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Relations between Social Competence and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence
Author(s) -
Wentzel Kathryn R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01589.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social competence , interpersonal relationship , developmental psychology , social skills , competence (human resources) , social psychology , interpersonal communication , academic achievement , social relation , ethnic group , sociometry , social change , sociology , anthropology , economics , economic growth
Relations between academic performance and 3 aspects of social competence—socially responsible behavior, sociometric status, and self‐regulatory processes (goal setting, interpersonal trust, and problem‐solving styles)—were studied. Based on a sample of 423 12‐ and 13‐year‐old students, correlational findings indicate that each aspect of social competence is related significantly to students' grades. Results from multiple regression analyses suggest that when accounting for students' IQ, sex, ethnicity, school absence, and family structure, socially responsible behavior mediates almost entirely the relations between students' grades and the other 2 aspects of social competence. Socially responsible behavior and peer status appear to be related by way of their joint association with goals to be socially responsible, interpersonal trust, and problem‐solving styles. Similarly, relations between socially responsible behavior and the background variables are explained by joint relations with the self‐regulatory processes. The social nature of learning and the role of self‐regulation in both interpersonal and behavioral aspects of social competence are discussed.