This thesis examined relations between preschoolers's oppositional strategies and their social cognitive skills and behavioral competence. There is a gap between theoretical formulation and empirical investigation regarding children's oppositional behaviors in the literature. Although positive functions of oppositional behavior have been proposed by theorists, research has focused primarily on its negative nature. The present study intended to show that opposition was not a homogeneous construct and that certain noncompliant strategies were not destructive but rather healthy and desirable. Forty-nine mothers and their preschool children (age 3 to 5) participated. Mother-child interaction data were collected using naturalistic observation in a structured setting. Children's oppositional strategies were classified into four categories: aversive opposition (e.g., temper tantrums), passive noncompliance (e.g., ignoring), simple refusal, and negotiation. While social cognitive skills (perspective-taking and social problem-solving) were measured through experiments, behavioral competence was indexed using a questionnaire filled by day-care teachers. The data were analyzed using correlation and regression procedures. Results showed that aversive opposition was more likely to be seen in the children who were less able to see other's feelings and to generate problem-solving solutions, and who were less competent in a day-care setting. Passive noncompliance was more likely employed by the children who did poorly at a day-care setting, however, they were not necessarily deficient in social cognitive skills. Negotiators were more likely to be the children who were better at affective role-taking and social problem-solving and were more competent in a day-care setting. Finally, simple refusal had a weak and ambiguous relation to social cognition and competence. These results and their implications were discussed in the light of the existing literature on children's opposition. / Graduate

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy / There were two major aims in the current study. The first was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Thai Social and Emotional Skill Rating Scale (TSESRS) developed by the author. The measurement model of this material is a three factor model containing social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills. These factors were measured from eight indicators. Data were collected from 685 lower secondary school students who were studying in schools under the jurisdiction of the Phatthalung Educational Area Office, Thailand. Materials used in this phase were the trial version of the TSESRS, the Thai Emotional Skill Scale (TESS) and the Thai Social Skill Scale (TSSS). The evidence suggested that the following psychometric properties of the TSESRS are within the acceptable cut-off levels: item-validity, item-reliability, item-discrimination, test-reliability, construct validity, criterion related validity, and factorial validity. It was also found that a three factor model was the best fitting model. These results suggest that the TSESRS measures three distinct latent constructs, that is, social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills. The second aim was to examine the structural relationship of three exogenous variables, that is, social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills with two types of behaviour problems, that is, internalizing and externalizing problems. Data for this phase were collected from 951 students drawn from the same population as the first phase. Materials used for data collection were the TSESRS and the Thai version of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). The results revealed that among the three exogenous variables, social-cognitive skills was the only significant predictor of both internalizing and externalizing problems. The relationship between social-cognitive skills and two types of behaviour problems was negative. This means that the higher a students’ social-cognitive skills, the lower their level of internalizing and externalizing problems. The indicators of social cognitive skills were emotion control, problem solving, and decision making skills. This finding has important implications for dealing with behaviour problems in Thai students. Thai teachers or educators may use these findings for selecting from available programs or for developing new programs.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy / There were two major aims in the current study. The first was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Thai Social and Emotional Skill Rating Scale (TSESRS) developed by the author. The measurement model of this material is a three factor model containing social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills. These factors were measured from eight indicators. Data were collected from 685 lower secondary school students who were studying in schools under the jurisdiction of the Phatthalung Educational Area Office, Thailand. Materials used in this phase were the trial version of the TSESRS, the Thai Emotional Skill Scale (TESS) and the Thai Social Skill Scale (TSSS). The evidence suggested that the following psychometric properties of the TSESRS are within the acceptable cut-off levels: item-validity, item-reliability, item-discrimination, test-reliability, construct validity, criterion related validity, and factorial validity. It was also found that a three factor model was the best fitting model. These results suggest that the TSESRS measures three distinct latent constructs, that is, social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills. The second aim was to examine the structural relationship of three exogenous variables, that is, social skills, emotional skills, and social-cognitive skills with two types of behaviour problems, that is, internalizing and externalizing problems. Data for this phase were collected from 951 students drawn from the same population as the first phase. Materials used for data collection were the TSESRS and the Thai version of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). The results revealed that among the three exogenous variables, social-cognitive skills was the only significant predictor of both internalizing and externalizing problems. The relationship between social-cognitive skills and two types of behaviour problems was negative. This means that the higher a students’ social-cognitive skills, the lower their level of internalizing and externalizing problems. The indicators of social cognitive skills were emotion control, problem solving, and decision making skills. This finding has important implications for dealing with behaviour problems in Thai students. Thai teachers or educators may use these findings for selecting from available programs or for developing new programs.