Innovations in Measurement of Social Competence in Child Clinical Populations

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Challenges in social competence and friendship-making are a common feature across many child clinical populations (Beauchamp & Anderson, 2010). Such challenges, however, are inherently complex, as social behavior varies within and between individuals across context and informant (De Los Reyes, 2013). While models of social competence have evolved in recent years, standard measurement approaches (e.g., questionnaires measuring a single within-person construct; trained observers; sociometric ratings) have remained largely the same.

In recent years, a range of novel approaches to measuring social competence have emerged, yielding promising new directions. Here, several such approaches are presented. The first utilizes a simple rescoring method (Gresham et al., 2010) to derive an individualized social strengths and deficit profile in a large sample of youth with autism spectrum disorder, which is used to address longstanding questions regarding the nature of social deficits in this population. The second demonstrates the efficacy of a novel paradigm for eliciting reliable ratings of social anxiety-related behaviors in youth from untrained, unfamiliar peers, demonstrating that such ratings contribute clinically meaningful information about the population. The third turns the longstanding practice of sociometric rating on its head, examining features of the sociometric peer rater of youth with ADHD on the pattern of ratings, elucidating new insights into factors that influence social success of these youth in classrooms. Finally, the discussant will bring decades of knowledge to bear in contextualizing the impact of these innovations on understanding of social competence in child clinical populations, and provide key directions for the future.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Matthew D Lerner, Stony Brook Unviersity

Discussant

• Karen L Bierman, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Individual Presentations

• Quantifying Acquisition and Performance Deficits and Strengths as Social Skills Profiles in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Presenting Author: Jacquelyn A Gates, Stony Brook Unviersity; Non-Presenting Author: Alan Gerber, Stony Brook Unviersity; Non-Presenting Author: Caroline E Miller, University of British Columbia (UBC); Non-Presenting Author: Matthew D Lerner, Stony Brook Unviersity

• Unfamiliar Untrained Observers’ Rating of Adolescent Safety Behaviors Within Social Interactions with Unfamiliar Peer Confederates - Presenting Author: Taylor Lynn Rezeppa, University of Maryland - College Park; Non-Presenting Author: Hide Okuno, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Noor Qasmieh, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Jensen Racz, University of Maryland - College Park; Non-Presenting Author: Jessica L Borelli, University of California - Irvine; Non-Presenting Author: Andres De Los Reyes, University of Maryland - College Park

• A Novel Look at Peer Problems: Examining Children’s Sociometrics Given to Classmates with ADHD - Presenting Author: Jennifer Na, University of British Columbia (UBC); Non-Presenting Author: Mario Ferrari, University of British Columbia (UBC); Non-Presenting Author: Amori Yee Mikami, University of British Columbia (UBC); Non-Presenting Author: Julie Sarno Owens, Ohio University