For my senior thesis, I am planning to blend my mathematical studies with my second field of study, psychology. In particular, to develop and test various scoring methods for a multidimensional, psychometric measure of social skills/competence. I would work with the Social Skills Inventory (see below) and an existing data set, using statistical modelling to design a more representative total score measure. The current total score measure does not appear to take into account balances and value weights of the six inventory items.

With an increasing number of married mothers who participated in paid work roles, fathers with full-time employed spouses now are expected to assume the role of caregiver and have higher frequency of engagement in parenting practices. This study of 235 university students from dual-earner and single-earner families investigated their retrospective perceptions of both mothers' and fathers' frequency of engagement in overall and specific parenting behaviors. These perceptions were measured by the Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire-Revised Scale, which includes seven parenting characteristics and related behaviors. Paired samples t-tests suggested that married mothers, whether fully employed outside the home or not, engaged more frequently, than their full-time employed spouses, in parenting characteristics related to bonding, education, general welfare and protection, responsivity, and sensitivity. However, mothers' employment status had little influence upon the frequency at which either parent engaged in any of the seven parenting characteristics and related behaviors. University students who perceived that both parents were more frequently engaged in specific parenting behaviors related to education, responsivity and sensitivity rated themselves higher on interpersonal competence, as measured by the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire-Revised Scale. Students who perceived that both parents were less frequently engaged in negative parenting behaviors rated themselves higher on competence in conflict management. In addition, family earner status had no significant impact on university students' levels of interpersonal competence. Although there was no significant gender difference in the levels of total interpersonal competence, male students reported higher levels of interpersonal competence in the domains of asserting influence and conflict management than their female counterparts. These findings revealed that like parents from single-earner families, parents from dual-earner families also demonstrated a significant discrepancy in the frequency of engagement in parenting practices. Mothers still invested considerably more time with their children than do fathers. Therefore, there may be a need to develop parent education programs for fathers so that they have opportunities to shape paternal identity and parental self-efficacy. Also, it is necessary to develop friendly family- employment policies and enhance social support networks that enable both full-time employed mothers and fathers to achieve a satisfactory balance between family and work.

College and university administrators are interested in the development of their students. Developmental theorists, such as Chickering (1969), provide a lens through which to view developmental task, and issues facing those tasks. One influence on development is friendship and student communities including siblings. This study expanded the available knowledge based on siblings in general, and addresses gaps in the literature by looking at sense of competence among siblings in college. The purpose of this study is to explore the sense of competence between older and younger siblings who were both college students at the same institution during an overlapping period of time. As defined by Arthur W. Chickering (1969), sense of competence is a feeling of self-confidence about one's interpersonal and intellectual skills. The intellectual and interpersonal competence of students were evaluated through the Sense of Competence Scale (SCS) (Janosik, Creamer & Cross, 1987). The SCS consists of 20 questions that focus on the interpersonal or interpersonal skills of the respondents. Ten items from the SCS are assigned to the interpersonal competence subscale, and 10 items from the SCS are assigned to the intellectual competence subscale. I created a web-based version of the SCS to collect data from college students who had a sibling at the same college with them simultaneously. The population for this study consists of participants who are one of at least two non-twin siblings who are enrolled at the same institution of higher education at the time of data collection. Data was collected from three institutions located in the southwest region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The research found no statistically significant differences in the intellectual and interpersonal competency between older and younger siblings. Although the study examined a limited number of siblings, the results did not contradict the current research on sibling relationships, which suggests that older siblings demonstrate higher intellectual competence and younger siblings demonstrate higher interpersonal competence. / Master of Arts

No período da vida que corresponde aos anos do ensino fundamental, faixa dos seis aos 12 anos, a criança se depara com tarefas de desenvolvimento relacionadas ao desempenho escolar e à competência interpessoal. O resultado de realização dessas tarefas é influenciado pela interação entre as características pessoais da criança e do contexto ambiental em que ela vive e participa. Supõe-se que aquelas que ingressam neste nível educacional com repertório prévio mais desenvolvido para lidar com as demandas da fase se saem melhor, apresentando cumulativamente um desenvolvimento mais saudável e promissor. Tem sido demonstrado o impacto das experiências escolares iniciais (passagem pela educação infantil) sobre a trajetória futura da criança na escola. O desempenho alcançado por ela e a qualidade dos seus relacionamentos com os colegas e o professor nesse momento predizem seu progresso escolar nos anos subsequentes, tanto em termos de aprendizagem como de ajustamento. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar quais variáveis pessoais e ambientais constituem-se como preditores de desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal da criança, verificando de que forma a exposição à educação infantil influencia no cumprimento dessas tarefas de desenvolvimento típicas da fase. Das características pessoais da criança foram investigadas: o potencial cognitivo, as habilidades sociais e o comportamento problemático; do contexto ambiental foram incluídos: o estresse escolar, o envolvimento da família na vida escolar da criança e a passagem pela educação infantil. Participaram do estudo 336 crianças, estudantes da 2ª série do ensino fundamental de escolas públicas de uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo e seus respectivos pais/responsáveis e professores. Com as crianças foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Matrizes Progressivas de Raven; Inventário de Estressores Escolares; Teste de Desempenho Escolar, Entrevista Sociométrica e Avaliação Pedagógica. Os pais/responsáveis responderam ao Critério Socioeconômico Brasil; os professores responderam à Escala de Envolvimento de um Membro Adulto da Família e ao Social Skills Rating System - SSRS-BR, formulário do professor. Foram processadas análises de regressão para desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal, tendo como preditores as variáveis da criança e do contexto ambiental, assim como indicadores socioeconômicos; e para as comparações de grupos foi aplicado o teste não-paramétrico de Kruskal- Wallis. Essas comparações foram realizadas com 95 crianças selecionadas da amostra de 336 e divididas quanto ao tempo de exposição à educação infantil: 32 sem EI; 31 com um ano; e 32 com dois anos. Esses três grupos de crianças eram balanceados quanto à escolaridade do chefe de família e ao nível socioeconômico. Os resultados indicam que as características pessoais e ambientais preditoras de desempenho escolar são as habilidades sociais de responsabilidade/cooperação, o potencial cognitivo, exposição à educação infantil, exposição e impacto dos estressores escolares, envolvimento familiar na vida escolar da criança, nível socioeconômico e escolaridade do chefe de família. Os preditores que se associaram à competência interpessoal foram a habilidade social de autodefesa e cooperação com os pares, o comportamento problemático e o envolvimento da família na vida escolar da criança. Através das comparações de grupos a passagem pela educação infantil mostrou-se como uma importante influência, visto que as crianças com um ou dois anos de experiência prévia se saíram melhor em desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal. Apresentaram vantagens em todos os indicadores de desempenho escolar avaliados; mostraram-se como mais queridas pelos colegas e apresentaram uma tendência vantajosa nos indicadores positivos de intensidade do quanto é querido e amizade. / In the years when children go to elementary school (6 - 12 years old), they face tasks related to their development, academic performance and interpersonal competence. Children\'s performance in these tasks is influenced by the interaction between the child\'s personal characteristics and the environment in which the child lives. Those who start elementary school with a richer repertoire developed previously are supposed to have a better performance. They tend to present healthier and more promising development. There are some studies about the impact of kindergarten (K) experience on the child\'s future academic life. The child\'s performance and the quality of its relationship with schoolmates and teacher at that moment predict its academic progress, as well as self-adjustment in the following years. This study aims to investigate which personal and environmental variables may work as predictors of children\'s academic performance and interpersonal competence, by analyzing how the exposure to K influences in the performance of developmental tasks typical of that phase. The children\'s personal characteristics investigated were: cognitive potential, social skills, and problem behavior. The environmental factors investigated were: school stress, family support in the child\'s school life, and the child\'s attendance to K. A group of 336 second-grade elementary students from public schools in a city in the inland of the State of São Paulo and their parents/guardians and teachers participated in this study. The children were assesssed with Raven\'s Progressive Matrices, the School Hassles Inventory, the School Achievement Test, Sociometric Interview, and pedagogical evaluation. Parents/guardians answered the Brazilian Social-economic Criterion; the teachers answered the Scale of Participation of an Adult Family Member and to the Social Skills Rating System - SSRS-BR, teacher form. Regression analysis was used for prediction of academic performance and interpersonal competence with the child\'s and its environmental variables, as well as socialeconomic indicators. The non-parametric method Kruskal-Wallis test was used in order to compare groups. Ninety-five out of 336 children were selected and compared as for the time of attendance/exposure to K: 32 did not attend K; 31 had one year of K; 32 had two years of K. These 3 groups were balanced social-economically and as for the family\'s breadwinner\'s schooling. Results show that the personal and environmental characteristics to predict academic performance are: social skills related to responsibility and cooperation, cognitive potential, exposure to K environment, exposure to and impact of school hassles, family participation in the child\'s school life, social-economic level, and family\'s breadwinner\'s schooling. The predictors associated to interpersonal competence were the social skill of selfdefense and peer cooperation, problem behavior, and family participation in the child\'s school life. By comparison, K attendance has proven to have important influence, since children with one or two years of K experience before elementary school performed better academically and in terms of interpersonal competence. They scored higher in all academic performance indicators used; they were seen as more popular among schoolmates and showed positive tendency in indicators of popularity and friendship.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

No período da vida que corresponde aos anos do ensino fundamental, faixa dos seis aos 12 anos, a criança se depara com tarefas de desenvolvimento relacionadas ao desempenho escolar e à competência interpessoal. O resultado de realização dessas tarefas é influenciado pela interação entre as características pessoais da criança e do contexto ambiental em que ela vive e participa. Supõe-se que aquelas que ingressam neste nível educacional com repertório prévio mais desenvolvido para lidar com as demandas da fase se saem melhor, apresentando cumulativamente um desenvolvimento mais saudável e promissor. Tem sido demonstrado o impacto das experiências escolares iniciais (passagem pela educação infantil) sobre a trajetória futura da criança na escola. O desempenho alcançado por ela e a qualidade dos seus relacionamentos com os colegas e o professor nesse momento predizem seu progresso escolar nos anos subsequentes, tanto em termos de aprendizagem como de ajustamento. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar quais variáveis pessoais e ambientais constituem-se como preditores de desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal da criança, verificando de que forma a exposição à educação infantil influencia no cumprimento dessas tarefas de desenvolvimento típicas da fase. Das características pessoais da criança foram investigadas: o potencial cognitivo, as habilidades sociais e o comportamento problemático; do contexto ambiental foram incluídos: o estresse escolar, o envolvimento da família na vida escolar da criança e a passagem pela educação infantil. Participaram do estudo 336 crianças, estudantes da 2ª série do ensino fundamental de escolas públicas de uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo e seus respectivos pais/responsáveis e professores. Com as crianças foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Matrizes Progressivas de Raven; Inventário de Estressores Escolares; Teste de Desempenho Escolar, Entrevista Sociométrica e Avaliação Pedagógica. Os pais/responsáveis responderam ao Critério Socioeconômico Brasil; os professores responderam à Escala de Envolvimento de um Membro Adulto da Família e ao Social Skills Rating System - SSRS-BR, formulário do professor. Foram processadas análises de regressão para desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal, tendo como preditores as variáveis da criança e do contexto ambiental, assim como indicadores socioeconômicos; e para as comparações de grupos foi aplicado o teste não-paramétrico de Kruskal- Wallis. Essas comparações foram realizadas com 95 crianças selecionadas da amostra de 336 e divididas quanto ao tempo de exposição à educação infantil: 32 sem EI; 31 com um ano; e 32 com dois anos. Esses três grupos de crianças eram balanceados quanto à escolaridade do chefe de família e ao nível socioeconômico. Os resultados indicam que as características pessoais e ambientais preditoras de desempenho escolar são as habilidades sociais de responsabilidade/cooperação, o potencial cognitivo, exposição à educação infantil, exposição e impacto dos estressores escolares, envolvimento familiar na vida escolar da criança, nível socioeconômico e escolaridade do chefe de família. Os preditores que se associaram à competência interpessoal foram a habilidade social de autodefesa e cooperação com os pares, o comportamento problemático e o envolvimento da família na vida escolar da criança. Através das comparações de grupos a passagem pela educação infantil mostrou-se como uma importante influência, visto que as crianças com um ou dois anos de experiência prévia se saíram melhor em desempenho escolar e competência interpessoal. Apresentaram vantagens em todos os indicadores de desempenho escolar avaliados; mostraram-se como mais queridas pelos colegas e apresentaram uma tendência vantajosa nos indicadores positivos de intensidade do quanto é querido e amizade. / In the years when children go to elementary school (6 - 12 years old), they face tasks related to their development, academic performance and interpersonal competence. Children\'s performance in these tasks is influenced by the interaction between the child\'s personal characteristics and the environment in which the child lives. Those who start elementary school with a richer repertoire developed previously are supposed to have a better performance. They tend to present healthier and more promising development. There are some studies about the impact of kindergarten (K) experience on the child\'s future academic life. The child\'s performance and the quality of its relationship with schoolmates and teacher at that moment predict its academic progress, as well as self-adjustment in the following years. This study aims to investigate which personal and environmental variables may work as predictors of children\'s academic performance and interpersonal competence, by analyzing how the exposure to K influences in the performance of developmental tasks typical of that phase. The children\'s personal characteristics investigated were: cognitive potential, social skills, and problem behavior. The environmental factors investigated were: school stress, family support in the child\'s school life, and the child\'s attendance to K. A group of 336 second-grade elementary students from public schools in a city in the inland of the State of São Paulo and their parents/guardians and teachers participated in this study. The children were assesssed with Raven\'s Progressive Matrices, the School Hassles Inventory, the School Achievement Test, Sociometric Interview, and pedagogical evaluation. Parents/guardians answered the Brazilian Social-economic Criterion; the teachers answered the Scale of Participation of an Adult Family Member and to the Social Skills Rating System - SSRS-BR, teacher form. Regression analysis was used for prediction of academic performance and interpersonal competence with the child\'s and its environmental variables, as well as socialeconomic indicators. The non-parametric method Kruskal-Wallis test was used in order to compare groups. Ninety-five out of 336 children were selected and compared as for the time of attendance/exposure to K: 32 did not attend K; 31 had one year of K; 32 had two years of K. These 3 groups were balanced social-economically and as for the family\'s breadwinner\'s schooling. Results show that the personal and environmental characteristics to predict academic performance are: social skills related to responsibility and cooperation, cognitive potential, exposure to K environment, exposure to and impact of school hassles, family participation in the child\'s school life, social-economic level, and family\'s breadwinner\'s schooling. The predictors associated to interpersonal competence were the social skill of selfdefense and peer cooperation, problem behavior, and family participation in the child\'s school life. By comparison, K attendance has proven to have important influence, since children with one or two years of K experience before elementary school performed better academically and in terms of interpersonal competence. They scored higher in all academic performance indicators used; they were seen as more popular among schoolmates and showed positive tendency in indicators of popularity and friendship.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

Satisfying interpersonal relationships are an important and beneficial part of life. However, despite that fact that most people desire close interpersonal relationships, some people are less successful at forming and maintaining these relationships than others. One plausible explanation for such individual differences is that people differ in their levels of interpersonal competence – their ability to consistently enact behaviors that are effective, socially appropriate, and satisfying to others. The present research sought to examine different approaches to understanding and assessing interpersonal competence. A comparison of these approaches led to the creation of an Integrated Interpersonal Competence Model (IICM) that sought to maximize the strengths of each individual approach. This new model was tested in two studies (total N = 348) with the goal of understanding why people receive higher (or lower) interpersonal competence (IC) scores and how competence is related to successful interpersonal functioning. Both Studies 1 and 2 examined how the individual components of the IICM contributed to one’s overall IC score. Both studies found that the ability to accurately process social information was related to one’s likelihood of receiving a high IC score. In addition, how an individual evaluated response options seemed to play the largest role in determining whether or not the person would enact the response. Finally, IC appeared to be composed of a blend of interpersonal warmth and dominance. Study 1 also examined the relationship between IC and daily life outcomes. Results showed that higher competence individuals tended to experience a greater frequency of positive events, higher levels of prosocial feelings and satisfaction, and enacted fewer hostile and submissive behaviors on a daily basis. Study 2 investigated how IC was perceived by others. Individuals who were higher in IC were perceived to have fewer antisocial feelings, and be less selfish by peers and parents, and had higher quality relationships with their parents. Interestingly, processing abilities were unrelated to daily and informant-reported outcomes, but personality-like tendencies toward enacting friendly and hostile behaviors were consequential. Overall, the integrated model produced insights into interpersonal competence and can provide a useful guide for future investigations of interpersonal competence.