The importance of social competence in children's development has been recognized, and evidence has been found that children who are socially incompetent are at risk for academic problems. Yet the influences that may be involved from infancy, such as temperament and attachment, have not been explored longitudinally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of infant temperament characteristics on later social development and to explore the idea that this influence may be affected by the infant's attachment security mediated by parenting stress. Eighteen-month-old infants, from a previous study, were studied as second graders to examine whether their development was influenced by early attachment and temperament . This study examined the involvement of infant temperament and attachment in relation to maternal goodness-of-fit and parenting stress to predict social problems in the school years to gain valuable insight into the potential of the infant to influence his/her own development. Results indicate that characteristics of the infant and the mother-infant relationship have only indirect relations with how children function later in childhood. However, the child's temperament as a second grader, although not stable from infancy, is related to how well a child adapts in a school environment

This study explored the links between maternal beliefs about the importance of children's social skills, modes of obtaining social skills, management strategies, and children's social competence. Subjects were 67 mothers whose 3- and 4-year-old children attended one of five preschools in Cache Valley, Utah. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing their beliefs about the importance of social skills, their beliefs about how children acquire social skills, and the ways they are involved in their children 's peer relationships. Demographic measures were also completed by the mothers. Classroom teachers completed the Child Behavior Scale on every child in their class, regardless of maternal participation, in order to measure the child's social skills with peers. The results showed that mothers who returned the questionnaires were significantly more likely to have children with lower social competence. Mothers believed that social skills were important for preschool children and rated resolving conflicts, making friends, and sharing as more important than sticking-up for oneself or being a leader. Mothers were slightly more likely to believe that social skills were acquired as a result of innate characteristics. However, they were also more likely to choose an experience explanation for not being considerate of others ' feelings and choose an innate explanation for children who were considerate of other children's feelings. When ranking modes of acquisition, mothers who chose an experience or teaching explanation were less likely to believe that social skills were influenced by innate characteristics of the child. Mothers who believed that children gain social skills through experience were also more likely to have children with lower social competence. When testing the hypotheses, links between maternal beliefs about the importance of social skills, maternal management strategies, and children 's social competence were not found. No differences were found between maternal beliefs or management strategies of mothers of 3-year-olds and mothers of 4-year-olds. There were also no statistically significant differences in mothers' beliefs or management strategies based upon children's gender. Children's age and gender were not found to be related to children's social competence.

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Alla ska ha rätt rörelse och att få vara delaktig i en lagidrott. Inom lagidrotten lär sig individer att ta ansvar, samarbeta och flera andra sociala färdigheter som sedan kan komma till nytta i det vardagliga livet. Idrotten har alltid betytt mycket och den glädjen som lagidrott ger ska delas med andra.   Syftet var att undersöka betydelsen av lagidrott för att kunna utveckla social kompetens hos personer med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning. Undersökningen är baserad på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Det genomfördes totalt sex semistrukturerade intervjuer, fyra personer som arbetar med målgruppen samt två parafotbollspelare.  Resultatet visade att personer med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning och de som arbetar med målgruppen upplever att de har utvecklat social kompetens efter att de började med lagidrott. För att vara ledare inom parafotbollen visade resultatet att det är viktigt att tänka på att vara tydlig och pedagogisk i sitt sätt att coacha personer med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning.   I diskussionen kopplas resultatet ihop med teori och tidigare forskning. Studien visar likt tidigare forskning att målgruppen kan utveckla flera nödvändiga sociala kompetenser inom lagidrotten för att klara av vardagen lättare. Tillsammans kan kunskapen spridas vidare att lagidrott utvecklar social kompetens hos personer med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning / Everyone should have the right to movement and to participate in team sports associations. Within team sports, individuals learn responsibility, teamwork, and several other social skills that can be useful in everyday life. Sports have always been significant, and the joy that team sports bring should be shared with others.  The purpose was to examine the importance of team sports in developing social competence among individuals with intellectual disabilities. The study is based on a qualitative research method. A total of six semi-structured interviews were conducted, involving four individuals working with the target group and two para-football players.  The results showed that individuals with intellectual disabilities and those working with the target group experienced an improvement in social competence after engaging in team sports. Regarding leadership within para-football, the results indicated the importance of being clear and pedagogical in coaching individuals with intellectual disabilities.  The discussion relates the results to theory and previous research. The study, similar to earlier research, demonstrates that the target group can develop various necessary social competences through team sports to better cope with everyday life. Together, this knowledge can be further disseminated to highlight how team sports develop social competence in individuals with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to assess the social competence of high school students enrolled in online Physical Education courses. Additionally, the demographic information regarding students who enroll in online Physical Education courses was examined. The subjects for this study included sixty students taking one of two Physical Education courses at the Florida Virtual School during the spring 2005 term. The entire curriculum of the Florida Virtual School is presented online and students live throughout the entire state of Florida. Therefore, the entire study was administered online. The assessment instrument used was the Teenage Inventory of Social Skills created by Heidi Inderbitzen. The Teenage Inventory of Social Skills is a 40-item self-report questionnaire consisting of statements rated on a 6-point continuum. The instrument was divided into two sub-scales; a positive scale and a negative scale. A One-Sample T-Test was used to compare the mean sample scores with the standard means. Frequencies were run to review demographic information. Results indicated that there was no significant mean difference found between the students enrolled in online Physical Education courses and the mean of students established by the TISS. The majority of respondents were female, Caucasian, and were attending public or private schools for most of their classes.

University of the Pacific 2023 This study was an attempt to better understand important mechanisms that may moderate the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and negative outcomes such as anxiety and depression in females as they are diagnosed at a much lower rate and represent an underserved population. Using archival data from the National Institute of Mental Health this study investigated whether parental warmth and social competence were associated with decreased levels of anxiety and depression in 8-year-old females with ASD with average cognitive abilities. It was found that social competence was a significant factor in decreasing anxiety and depression. Surprisingly, parental warmth was not found to be significant. This research adds to the paucity of data relevant to autistic females with average and higher cognitive functioning. Potential interventions, as well as implications for future research are discussed.

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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders with similar functional impairments. Specifically, working memory (WM) deficits have been found in studies of both ADHD and ASD and social competence has been identified as an area in which these individuals also struggle. The purpose of this study was (a) to identify which components of working memory (WM; based on Baddeley's 2000 model) are deficient and (b) to explore how WM deficits contribute to social problems in individuals with varying levels of ADHD symptoms and ASD traits. It was hypothesized that visuospatial (VS) WM deficits would be evident in the three analogue clinical groups, phonological (PH) WM and central executive (CE) deficits would be more evident in groups with high ADHD symptoms, all three analogue clinical groups would have lower social competence, and WM abilities would moderate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and social competence. In Phase I, 1311 undergraduate students participated in an online survey on general psychopathology, ADHD symptoms, and ASD traits. From this sample, a subgroup (n = 60) completed Phase II, an in-lab session that included WM tasks, a brief cognitive assessment, and social conversation task. Although WM deficits were not identified for any group, all participants demonstrated worse performance on the VS WM task than the PH WM task. However, WM abilities did not moderate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and social competence. Exploratory analyses were conducted with similar results. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Ph. D.

To identify potential determinants of emotion socialization (ES) in the socio-cultural context, the current study examined a moderated mediation model whereby parents’ independent and interdependent self-construals were proposed to moderate associations of parents’ beliefs about children’s emotions with parents’ ES, which in turn relate to children’s social competence. Seventy-five Chinese parents (65 mothers, 10 fathers) with children in middle childhood (43 girls, 32 boys; Mage=9.18, SD=1.26) completed translated Chinese versions of the Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions Questionnaire, the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale, the Parental Reactions to Children’s Positive Emotions Scale, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Self-Construal Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Measurements were modified to include ego-focused and other-focused positive and negative emotions (i.e., pride, warmth, anger, and shame/guilt). Bivariate correlations, hierarchical multiple regressions, and exploratory analyses using the PROCESS macro were conducted. Parents endorsed both independent and interdependent self-construals, and on average reported significantly higher interdependent than independent self-construals. Chinese parents’ endorsement of independent self-construal may make their beliefs about ego-focused emotions more salient, thereby inducing ES responses aligned with their beliefs. Parents’ interdependent self-construal was related to their ES to other-focused emotions. Chinese parents’ nonsupportive reactions to children’s anger and pride were related to children’s social competence, which suggests that the inhibition of emotions may have some adaptive functions in Chinese society. Overall, findings contributed to the understanding of parental ES in Chinese families and emphasized the role of parents’ self-construal as an individual-level indicator of cultural values in the ES process. / M.S. / Centered around the process through which parents socialize children’s social and emotional competence (emotion socialization, ES), the current study examined how parents’ beliefs about children’s emotions associated with their ES reactions, how their beliefs together with their perceptions of self (self-construal) related to their ES reactions, and how their ES reactions associated with their children’s behaviors in a Chinese sample. Seventy-five Chinese parents (65 mothers, 10 fathers) with children from 7- to 11-year-old (43 girls, 32 boys) completed Chinese versions of questionnaires about their beliefs about children’s emotions, their ES reactions, their self-construal, their perceptions of children’s behaviors, and some demographic information. The associations aforementioned were tested. Chinese parents perceived themselves as both unique entities (independent self-construal) and connected with others (interdependent self-construal), with a higher level of interdependent self-construal. Parents’ endorsement of independent self-construal may spotlight their beliefs about children’s pride and anger, which in turn induce more ES reactions that are consistent with their beliefs. Parents’ interdependent self-construal was related to their ES reactions to children’s feelings of love and shame/guilt. Parents’ nonsupportive reactions to children’s anger and pride were related to children’s higher competence, which suggests that Chinese society may endorse the inhibition of emotions. Overall, findings contributed to the understanding of cross-cultural differences of parental ES between American and Chinese families and the impact of their perceptions of self on their ES reactions.

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children. Many injuries to school-aged children occur during unsupervised peer activities, but peer influences on risky behavior in preadolescence remain under-investigated. We examined peer context effects on reported risk-taking, identified predictors of peer influence, and compared peer influence in high- and low-social-functioning groups. Forty-one boys aged 8-10 years listened to scenarios in which they encountered opportunities for risk-taking (e.g., swimming unsupervised, playing with matches) with their best friends, with "cool guys" (desired peers), with disliked peers, and alone. They rated the likelihood that they would engage in risky behavior in each condition for each scenario. Children also completed measures of friendship satisfaction, peer orientation, and socially desirable responding. Parents completed the CBCL and an injury history form. Children reported more risk-taking with positive peers than alone, and less with negative peers than alone. Four variables (peer orientation, friendship satisfaction, social problems, mother unmarried) accounted for 77% of the observed variance in peer influence on risk-taking. Children in the high social competence group showed larger peer influence, and indicated a preference for risk-taking with best friends over cool guys. Results are discussed in terms of improving injury prevention efforts by reconceptualizing "peer pressure" as a developmentally adaptive aspect of child functioning. / Master of Science