Social Competence

We report the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating the effectiveness of the Mindfulness Education (ME) program. ME is a theoretically derived, teacher-taught universal preventive intervention that focuses on facilitating the development of social and emotional competence and positive emotions, and has as its cornerstone daily lessons in which students engage in mindful attention training (three times a day). Pre-and early adolescent students in the 4th to 7th grades (N=246) drawn from six ME program classrooms and six comparison classrooms (wait-list controls) completed pretest and posttest self-report measures assessing optimism, general and school self-concept, and positive and negative affect. Teachers rated pre-and early adolescents on dimensions of classroom social and emotional competence. Results revealed that pre-and early adolescents who participated in the ME program, compared to those who did not, showed significant increases in optimism from pretest to posttest. Similarly, improvements on dimensions of teacherrated classroom social competent behaviors were found favoring ME program students. Program effects also were found for self-concept, although the ME program demonstrated more positive benefits for preadolescents than for early adolescents. Teacher reports of implementation fidelity and dosage for the mindfulness activities were high and teachers reported that they were easily able to integrate the mindful attention exercises within their classrooms. Theoretical issues linking mindful attention awareness to social and emotional competence and implications for the development of school-based interventions are discussed.

This book is a theoretical and practical guide in the field of social skills and social competence, based on decades of experience gained by the authors as researchers and professionals in psychology. The book was written for students and professionals who are involved in some way improving individuals´ social skills in different contexts, such as clinical, educational, organizational and community settings. The authors present the conceptual foundations, procedures, techniques, strategies and practical guidelines for planning and conducting effective programs aimed to social skills and social competence.
In the first part of the book, key concepts and fundamentals on the area are presented, as well as the basic behavioral classes of social skills and their non-verbal and paralinguistic components. The authors also propose a portfolio for the assessment of clients’ social skills deficits and strengths to thereby define the aims and procedures of interventions.

The second part focuses on guidelines to select and use procedures and techniques for promoting social skills and social competence. The authors present experiential activities that they created in previous interventions and that were tested in their research, showing evidence of effectiveness. Suggestions on how to evaluate participants’ repertoires and how to use these ideas in intervention planning are also described.

Finally, in the third part of the book, the authors go further presenting practical guidelines for planning and conducting programs and sessions to promote social skills and social competence, in either group or individual settings.

Purpose-The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effects of social competencies, specifically, political skill, self-monitoring and emotional intelligence, on the workplace conflict-abusive behavior relationship. Design/methodology/approach-The study utilized data collected from graduate and undergraduate students majoring in psychology, management, human relations and social work who were recruited from two mid-sized mid-western universities. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. Findings-Results indicated that interpersonal conflict in the workplace is associated with employee engagement in counterproductive work behaviors. Results also suggested that social competencies interacted with interpersonal conflict to predict the likelihood of abusing others at work. Politically skilled workers and high self-monitors were more likely to engage in abusive behaviors when experiencing high levels of interpersonal workplace conflict. Originality/value-The study is the first to show that certain social competencies may actually have negative ramifications in the workplace. Specifically, individuals who are politically skilled and/or high self-monitors are more likely to abuse others when they themselves experience interpersonal conflict.

Background: Deficits in social cognition, e.g. theory of mind (ToM) represent core characteristics involved in the etiology of psychopathological symptoms and an important predictor of social competence. In bipolar affective disorder, evidence for ToM deficits is scant, although brain imaging studies and impairments in non-social neurocognitive domains indicate deficits of prefrontal functions.

Leherarbeit Ziele formuliert. Mittels einer Umfrage wurde in dieser Studie ermittelt, welche pädagogischen Ziele Lehrer sich im Bereich der sozialen Kompetenz setzen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Lehrer einstimmig pädagogische Ziele aus der Perspektive der ''Erziehung zum Erwachsenen'' betonen. Im Vergleich dazu erhalten Staatsbü rgerschaftsziele weniger Aufmerksamkeit. In Bezug auf die erreichbarkeit der Ziele fü r ihre Schü ler zeigen sich Lehrer im berufsvorbereitenden Unterricht, ungeachtet der Perspektive, weniger zuversichtlich als Lehrer im allgemeinbildenden Bereich. Sie haben häufiger die Absicht in ihrem eigenen Unterricht zur Entwicklung der Sozialkompetenz ihrer Schü ler beizutragen. Wir schlussfolgern, dass Unterrichtsstrategien zu entwickeln sind, die Lehrern dabei helfen kö nnen, zur Entwicklung der Sozialkompetenz ihrer Schü ler beizutragen, besonders dort wo es um die Staatsbü rgerschaftelemente geht.

This study investigated family and classroom characteristics associated with parents' and teachers' ratings of 183 preschool children's social competence. Results of multilevel modeling indicated that teachers' negative ratings of the children were predicted by negative teacher behaviors and less optimal classroom climate. Children with higher stress were more likely to demonstrate low social competence when in class with other children with less optimal social competencies. Teachers' positive ratings of the preschooler's social competence were predicted by positive assessments of classroom climate and teacher behaviors. Positive classroom climate appeared to mediate the relationship between teacher behaviors and preschoolers' social competence. Path analyses indicated that higher socioeconomic status directly predicted parent ratings of social competence. Paths between child stress and parent ratings of social competence were significant as were paths between teachers' ratings of preschoolers' competence at school and parent ratings of social competence. These findings have implications for teacher training and parent education programs.

An intervention was developed to promote parent involvement with ethnic minority families of children attending Head Start preschool programs. Two hundred eighty-eight predominantly African American families from a small southern city were included in this study. Parent satisfaction with the program was high, yet engagement was less than optimal. Some effects were found for the program, despite low levels of participation. Ethnic minority parents who received the intervention increased the frequency of reading to their child as compared with parents in a comparison group who did not receive the program. The quality of the parent-teacher relationship was significantly correlated with parental participation in the intervention. Program participation and the parent-teacher relationship were correlated with higher levels of children's school readiness abilities. Children in the intervention condition showed stronger end-of-year receptive vocabulary and parent-rated social competence...

Goal This analysis was undertaken to assess the demographic and mental health characteristics of ''normal'' or non-problem gamblers versus non-gamblers in a representative community sample. Sample Study participants consisted of 557 North Central American Indian veterans. Data collection included a demographic and trauma questionnaire, a computer-based Diagnostic Interview Schedule for DSM-III-R, and a treatment history algorithm. Findings Univariate analyses revealed that gamblers had greater social competence (i.e., higher education, living with a spouse) and higher lifetime psychiatric morbidity. Binary regression analysis revealed that, compared to non-gamblers, J. Westermeyer Á P. Thuras Minneapolis VAMC, Minneapolis, MN, USA

The effects of an eight-week instructional program in creative dance/movement on the social competence of low-income preschool children were assessed in this study utilizing a scientifically rigorous design. Forty preschool children from a large Head Start program were randomly assigned to participate in either an experimental dance program or an attention control group. Teachers and parents, blind to the children's group membership, rated children's social competence both before and after the program, using English and Spanish versions of the Social Competence Behavior Evaluation: Preschool Edition. The results revealed significantly greater positive gains over time in the children's social competence and both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems for the experimental group compared with the control group. Small-group creative dance instruction for at-risk preschoolers appears to be an excellent mechanism for enhancing social competence and improving behavior. The implications for early childhood education and intervention are discussed.

Social interaction and understanding in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are key areas of concern to practitioners and researchers alike. However, there is a relative lack of information about the skills and competencies of children and young people with ASD who access ordinary community facilities including mainstream education. In particular, contributions by parents and their children have been under-utilized. Using two structured questionnaires, 19 children with ASD reported difficulties with social skills including social engagement and temper management and also reported difficulties with social competence, affecting both friendships and peer relationships. Parents rated the children's social skill and competence as significantly worse than did the children themselves, but there was considerable agreement about the areas that were problematic. Using an informal measure to highlight their children's difficulties, parents raised issues relating to conversation skills, social emotional reciprocity and peer relationships. The implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

This study investigated personal and contextual influences to young children’s perceived self-efficacy (SE) in social and independent learning situations. The participants were
children (n = 24) 6–8 years old from four Finnish elementary school classrooms. First, teachers from each classroom were asked to rate their students’ social competence
(SC). Second, the participants were videotaped in 45 social and 15 independent learning situations, and later interviewed about their SE perceptions using videostimulated
recall. Participants with higher SE demonstrated more stable perceptions and greater involvement in social learning situations. However, a statistically significant
relationship between perceived SE and SC was not found. Participants also identified 4 factors promoting perceived SE: positive emotional states, mastery experiences,
personal strategic behavior, and contextual support.

Although the study of Social Competence is now firmly established, certain studies are still needed to delineate the circumstances and variations found in different age groups. In particular, self-evaluation of social competence is a necessary point of view, and has been studied less than evaluations performed by the teacher or by peers, in reference to the school context. The objective of this paper is to examine differences in various measurements of social competence in sixth-grade primary students (11-12 year-olds) who attend three schools from different sociocultural contexts: inner-city, middle income, and suburban. We also examined gender differences.

Social competence is of great interest to developmental psychopathologists and is assessed frequently in both basic and applied research. A review of the literature reveals not only significant heterogeneity in definitions of this construct but an apparent disconnect between theoretical, measurement, and intervention models of competence in youth. This paper attempts to integrate these disparate enterprises by identifying four types of predictors theorists have associated with competencechild, behavior, situation, and judgeand critiquing common models in light of these dimensions. In general, assessment and intervention approaches appear less complex than theoretical conceptualizations of competence. When considering whether to incorporate additional predictors, notably situation-and judge-level factors, into these models, researchers must weigh parsimony versus the model misspecification that results from omitting important variables. Basic research that may assist in making these decisions is identified.

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.

This study tested a conceptual model predicting children's social competence in a sample of children with alcoholic and non-alcoholic parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression, and antisocial behavior at 12-18 months of child age in predicting parental warmth/ sensitivity at 2 years of child age. Parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was hypothesized to predict children's self-regulation and externalizing behavior problems at 3 years. Parenting, self-regulation, and behavior problems were expected to predict social competence in kindergarten. Structural equations modeling was supportive of this model. Fathers' alcohol diagnosis was associated with lower warmth/ sensitivity. Lower maternal warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was predictive of lower child self-regulation at 3 years. Parenting, self-regulation, and externalizing behavior problems were predictive of social competence in kindergarten, although associations varied by reporter (parents or teacher). There was a direct association between fathers' alcohol diagnosis and father reports of social competence, and between fathers' depression and teacher reports of social competence. The study elucidates developmental processes in predicting social competence and the role of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors in this process.

The clinical characteristics of children with comorbid anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD were examined. A sample of children from a pediatric primary care practice was assessed for anxiety disorders and ADHD. We defined four groups of children: (1) anxiety disorders only with no ADHD (n = 54); (2) ADHD-only with no anxiety disorder (n = 15); (3) neither ADHD nor an anxiety disorder (n = 107); and (4) comorbid ADHD and anxiety disorder (n = 14). Approximately 50% of children with ADHD had a comorbid anxiety disorder, and approximately 20% of children with an anxiety disorder had comorbid ADHD. The presence of comorbid ADHD and anxiety was associated with more attentional problems, school fears, and mood disorders and lower levels of social competence compared to children who had either ADHD-only or anxiety-only. Children with comorbid anxiety disorders and ADHD have more severe symptoms and are more impaired than children with either condition alone. Interventions need to be tailored to address the complexity of these comorbid conditions and their associated sequelae.

Рассмотрена социокультурная компетенция ино-
странных студентов как составная часть коммуникативной компе-
тенции. Представлены объекты обучения социокультурным сред-
ствам общения: ознакомление учащихся со страной изучаемого
языка и приобретение страноведческих и культурных знаний и
норм поведения, усвоение наиболее употребительных языковых
единиц с национально-культурной семантикой. Предложен отбор
учебного материала с учетом осуществления социальных ролей
обучающихся в сфере бытового, учебно-профессионального и со-
циокультурного общения с целью формирования социокультурной
компетенции. Выделено три типа информации: предметная, фоно-
вая и сопровождающая, – которые используются для адаптации
студентов в процессе обучения.

The article discusses the social and cultural competence
of foreign students as the main part of the communicative competence.
Objects of education for social and cultural means of communication,
such as introduction of students to a country of a language they study,
acquisition of cross-cultural and cultural knowledge, and standards of
behavior, learning of the most common linguistic units with national and
cultural semantics are described in the article. A selection of teaching
materials taking into account social roles of students in everyday,
education and professional, and social and cultural communication
to develop the social and cultural competence are also given. Subjectrelated, background and accompanying types of information are used to adapt students to the learning process.

This study is designed to explore the effects of previous participation in Open Circle: Social Competency Program (SCP) on the relational health of 153 Caucasian middle school students who reported having recent and consecutive exposure to the program in elementary school. SCP is designed to foster social skills among children that enable them to communicate better, work out conflicts, and build stronger relationships. Our study shows a consistent pattern of evidence that sustained participation in SCP during elementary school encourages the development of quality relationships with peer friends, mentors, and communities among boys as they start into their middle school years. This pattern is not as consistent among girls, who tend to develop relationships of relatively high quality (e.g., those characterized by authenticity, mutual engagement, empowerment, and the ability to deal with differences within the relationship in a way that fosters growth) even in the absence of or minimal participation in SCP.

A sample of primary school children in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, participated in this 2-year longitudinal project. Information on the family environment, children's social functioning, academic achievement, and depression was collected from multiple sources. The mean depression scores in the Chinese children was found to be similar to those found for children in the West. Depression was positively associated with aggressive-disruptive behavior and negatively associated with social competence. School social and academic difficulties were concurrently and positively correlated with depression. Moreover, social adjustment problems at age 8 were associated with depression at age 10. Academic difficulties were predictive of later depression only for children from families in which the mother was rejecting and parents had a conflictual relationship. Finally, decline in social and academic performance was related to depressed affect.

Background. Empathy plays a key role in social understanding, but its empirical measurement has proved difficult. The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a self-report scale designed to do just that. This series of four studies examined the reliability and validity of the EQ and determined its factor structure.

PeaceBuilders is a universal, elementary-school-based violence prevention program that attempts to alter the climate of a school by teaching students and staff simple rules and activities aimed at improving child social competence and reducing aggressive behavior. Eight matched schools (N Ͼ 4,000 students in Grades K-5) were randomly assigned to either immediate postbaseline intervention (PBI) or to a delayed intervention 1 year later (PBD). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze results from assessments in the fall and spring of 2 consecutive school years. In Year 1, significant gains in teacher-rated social competence for students in Grades K-2, in child self-reported peace-building behavior in Grades K-5, and reductions in aggressive behavior in Grades 3-5 were found for PBI but not PBD schools. Differential effects in Year 1 were also observed for aggression and prosocial behavior. Most effects were maintained in Year 2 for PBI schools, including increases in child prosocial behavior in Grades K-2. Implications for early universal school-based prevention and challenges related to evaluating large-scale prevention trials are discussed.

Adolescence represents a developmental period of waning academic motivation, particularly in STEM domains. To combat this, better understanding the factors that might foster STEM motivation and interest is of importance. Social factors like social competencies and feelings of belonging become increasingly important in adolescence. The current study investigated structural relations between social competencies, feelings of belonging to an informal STEM learning program, math and science efficacy and interest in a sample of 268 adolescents (M age = 15.25; 66.8% girls; 42.5% White British or European American, 25.7% South Asian British or Asian American, 15.7% Afro-Caribbean Black British or African American 5.6% Bi-racial, and 3.0% other). Adolescents were recruited from six different informal learning sites (e.g., science museums, zoos, or aquariums) in the United States (n = 147) and the United Kingdom (n = 121). The results revealed positive relations between social competencies an...

The present investigation examines the impact of family, self, and peer systems, evaluated during early adolescence, on the development of interpersonal competence in young adulthood. The participants were 110 Caucasian individuals, their mothers, and one of their teachers. At the first assessment, the participants ranged in age from 11.5 to 15.1 years old. Approximately six years later, the participants completed a second evaluation involving assessment of interpersonal competence. Increased interparental conflict and parental divorce predicted decreased self-esteem. Decreased self-esteem predicted poorer peer-adolescent relationships, which, in turn, forecasted poorer adult interpersonal competence. The results suggest that living in a distressed family leads to diminished self-esteem which can influence the quality of peer relationships and place an adolescent on a trejectory toward difficulties in interpersonal competence during adulthood.

This study examined the effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) Curriculum on the social, cognitive, and behavioral status of elementary schoolage deaf children. PATHS, a school-based preventive intervention model, was designed to improve children's selfcontrol, emotional understanding, and problem-solving skills. The intervention field trial included a quasi-experimental, wait-list control design involving 57 children in 11 selfcontained classrooms utilizing Total Communication. Teachers were trained in the intervention model and provided PATHS lessons during most of one school year. Results indicated that the intervention led to significant improvement in students' social problem-solving skills, emotional recognition skills, and teacher-and parent-rated social competence. There was no effect in this normative sample on teacher-or parent-rated psychopathology. One-and two-year posttest results indicated maintenance of effects. Results on the waitlist control group indicated replication of effects in a second sample. Discussion focused on the nature of change in school-based prevention trials.

Social and emotional competence are intricately linked, both developmentally and functionally. This entry begins with an overview of social competence, and then reviews several influential models of emotional competence, from which key components of emotional competence that are critical for effective social functioning are identified. How these components, which include emotional understanding and emotion regulation, develop in childhood, and how they contribute to successful social development, are explored. The role of early social experiences in the development of emotional competence, and how emotional competence in turn contributes to the development of social competence, directly and indirectly through enriching the social landscape, are described. Finally, opportunities and strategies for supporting the development of social and emotional competence at home and in school are considered.

This study focused on the emotional/cognitive processes associated with teacher ratings of empathic and socially competent behaviors. Teacher perceptions were assessed with the Devereux Child Behavior Rating Scale and ratings of empathic behavior. Emotional and cognitive processes were measured through analysis of stories told to TAT sdmuli. Units for coding stories were derived from the empirical and theoretical literature on empathy. Children (N= 120) were drawn from a larger pool of volunteers to increase variability in teacher rated empathy while keeping a manageable sample size. A deliberate selection procedure was used for initially classifying children as high, medium, and low in empathy. Children with higher empathy ratings and at higher grade levels received higher scores on the story telling measure. However, grade level accounted for a much smaller proportion of the variance in story telling empathy than did either of the two variables used to designate empathy groupings. The close association found between teacher behavioral ratings and features of TAT stories clarifies the social information processing of children who are perceived as differing in empathy. © 1997 Society for the Study of School Psychology This study applied empirical data and theory about empathy to the delineation of units for the analysis of narratives elicited by TAT stimuli. The specific goal was: (a) to develop units of analysis for interpreting stories told in response to interpersonal scenes that represent emotional/cognitive processes associated with empathy; and (b) to relate these units to behavioral ratings provided by teachers. point out the need to delineate nonself-report measures of empathy for children. Furthermore, empirical evidence relating empathy to indices of mental health (see Bryant,

and its relationship with authoritarian parenting. Literatures dating back from January 1969 to April 2010 were explored using key words. The paper argued that situational contexts must be taken into consideration in any attempt to define social competence. The need to discover the underlying mechanisms behind the acquisition of social competence among African children, and the development of new measures of social competence were recommended.

The quality of the home environment is widely recognized as a strong contributor to young children's emergent literacy and social competence and to their subsequent educational success. The present study examined the relationships between family variables (socioeconomic status (SES), social risk factors, and home learning variables) and children's emergent literacy competence and children's social functioning. The sample for this study was obtained by randomly selecting 48 classrooms within three Head Start programs and, then, randomly selecting five girls and five boys from each class. The final sample consisted of 325 families for which information about both child and primary caregiver was obtained from multiple sources (teacher, outside assessor, and primary caregiver). A mediational model was hypothesized and tested using structural equation modeling. The findings are consistent with the hypotheses that family social risk and home learning experiences mediate the association between SES and Head Start children's school readiness in the areas of emergent literacy competence and social functioning.

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.

The development, reliability, and validity of a new instrument, the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), is described. The results indicate that the SPAI-C has high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. In addition, an assessment of concurrent and external validity indicates statistically significant correlations with commonly used self-report measures of general anxiety and fears and parental reports of children's anxiety and social competence. The results of a factor analysis indicate that the scale consists of three factors: Assertiveness/ General Conversation, Traditional Social Encounters, and Public Performance. Finally, scores on the SPAI-C successfully differentiate socially anxious and non-socially-anxious children. The instrument appears to be a reliable and valid measure for childhood social anxiety and fear and may prove useful for improving clinical assessment and documenting treatment outcome.

The German National Educational Panel Study covers educational processes during Kindergarten and elementary school age in two stages: “Kindergarten and transition to elementary school” and “elementary school and transition to lower secondary school.” One cohort covers both of these two stages, starting in winter 2010/2011 with a cluster sample of 3,000 target children at about age 4 in Kindergarten. When most of these children enter school, the cohort will be more than doubled by integrating their classmates into the survey. In addition to direct assessment of children’s competencies, their parents are interviewed and teachers and principals fill out self-administered questionnaires. In these stages, assessments focus on early scientific and mathematical literacy as well as language competencies (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, phonological awareness). We survey the structure and aspects of the quality of Kindergarten and elementary school, families, and nonformal learning environments. Information on parents’ socioeconomic status and their evaluation of decision-relevant aspects allows us to model school choice and disentangle primary and secondary effects of stratification. Theoretically relevant aspects of migrants’ situation are surveyed. Further aspects are children’s health, social competencies, and the different care settings. Bildungsprozesse im Kindergarten und in der Grundschule werden im Nationalen Bildungspanel durch zwei Etappen abgedeckt: „Kindergarten und Übergang in die Grundschule“ und „Grundschule und der Übergang zur Sekundarstufe“. Diese beiden Etappen haben eine gemeinsame Startkohorte, die im Winter 2010/2011 mit einer Clusterstichprobe von 3.000 Kindergartenkindern im Alter von ca. 4 Jahren startet. Bei der Einschulung dieser Kinder wird der Stichprobenumfang mehr als verdoppelt, da nun auch deren Mitschüler in die Studie aufgenommen werden. Zusätzlich zur direkten Erfassung der kindlichen Kompetenzen werden die Eltern der Kinder telefonisch befragt und die pädagogischen Fachkräfte und Leitungen der Kindergärten bzw. Schulen füllen Fragebögen aus. In den beiden Etappen werden primär frühe naturwissenschaftliche und mathematische Fähigkeiten sowie Sprachkompetenzen (z. B. Wortschatz, Grammatik, phonologische Bewusstheit, Lesekompetenz) erhoben. Zudem werden Struktur- und Qualitätsaspekte von Kindergärten, Grundschulen, Familien sowie von informellen/non-formalen Lernumwelten erfasst. Die Erfassung des sozioökonomischen Status der Eltern und deren Bewertung relevanter Aspekte von Schulwahlentscheidungen ermöglichen die analytische Unterscheidung zwischen primären und sekundären Effekten der sozialen Herkunft. Zudem werden theoriegeleitet migrationsrelevante Indikatoren von Kindern, Eltern und pädagogischen Fachkräften erhoben. Weitere erfasste Bereiche sind Sozialkompetenzen, der Gesundheitszustand und die Betreuungssituation der Kinder.

The stress response systems of the human child are highly sensitive to social challenges. Because stress hormones can have negative developmental and health consequences, this presents an evolutionary paradox: Why would natural selection have favored mechanisms that elevate stress hormone levels in response to psychosocial stimuli? Two complementary hypotheses are considered: (a) maladaptation to the novelty of chronic stress in social environments, and (b) adaptive neural reorganization that facilitates the ontogeny of social competencies. Data on salivary cortisol, morbidity, and social environment from an 18 year study of child health in a rural community on the island of Dominica are examined from the perspective of these alternative hypotheses. Results indicate that diYcult family environments and traumatic events are associated with elevated cortisol levels and higher morbidity. The long-term eVects of traumatic early experiences on cortisol proWles are complex and indicate domain-speciWc eVects, with normal recovery from physical stressors, but heightened response to negative-aVect social challenges.

In this longitudinal study, the authors tested a developmental hypothesis derived from attachment theory and recent empirical findings. Target participants were 78 individuals who have been studied intensively from infancy into their mid-20s. When targets were 20 -23 years old, the authors tested the way in which interpersonal experiences at 3 pivotal points in each target's earlier social development-infancy/early childhood, early elementary school, and adolescence-predicted the pattern of positive versus negative emotions experienced with his or her romantic partner. A double-mediation model revealed that targets classified as securely attached at 12 months old were rated as more socially competent during early elementary school by their teachers. Targets' social competence, in turn, forecasted their having more secure relationships with close friends at age 16, which in turn predicted more positive daily emotional experiences in their adult romantic relationships (both self-and partner-reported) and less negative affect in conflict resolution and collaborative tasks with their romantic partners (rated by observers). These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory and how antecedent life experiences may indirectly shape events in current relationships.

This article explores the relationship between conflict and violence through a review of the literature about young children's conflict with their peers. Information about the nature of young children's conflicts and how teachers respond is presented and discussed in relation to 3 questions. First, do conflicts between children lead to violence? Second, what constitutes competent conflict resolution behavior? Third, how do children develop competent conflict resolution skills? This review of the literature indicates that conflicts between children do not naturally lead to violence. Rather, it is when children are unable to resolve their own conflicts, and when they are not supported in their efforts at resolutions, that violence is likely to result. While conflicts with peers provide a natural opportunity for children to develop competent conflict resolution skills, teachers must provide assistance as needed. Suggestions for further reading on this topic are provided.

Two studies found positive relationships between the ability to manage emotions and the quality of social interactions, supporting the predictive and incremental validity of an ability measure of emotional intelligence, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). In a sample of 118 American college students (Study 1), higher scores on the managing emotions subscale of the MSCEIT were positively related to the quality of interactions with friends, evaluated separately by participants and two friends. In a diary study of social interaction with 103 German college students (Study 2), managing emotions scores were positively related to the perceived quality of interactions with opposite sex individuals. Scores on this subscale were also positively related to perceived success in impression management in social interactions with individuals of the opposite sex. In both studies, the main findings remained statistically significant after controlling for Big Five personality traits.

Few investigations have examined directly the psychosocial functioning of depressed children. In the present study, 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed fourth-and fifth-grade children were observed in free play during their recess period at school, and their self-perceptions were assessed in subsequent individual sessions. The 10 boys and 10 girls in each group were selected according to their scores on both the Child Depression Inventory and the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression. Analyses conducted on the eight categories of behavioral observations revealed significant differences between the social behavior of the depressed and the nondepressed children. Although the depressed children made more overtures for social contact than did the nondepressed children and were approached by other children more frequently, they spent more time alone and engaged in a higher frequency of negative interactions with their peers. Consistent with these results, the depressed children's responses to the Self-Perception Profile for Children indicated that they experienced themselves as less socially competent in general, as well as less competent across several specific domains o f functioning. These findings are discussed as they relate to developmental processes, theories of adult depression, and recent studies on socially isolated children, and directions for future research in this area are offered.

This paper seeks to address omissions in previous research by identifying a future competency profile for design engineers. A three-phase methodology using both quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. A competency profile for the future design engineer, 10 years hence, was generated. The profile consisted of 42 competencies divided into the following six competency groups (in descending order of criticality): personal attributes, project management, cognitive strategies, cognitive abilities, technical ability, and communication. Furthermore, non-technical competencies were forecast to become increasingly important in the future. Results were discussed with reference to their implications for the design engineering industry.

This study was designed to examine associations between preschool children's pretend and physical play with same-sex, other-sex, and mixed sex peers and children's social competence with peers. Sixty predominately middle-class preschoolers (33 boys, 51 European-American) were observed on the playground at their school over a period of 4 months. Children's samesex, other-sex, and mixed-sex peer play was observed, and teachers and peers provided assessments of children's social competence. Analyses revealed that children who engaged in more same-sex pretend play were better liked by peers and were viewed by teachers as being socially competent. In addition, girls who engaged in same-sex exercise play and boys who engaged in same-sex rough-and-tumble play were better liked by peers, whereas boys who engaged in rough-and-tumble play with other-sex peers were less liked by peers. The results suggest that child gender and gender of playmate are important factors in the association between pretend play and rough-and-tumble play and children's social competence with peers.

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.

Emotional competence is crucial to children's ability to interact and form relationships with others (Parke, 1994; Saarni, 1990). As Saarni (1990) stated, ''We are talking about how [children] can respond emotion-ally, yet simultaneously and strategically apply their knowledge about ...

Mental ill-health is a major problem worldwide. It includes depression, aggressive behavior, feeling down and alcohol and drug abuse. Since all children go to school, the school is an obvious arena for health interventions. A set of educational techniques named Social and Emotional Learning, based on the use by teachers of cognitive and behavioral methods, which teaches students self-control, social competence, empathy, motivation and self-awareness, has shown promising results in the USA. This paper reports on the application of similar techniques in Sweden (the Social and Emotional Training [SET] program). The study has a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, with two intervention and two control schools. A wide range of instruments, both Swedish and international, are employed. In this paper, results from the school years 1999-2000 (baseline) through to 2001 -2002 are reported. Both the intervention and the data collection were performed by ordinary school staff in a routine school setting. Independent bi-annual ratings of teachers' performance were moderate to high, and teachers' perceptions of the program were generally, although by no means universally, high. However, their performance was poorer with regard to the collection of data. In terms of promotion, findings with regard to the impact of the program on mental health are generally favorable-in particular through the promotion of aspects of self-image, including well-being and the hindering of aggressiveness, bullying, attention-seeking and alcohol use. There was, however, no differential effect on social skills. It seems that SET has the potential to operate effectively as a health-promoting intervention during the school period, although its main impact may rather be to act as a brake on the deterioration in some aspects of mental health that is common during adolescence. Positively significant relationships were found on some but not all of the instrument scales, and effect sizes were medium.

The literature on participant roles in bullying lacks empirical studies that seek to explain what differentiates defenders from outsiders (or passive bystanders). The present study tested a conceptual model in which two personal characteristics of early adolescent students (empathy and perceived social selfefficacy) were considered as possible determinants of their participant behavior in bullying episodes. A total of 294 Italian early adolescents (mean age ¼ 13.3 years, range: 12-14) participated in the study. The structural equation modeling showed that high levels of empathic responsiveness were positively associated with both active defending and passive bystanding behavior, as assessed through peer nominations. In contrast, high levels of social self-efficacy were associated with helping behavior, whereas low levels of social self-efficacy were associated with passive bystanding behavior. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educational practitioners.