Being Close and Being Social: Peer Ratings of Distinct Aspects of Young Adult Social Competence

Abstract

The present study had three main objectives: (1) to develop and validate scales of young adult social competence in two domains, close relationships and social groups, using peer ratings of California Q-sort (Block, 1974;Kremen & Block, 2002) items; (2) to test the hypothesis that social competence is associated with young adult well-being and ego development; (3) to test the hypothesis that close relationship competence aligns more closely than social group competence with young adult functioning. Psychometric data on peer ratings of social competence are presented. For 133 young adults, peer ratings of social competence were correlated in expected directions with indices of functioning (e.g., self-worth, education, psychological distress, criminal behavior, and ego development). Associations were generally stronger for competence in close relationships than in social groups.Social competence refers to the ability to engage successfully in social interactions and interpersonal relationships, including the ability to express and interpret both verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g.,

Are Peer Status, Friendship Quality, and Friendship Stability Equivalent Markers of Social Competence?

“…Considering this, it may be that some beneficial outcomes of friendship also represent skills needed for friendship. For example, feelings of acceptance and intimacy are a benefit of friendship, but it is also the case that social skill in the ability to build intimacy, such as skills in appropriate self-disclosure (a common indicator of intimacy), predicts friendship success (Asher et al 1996;Bauminger et al 2008;Larson et al 2007). Similarly, positive emotional adjustment is an outcome of friendship, but it is also the case that emotion regulation skills are predictive of friendship success (Oden and Asher 1977).…”

“…These features include: intimate conversations that result in both partners acquiring extensive knowledge of the other, responsiveness to the other's needs, similarity among the friends, and stability of the friendship over time. Other qualities apparent in good friendships were outlined by Larson et al (2007), and include closeness, security, and trust. The skills necessary for initiating and maintaining these close relationships include listening, validating, caring, being trustworthy, possessing good conflict resolution skills, and displaying comfort with intimacy (Parker and Asher 1993).…”

“…Moreover, they were differentially related to adjustment. Compared with social group competence, competence in close relationships was more strongly related to higher ratings of self-worth and educational achievement as well as lower levels of psychological distress and reports of criminal behavior (Larson et al 2007). Based on these findings and the literature reviewed supporting the conceptual distinction between friendship competence and peer group competence, we call for renewed attention to friendship and peer status as distinct markers of social competence.…”

“…Only a single study of adults has explicitly distinguished these two different types of competence (Larson et al 2007). In this study, close relationship competence was defined based on the skills necessary for forming and sustaining intimate dyadic relationships, and included skills such as being warm, sympathetic, and reassuring to others.…”

Parental rearing style as a predictor of attachment and psychosocial adjustment during young adulthood

“…A potential explanation for this result resides in the fact that the self-model and the other-model of attachment reflects the extent to which an individual believes that they have the skills to interact with others and that others are available and supportive respectively. Specifically, if an individual believes that others are more available they may be more likely to initiate interactions with them and, as such, refine their social competence (Larson, Whitton, Hauser, & Allen, 2007).…”