AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN ADOLESCENCE

Few studies have examined social competence in adolescents utilizing m ultiple sources of data, or have examined the role of the internal rep resentation of others in terms of social problem-solving skills and so cial competence. The purpose of this study was to examine how construc ts within social-cognitive (i.e., the problem-solving skill involving perspective integration) and object relations theory (i.e., internal r epresentation of others) are related to adolescents' social adjustment assessed via self-report, teacher ratings, and behavioral observation s. Results indicated that adolescents (N = 56) with more advanced prob lem-solving skills reported fewer behavioral/emotional problems, were rated as less aggressive by teachers, and were rated as more competent in behavioral interactions. Furthermore, adolescents' problem-solving skills appeared to mediate the relationship between the representatio n of others and behavioral ratings of competence. These results sugges t that a broader understanding of social competence in adolescence can be attained by including information on the internal representation o f others, which is consistent with the approach that involves integrat ing concepts from different theoretical viewpoints (i.e., social cogni tive and object relations).