ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study aimed to investigate the developmental path of social skills in early childhood, the associated predictors, and its impact on later school performance. This prospective longitudinal study included 2,121 children, ages 3–5 at baseline, from the general population in a mid-sized Swedish municipality. Results show both stability and change in social skills. Stable low social skills increased the risk for poor school performance, while stable high social skills increased the chance for good school performance in primary school. With some notable gender differences, both individual and family factors were significant predictors of stable low and stable high paths of social skills during early childhood. Practice or Policy: Whether the goal is to improve children’s social skills or their performance in school, this study provides important clues for prevention. We identified several potential targets for interventions to promote early social skills development, which may in turn promote positive school performance. It is also notable that there seem to be gender differences in which factors are important, indicating the need for gender-differentiated interventions.

摘要

研究结果：本研究旨在调查幼儿时期社交技能的发展路径、相关预测因素及其对后期学校表现的影响。这项前瞻性纵向研究包括 2,121 名基线年龄在 3-5 岁之间的儿童，他们来自瑞典中等城市的一般人群。结果显示社交技能的稳定性和变化。稳定的低社交技能增加了学校表现不佳的风险，而稳定的高社交技能增加了小学表现良好的机会。由于存在一些显着的性别差异，个人和家庭因素都是儿童早期社会技能稳定的低和稳定的高路径的重要预测因素。实践或政策：无论目标是提高孩子的社交技能还是他们在学校的表现，这项研究都为预防提供了重要线索。我们确定了几个潜在的干预目标，以促进早期社交技能的发展，这反过来可能会促进积极的学校表现。同样值得注意的是，在哪些因素很重要时似乎存在性别差异，这表明需要进行性别差异化干预。