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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Resilience (Personality trait) in children; Social skills in children; Preschool children -- Psychology; Academic theses;

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between social skills and resiliency among preschool children. Numerous research studies have suggested that social skills and resiliency are related. However, the precise relationship between these two constructs remains unclear. Specifically, is it possible for a child to possess good social skills but not be resilient? Is it possible for a child to be resilient but not have good social skills? In the present study, preschool teachers from a private day care center rated children in their classes (n = 68) using behavior rating scales purported to measure social skills (i.e., Social Skills Rating System-Teacher, or SSRS-T) and resiliency (i.e., Devereux Early Childhood Assessment, or DECA). The scores from the two scales were correlated to determine the relationship between the constructs of social skills and resiliency. There was a strong positive correlation between the total Social Skills scores on the SSRS-T and the Total Protective Factor scores on the DECA [r = .72, n = 68,p :S .01). Statistically significant correlations were found between the subscales on the SSRST and the DECA. A statistically significant correlation was also found between children's scores on the Problem Behaviors scale on the SSRS-T and the Behavior Concerns subscale on the DECA. Although there are other possible explanations for the results obtained in this study, the pattern of findings strong! y indicates that the S SRS-T and the D ECA are measuring much of the same construct. The implication of these findings suggests that fostering children's social skills may enhance their resiliency.

Year of Submission

2004

Degree Name

Specialist in Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations

First Advisor

Melissa Heston

Comments

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Date Original

2004

Object Description

1 PDF file (78 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Education Commons

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