The Structure of Social Competence and School Adjustment in Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Network Analysis

This study examined the structure of social competence and the associations of its components with peer preference, academic achievement, and perceived self-worth in Chinese children and adolescents. The participants included 2,359 Chinese students (1,172 boys) in the fourth and eighth grades ( M age = 10 and 14 years). Social competence was measured using peer assessments. The results showed that leadership and the ability to form friendship were central nodes and that social attractiveness was more central in adolescence. Trustworthiness was the primary node positively associated with peer preference and social innovativeness was the primary node positively associated with academic achievement and perceived self-worth in both grades. The results help understand the meanings and functions of specific attributes of social competence in childhood and adolescence.