Social Competence, Social Support, and Attachment: Demarcation of Construct Domains, Measurement, and Paths of Influence for Preschool Children Attending Head Start

Abstract

Two studies designed to (1) explore measurement issues for the construct domains of social competence and social support and (2) test a model relating social competence to social support and to child-parent attachment for low-income (primarily African American) preschool children attending Head Start are reported. In Study 1, the definition, measurement, and structure of the social competence construct are evaluated in 2 samples of children. For Study 1A, 167 4-year-old children were assessed with a battery of observation, interview, and Q-sort measures. Relations among the measures suggested a hierarchical structure that was tested using a structural equation model. Results from the analysis supported the conjecture that social competence should be viewed as a hierarchically organized construct. In Study 1B, the model was tested again for a group of 3- and 4-year-old children (n = 265), using a modified set of measures. The general structure of the model from Study 1A was reproduced in this independent sample, although paths from the second-order factor to lower-order factors were not perfectly coordinated across samples. In Study 2, data for a subset of the children in Study 1B (n = 182), gathered with respect to features of their social networks, were examined to assess the structure of their social support networks. Descriptive and structural equation analyses are reported. Sixty-nine of these children were observed at home with their mothers and described using the Waters Attachment Q-sort. A structural equation model testing relations consistent with causal pathways from attachment security to both social support networks and to social competence and from the social support network variable to social competence with peers fit these data with a high degree of confidence. Subsequent analyses locating social competence as antecedent to attachment security were not significant. We conclude that the construct domains of social competence and social support networks can be meaningfully measured for preschool children and that individual differences with respect to these construct domains are related to child-parent relationship qualities.

Personality and the Prediction of Consequential Outcomes

“…Relationships do have emergent properties, but the nature and quality of the relationship nonetheless is partially shaped by the dispositions and skills of the individuals involved. The length and quality of most relationships is predicted by socioemotional competence (or socioemotional intelligence), a broad cognitive, affective, and behavioral construct typically operationalized in terms of social skills (e.g., ability to engage and effectively maintain social interaction), emotional skills (expression, empathy, regulation), popularity, and relationship satisfaction (Bost et al 1998, Cantor & Kilstrom 1987.…”

Secure base representations for both fathers and mothers predict children's secure base behavior in a sample of Portuguese families

“…We also tested the discriminant validity of scriptedness scores by showing that parental scripts did not have significant associations with salient descriptive dimensions (e.g., temperamental difficulty, social competence with peers) that have been identified in previous published reports as outcome variables sometimes associated with the AQS security score (e.g., Bost, Vaughn, Washington, Cielinski, & Bradbard, 1998;Vaughn, Stevenson-Hinde, Waters, Kotsaftis, Levever, Trudel, et al, 1992). Finding that the scriptedness scores predict the AQS security scores but do not also predict dimensions of temperament and social competence suggests the fidelity of the scriptedness scores with respect to the attachment construct (see Waters, Corcoran, & Anafarta, 2005, for a more detailed discussion of construct fidelity).…”

Relações entre o conhecimento das emoções, as competências académicas, as competências sociais e a aceitação entre pares

“…Dados que apresentam maior relevância se considerarmos que as crianças mais aceites pelos pares tendem a manifestar melhor adaptação escolar, mais qualidade nas suas relações e a interagir em ambientes sociais mais ricos (Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1997). As crianças mais escolhidas tendem a ser mais amigas, mais conversadoras, mais cooperativas, mais prestáveis, mais sociáveis e mais capazes de iniciarem e manterem interacções sociais e discurso coerente (Coie, Dodge, & Kupersmidt, 1990;Denham & Holt, 1993;Kemple, Speranza, & Hazen, 1992;Parke et al, 1997), são mais capazes de se envolverem e organizarem actividades em grupo e de reconhecerem e regularem a expressão afectiva e emocional (Denham & Grout, 1993;Vaughn & Waters, 1981;Bost, Vaughn, Washington, Cielinsky, Caya, & Bradbard, 1998).…”