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What determines the focus of a researcher's interest, the sources of inspiration for a study, or the variables scrutinized? If we were to examine the antecedents of these decisions, they would surely emerge as accidents of circumstance--the personal experiences of the researcher, the inspiration of early mentors, the influence of contemporary colleagues--all tempered by the intellectual currents that nurture the researcher's hypotheses. Among the accidents that mold the careers of researchers is geographic location. The culture in which a research program emerges helps determine both its very subject and its method. The primary purpose of this book is to assist those interested in the scientific study of children's social competence in transcending the boundaries imposed both by geography and by selective exposure to the highly diverse schools of thought that have led to interest in this field. Most of these ideas were presented and exchanged at an Advanced Study Institute entitled "Social Competence in Developmental Perspective" held in Savoie, France, in July 1988. This Institute was attended by scholars from France, England, Northern Ireland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Canada, the United States and Brazil. Those who participated will recognize that the metamorphosis from lecture to chapter has necessitated many changes. In order to accommodate the reader who may be unfamiliar with the field, more attention has been paid here to identifying the theoretical contexts of the research described.
This book examines the role of peer relationships in child and adolescent development by tracking research findings from the early 1900s to the present. Dividing the research into three generations, the book describes what has been learned about children's peer relations and how children's participation in peer relationships contributes to their health, adjustment, and achievement. Gary W. Ladd reviews and interprets the investigative focus and findings of distinct research eras to highlight theoretical or empirical breakthroughs in the study of children's peer relations and social competence over the last century. He also discusses how this information is relevant to understanding and promoting children's health and development. In a final chapter, the author appraises the major discoveries that have emerged during the three research generations and analyzes recent scientific agendas and discoveries in the peer relations discipline.
Our understanding of children's social competence has increased tremendously over the past two decades. There is increasing evidence to suggest that social and emotional impairments are not restricted to children with autism, but rather may be associated a host of neurological conditions including acquired brain injury, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and stroke. Although many investigators have begun to bridge the gap between clinical practice and research by applying experimental tasks to clinical populations, very few tools are available for the everyday clinical evaluation of social competence. This study aimed to take the first steps in the development of measures that would be suitable for the assessment of children between the ages of 6- and 12-years of age. The results of the study provide cross-sectional normative data for a number of tasks that have been developed and modified with clinical practice in mind. A discussion of the developmental progressions and the relationships among different aspects of social competence is also included.
This book provides a comprehensive and critical overview of current knowledge about family, school and cultural influences on children's relations with others and the emergence of social competence. Ongoing research in these areas is considered in the light of recent advances in the field of child development, especially the enhanced appreciation of the ways these context factors operate in conjunction with characteristics of the individual and with the process of development. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in psychology, human development, family relations, special education and sociology.
The attachment style of children throughout their early years has been found to relate to social competence and social support (Marcus & Kramer, 2001). This investigation attempts to determine whether the relationship is evident during middle childhood. Thirty 8-13-year-old children and their mothers participated. A correlational design was used. Attachment style was assessed with the Parent/Child Reunion Inventory (Marcus, 2001), social competence was assessed with the Social Competence Inventory (Rydell, Hagekull, & Bohlin, 1997), and social support was measured with the Social Support Appraisals Scale (Dubow & Ullman, 1989). A measure of social desirability, the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Short Form (Reynolds, 1982), was used to assess the participants' likelihood of responding favorably. Correlations were conducted to determine if there was a significant relationship between attachment security, social competence and social support, but results were nonsignificant. Results show that attachment security was not an adequate predictor of either social support or social competence. A significant correlation was found regarding high scores on the Parent/Child Reunion Inventory and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Short Form, suggesting that mothers may have responded in an unrealistically favorable way to questions concerning their relationship with their child.
In this book, readers will discover a developmental view of social functioning in children at different stages. Chapters are based in transactional theory in that the environment plays a role in the development of social competence skills as well as the biological contributions the child brings to his/her experiences. The familial and school contributions to social understanding are discussed in this volume.