Social Competence as a Mediator of the Association between Positive Parent/Child Relationships and Peer Acceptance: An Examination of Early Adolescents from Montreal, Barranquilla, Bogota and Curitiba
Advisor Information
Jonathan Santo
Location
Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
8-3-2013 9:00 AM
End Date
8-3-2013 12:00 PM
Abstract
Rationale: Supportive parenting has been associated with the development of a number of social skills in children, while rigid parenting having been linked to a number of externalizing behaviors, including aggression. Parents play a large role in early peer socialization (i.e. often choosing which friends a child plays with). Two variables, social competence and peer acceptance, have become of great interest to the research community. In the current project, we looked at the inter-relation between early adolescents’ social competence and peer acceptance incorporating their relationships with their parents. Method: The sample comprised 1432 fifth and sixth graders from 50 classes from Montreal, Canada; Barranquilla and Bogota, Colombia and Curitiba, Brazil. The Network of Relationships Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 1992) was used to measure positive and negative parent/child relationships with eight items (four positive and four negative). The Harter (1982) perceived competence scale was used to measure social competence. Lastly, acceptance was calculated using the number of classroom liking ratings from every participating student in the class. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: Both positive and negative parent/child relationships were modeled on social competence which was itself modeled on peer acceptance. A significant negative association between negative parent/child relationships and acceptance was observed. On the other hand, the effect of positive parent/child relationships on peer acceptance was mediated by social competence. Discussion: The current study demonstrates the importance of parent/ child relationships on peer interactions with consideration of social competence. Sex differences will also be discussed.
Social Competence as a Mediator of the Association between Positive Parent/Child Relationships and Peer Acceptance: An Examination of Early Adolescents from Montreal, Barranquilla, Bogota and Curitiba
Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom
Rationale: Supportive parenting has been associated with the development of a number of social skills in children, while rigid parenting having been linked to a number of externalizing behaviors, including aggression. Parents play a large role in early peer socialization (i.e. often choosing which friends a child plays with). Two variables, social competence and peer acceptance, have become of great interest to the research community. In the current project, we looked at the inter-relation between early adolescents’ social competence and peer acceptance incorporating their relationships with their parents. Method: The sample comprised 1432 fifth and sixth graders from 50 classes from Montreal, Canada; Barranquilla and Bogota, Colombia and Curitiba, Brazil. The Network of Relationships Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 1992) was used to measure positive and negative parent/child relationships with eight items (four positive and four negative). The Harter (1982) perceived competence scale was used to measure social competence. Lastly, acceptance was calculated using the number of classroom liking ratings from every participating student in the class. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: Both positive and negative parent/child relationships were modeled on social competence which was itself modeled on peer acceptance. A significant negative association between negative parent/child relationships and acceptance was observed. On the other hand, the effect of positive parent/child relationships on peer acceptance was mediated by social competence. Discussion: The current study demonstrates the importance of parent/ child relationships on peer interactions with consideration of social competence. Sex differences will also be discussed.