 more often reported that they had experienced these risky situations. The results were embedded into the intervention. Major changes to the intervention resulted from this three-phase process.

Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents: factorial invariance across gender and age in Hispanic American adolescents.

PubMed

La Greca, Annette M; Ingles, Candido J; Lai, Betty S; Marzo, Juan C

2015-04-01

Social anxiety is a common psychological disorder that often emerges during adolescence and is associated with significant impairment. Efforts to prevent social anxiety disorder require sound assessment measures for identifying anxious youth, especially those from minority backgrounds. We examined the factorial invariance and latent mean differences of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) across gender and age groups in Hispanic American adolescents (N = 1,191; 56% girls; 15-18 years) using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that the factorial configuration of the correlated three-factor model of the SAS-A was invariant across gender and age. Analyses of latent mean differences revealed that boys exhibited higher structured means than girls on the Social Avoidance and Distress-General (SAD-General) subscale. On all SAS-A subscales, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Social Avoidance and Distress-New, and SAD-General, estimates of the structured means decreased with adolescent age. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Social orientation and the social self-esteem of gifted and talented female adolescents.

PubMed

Hollinger, C L; Fleming, E S

1985-03-01

Carlson's developmental theory of self-concept provides a theoretical explanation for equivalent levels of self-esteem among both sexes, despite sex differences in self-concept. The present study tests the applicability of Carlson's theory for a sample of gifted and talented female adolescents by examining three dimensions of possible self-esteem antecedents: actual talent ratings, self-perceptions of talent, and personality attributes. According to Carlson, talent ratings, self-perceptions, and personality attributes consistent with the feminine gender-role stereotype and a social orientation should emerge as positive predictors of the female adolescent's social self-esteem. Results of the regression analyses indicate that the best prediction of the social self-esteem of gifted and talented female adolescents is obtained from a combination of stereotypic feminine socially oriented and stereotypic masculine personally oriented predictor variables. For this sample, constructs such as androgyny appear to be more relevant to the understanding of social self-esteem than dichotomies such as personal-social orientation.

Parental social coaching promotes adolescent peer acceptance across the middle school transition.

PubMed

Gregson, Kim D; Tu, Kelly M; Erath, Stephen A; Pettit, Gregory S

2017-09-01

The present study investigated longitudinal associations between behavioral and cognitive dimensions of parental social coaching (i.e., advice about how to behave or think about peer challenges) and young adolescents' peer acceptance, and whether such associations are moderated by youths' social skills. Time 1 (T1) participants included 123 young adolescents (M age = 12.03 years; 50% boys; 58.5% European American). Parents gave open-ended reports about their social coaching to hypothetical peer stress scenarios, which were coded from low to high quality on behavioral and cognitive dimensions. Parents and teachers reported on adolescent prosocial behavior (i.e., social-behavioral skills), and adolescents reported on their social appraisals and social self-efficacy (i.e., social-cognitive skills). At T1 (before the first year of middle school) and Time 2 (approximately 10 months later, after the first year of middle school), parents and teachers rated adolescent peer acceptance. Analyses revealed that parents' prosocial behavioral advice and benign cognitive framing independently predicted adolescents' higher peer acceptance prospectively (controlling for earlier levels of peer acceptance). Furthermore, adolescent social skills moderated links between coaching and peer acceptance. Specifically, adolescents with higher, but not lower, social-cognitive skills became more accepted in the context of higher-quality coaching, supporting a "capitalization" pattern, such that these youth may be better able to utilize coaching suggestions. Results underscore the utility of parents' behavioral advice and cognitive framing for adolescent peer adjustment across the middle school transition and suggest that optimal social-coaching strategies may depend in part on adolescent social skill level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal linkages between sibling relationships and adjustment from middle childhood through adolescence.

PubMed

Kim, Ji-Yeon; McHale, Susan M; Crouter, Ann C; Osgood, D Wayne

2007-07-01

The links between changes in sibling conflict and intimacy and changes in perceived peer social competence and depression symptoms were examined from middle childhood through adolescence. Participants were mothers, fathers and first- and second-born siblings from 197 White, working/middle class, two-parent families. Peer competence peaked in early adolescence and then declined; depression symptoms were high in middle childhood and, for girls, in middle adolescence. Controlling for parent-offspring relationships and sibling and parent adjustment, increases in sibling conflict were linked to increases in depression symptoms, and increases in sibling intimacy were linked to increases in peer competence and, for girls, decreases in depression symptoms. Copyright 2007 APA.

Early Childhood Intervention and Early Adolescent Social and Emotional Competence: Second-Generation Evaluation Evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niles, Michael D.; Reynolds, Arthur J.; Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique

2008-01-01

Background: To explore whether social or emotional outcomes for high-risk early adolescent youth that attended an established preventive intervention called the Chicago Child-Parent Center Preschool Program (CPC) are moderated by individual, family and program variations. Purpose: Two questions are addressed: (1) Do the effects of CPC preschool…

Development of an Observational Scale to Measure Social Competence in Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Robin

An observational instrument was developed to measure social competence in kindergarten classrooms. Social competence was specified in terms of four broad behavioral categories: obedience, cooperation, interaction, and autonomy. Each category was further particularized in terms of observable behaviors. Initial 5-minute observations using the…

Association of ADHD symptoms and social competence with cognitive status in preschoolers.

PubMed

Ramos, Rosa; Freire, Carmen; Julvez, Jordi; Fernández, Mariana F; García-Esteban, Raquel; Torrent, Maties; Sunyer, Jordi; Olea, Nicolás

2013-03-01

We aimed to investigate the association of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and social competence outcomes with cognitive status in preschool children. The study population was drawn from three birth cohorts belonging to the Spanish INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) project: Menorca (n = 289), Ribera d'Ebre (n = 60), and Granada (n = 108). Children were assessed at the age of 4 years for cognitive functions (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, MSCA) by psychologists and for inattention and hyperactivity symptoms (ADHD Criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, ADHD-DSM-IV) and social competence (California Preschool Social Competence Scale) by their teachers. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine potential associations between behavioral outcomes (ADHD symptoms and social competence) and MSCA cognitive outcomes, adjusting for confounders. The presence of general ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, or both) and poorer social competence both showed negative associations with cognitive outcomes. When we compared children according to ADHD subtypes, those with inattention symptoms alone and those with both inattention and hyperactivity symptoms showed significantly lower cognitive function scores in comparison to children with no ADHD symptoms. Behavioral dysfunctions in preschoolers may be associated with impairment of cognitive functions.

Higher Order Language Competence and Adolescent Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Nancy J.; Farnia, Fataneh; Im-Bolter, Nancie

2013-01-01

Background: Clinic and community-based epidemiological studies have shown an association between child psychopathology and language impairment. The demands on language for social and academic adjustment shift dramatically during adolescence and the ability to understand the nonliteral meaning in language represented by higher order language…

Pattern of brain activation during social cognitive tasks is related to social competence in siblings discordant for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Villarreal, Mirta F; Drucaroff, Lucas J; Goldschmidt, Micaela G; de Achával, Delfina; Costanzo, Elsa Y; Castro, Mariana N; Ladrón-de-Guevara, M Soledad; Busatto Filho, Geraldo; Nemeroff, Charles B; Guinjoan, Salvador M

2014-09-01

Measures of social competence are closely related to actual community functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying competence in schizophrenia are not fully understood. We hypothesized that social deficits in schizophrenia are explained, at least in part, by abnormally lateralized patterns of brain activation in response to tasks engaging social cognition, as compared to healthy individuals. We predicted such patterns would be partly heritable, and therefore affected in patients' nonpsychotic siblings as well. We used a functional magnetic resonance image paradigm to characterize brain activation induced by theory of mind tasks, and two tests of social competence, the Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia (TABS), and the Social Skills Performance Assessment (SSPA) in siblings discordant for schizophrenia and comparable healthy controls (n = 14 per group). Healthy individuals showed the strongest correlation between social competence and activation of right hemisphere structures involved in social cognitive processing, whereas in patients, the correlation pattern was lateralized to left hemisphere areas. Unaffected siblings of patients exhibited a pattern intermediate between the other groups. These results support the hypothesis that schizophrenia may be characterized by an abnormal functioning of nondominant hemisphere structures involved in the processing of socially salient information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Executive Function is Associated with Social Competence in Preschool-Aged Children Born Preterm or Full Term

PubMed Central

Alduncin, Nidia; Huffman, Lynne C.; Feldman, Heidi M.; Loe, Irene M.

2014-01-01

Background Executive function (EF), defined as higher-order cognitive processes used in planning and organizing actions and emotions, is often impaired in children born preterm. Few studies have assessed social competence, the processes and resources required to meet social demands and achieve social goals, in children born preterm. The relations between EF and social competence in preterm and full term preschoolers have not been well characterized. Aims To characterize social competence and assess the relationship between EF and social competence in preschool-aged children born preterm or full term. Study design Cross-sectional study. Subjects Study subjects had a history of preterm birth (≤ 34 weeks gestation) and birth weight < 2500 g (n = 70). Controls were born full term (≥ 37 weeks) (n = 79). Outcome measures Children completed a battery of EF tasks; a mean age-adjusted z-score for the battery was generated for each child. Parents rated child EF on one scale and child social competence on two standardized scales. Results Compared to full term children, preterm children showed a lower mean EF battery z-score, poorer parent-rated EF, and poorer scores on the two social competence scales. In hierarchical multiple regression models, EF battery z-score and parent-rated EF made independent contributions to both measures of social competence. Preterm birth explained additional variance for one measure of social competence. Conclusions Standard assessment of EF skills and social competence in young preschool children, including children born preterm, may identify at-risk children for long-term social difficulties and may also provide targets for intervention. PMID:24661446

Systematic Review of Social Network Analysis in Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seo, Dong-Chul; Huang, Yan

2012-01-01

Background: Social networks are important in adolescent smoking behavior. Previous research indicates that peer context is a major causal factor of adolescent smoking behavior. To date, however, little is known about the influence of peer group structure on adolescent smoking behavior. Methods: Studies that examined adolescent social networks with…