Science for Education Today, 2026, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 33–55
© Vilenskaya G. A., Pavlova N. S., Ulanova A. Y., Lebedeva E. I., 2026
UDC: 
159.922.73+37.015.31+316.77

Features in social competence of middle school students: Assessment based on teacher, parent, and adolescent self-reports

Vilenskaya G. A. 1 (Moscow, Russian Federation), Pavlova N. S. 1 (Moscow, Russian Federation), Ulanova A. Y. 1 (Moscow, Russian Federation), Lebedeva E. I. 1 (Moscow, Russian Federation)
1 Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Full text (Open Access) — Downloaded 7
Abstract: 

Introduction. This article addresses the problem of informant-specificity of gender and age differences in social competence of adolescents at the middle school stage. The aim of the article is to identify gender and age differences in the social competence of 5th–7th grade students based on teacher, parent, and adolescent self-report data.
Materials and Methods. The methodological framework comprised a multi-informant approach to assessing social competence and a sociometric evaluation of the adolescent’s position within the peer group. The study involved 356 students in grades 5–7 (171 girls, 185 boys), 138 parents, and homeroom teachers. The Social Skills Rating Scale, a sociometric procedure, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in adolescent and parent versions were used; inter-informant agreement was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation and the intraclass correlation coefficient.
Results. The article reveals the informant-specific nature of gender differences in social competence among 5th–7th grade students: according to teacher ratings, girls outperform boys on all social skills subscales, while boys score higher on externalizing problem behavior and sociometric rejection; adolescent self-reports indicate girls’ superiority on emotional symptoms; no significant differences were found in parent ratings. The authors note a nonlinear age-related trajectory of social competence, with a peak in problem behavior and sociometric rejection in grade 5 and an increase in gender differences according to teacher ratings by grade 7. It is emphasized that inter-informant agreement is generally weak to moderate, with the highest agreement on the emotional symptom’s subscale.
Conclusions. It is concluded that gender and age differences in social competence among 5th–7th grade students are informant-specific in nature, and that the age trajectory of social competence is nonlinear, with a peak in problem behavior and sociometric rejection specifically in grade 5.

Keywords: 

Social competence; Multi-informant approach; Gender differences; Age-related dynamics; Grades 5–7 adolescents; Sociometric rejection; Problem behavior; Emotional symptoms; Inter-informant agreement.

For citation:
Vilenskaya G. A., Pavlova N. S., Ulanova A. Y., Lebedeva E. I. Features in social competence of middle school students: Assessment based on teacher, parent, and adolescent self-reports. Science for Education Today, 2026, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 33–55. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15293/2658-6762.2603.02
References: 
  1. Junge C., Valkenburg P. M., Dekovic M., Branje S. The building blocks of social competence: Contributions of the consortium of individual development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2020, vol. 45, pp. 100861. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100861
  2. Maras A., Duranovic M., Klasnic I. The relationship between social competence and quality of school life. International Journal of Instruction, 2025, vol. 18 (4), pp. 231-248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2025.18413a
  3. Yudina T. A., Alekhina S. V. On the problem of evidence-based psychological assessment of school students’ social competence in inclusive education. Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology, 2022, vol. 11 (4), pp. 41-50. (In Russian) URL: https://elibrary.ru/zfjggr DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/jmfp.2022110404
  4. Durlak J. A., Mahoney J. L., Boyle A. E. What we know, and what we need to find out about universal, school-based social and emotional learning programs for children and adolescents: A review of meta-analyses and directions for future research. Psychological Bulletin, 2022, vol. 148 (11–12), pp. 765-782. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000383
  5. Ogden T., Olseth A. R., Sørlie M.-A., Hukkelberg S. Teacher’s assessment of gender differences in school performance, social skills, and externalizing behavior from fourth through seventh grade. Journal of Education, 2021, vol. 203 (1), pp. 211–221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00220574211025071
  6. Abdi B. Gender differences in social skills, problem behaviours and academic competence of Iranian kindergarten children based on their parent and teacher ratings. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2010, vol. 5, pp. 1175-1179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.256
  7. Quenneville S., Talwar V., Bosacki S. Teacher ratings and adolescent students’ perceived social behaviours and gender-role orientations. Journal of Gender Studies, 2022, vol. 31 (4), pp. 444-456. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1988530
  8. Sheaffer A. W., Majeika C. E., Gilmour A. F., Wehby J. Classroom behavior of students with or at risk of EBD: Student gender affects teacher ratings but not direct observations. Behavioral Disorders, 2020, vol. 46 (2), pp. 96-107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742920911651
  9. Monahan K. C., Steinberg L. Accentuation of individual differences in social competence during the transition to adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2011, vol. 21 (3), pp. 576-585. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00705.x

10. Buimer E. E. L., Pas P., van den Boomen C., Raemaekers M., Brouwer R. M., Hulshoff Pol H. E. Age- and sex-related differences in social competence and emotion labeling in pre-adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2025, vol. 71, pp. 101503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101503

11.Feraco T., Meneghetti C. Social, emotional, and behavioral skills: Age and gender differences at 12 to 19 years old. Journal of Intelligence, 2023, vol. 11 (6), pp. 118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11060118

12.Murray A., Ushakova A., Speyer L., Brown R., Auyeung B., Zhu X. Sex/gender differences in individual and joint trajectories of common mental health symptoms in early to middle adolescence. JCPP Advances, 2021, vol. 2 (1), pp. e12057. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12057

13.De Los Reyes A., Augenstein T. M., Wang M., Thomas S. A., Drabick D. A. G., Burgers D. E., Rabinowitz J. The validity of the multi-informant approach to assessing child and adolescent mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 2015, vol. 141 (4), pp. 858-900. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038498

14.Mudarra M., García-Salguero B. I., Álvarez-González B., Elliott S. Multi-informant assessment of adolescents’ social–emotional skills: Patterns of agreement and discrepancy among teachers, parents, and students. Behavioral Sciences, 2022, vol. 12 (3), pp. 62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12030062

15. Booth C., Moreno-Agostino D., Fitzsimons E. Parent-adolescent informant discrepancy on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire in the UK millennium cohort study. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2023, vol. 17, pp. 57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-023-00605-y

16.Kawabe K., Horiuchi F., Uno H., Nakachi K., Hosokawa R., Oka Y., Ueno S. Parent-adolescent agreement on adolescents’ emotional and behavioral problems assessed by the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Global Pediatric Health, 2021, vol. 8, pp. 2333794X211001245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X211001245

17.Ulyanina O. A., Sorokova M. G., Fedonkina A. A., Radchikova N. P., Khairova Z. Modification of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) by R. Goodman for adolescents. Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics, 2025, vol. 22 (2), pp. 288-315. (In Russian) URL: https://elibrary.ru/rqbgmy  DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/1813-8918-2025-2-288-315

18.Sergienko E. A., Khlevnaya E. A., Kiseleva T. S., Nikitina A. A., Osipenko E. I. Development and psychometric validation of the emotional intelligence test for adolescents (EIT-A). Experimental Psychology (Russia), 2024, vol. 17 (1), pp. 198-213. (In Russian) URL: https://elibrary.ru/czuhny DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2024170113 

19.Vilenskaya G. A., Lebedeva E. I., Ulanova A. Yu. Social competence of adolescents: The role of social cognition and behavioral control. RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics, 2023, vol. 20 (3), pp. 588-608. (In Russian) URL: https://elibrary.ru/afjgkp  DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2023-20-3-588-608

20.Goodman R. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1997, vol. 38 (5), pp. 581-586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x

21.Slobodskaya E. R., Goodman R., Ryabichenko T. I. Psychososial factors of adolescent emotional and behavioural problems. Psikhiatriya (Psychiatry), 2006, no. 2, pp. 28-36. (In Russian) URL: https://elibrary.ru/pyyref

1.24. Cicchetti D. V. Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment, 1994, vol. 6 (4), pp. 284-290. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.6.4.284

23.Munoz-Silva A., De la Corte de la Corte C., Lorence-Lara B., Sanchez-Garcia M. Psychosocial adjustment and sociometric status in primary education: Gender differences. Frontiers in Psychology, 2020, vol. 11, pp. 607274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607274

24.Chavez D. V., Salmivalli C., Garandeau C. F., Berger C., Kanacri B. P. L. Bidirectional associations of prosocial behavior with peer acceptance and rejection in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022, vol. 51, pp. 2355-2367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01675-5

Date of the publication 30.03.2026