Issues in the Identification of Socially Incompetent Children

An expanding body of evidence supports the contention that social competence with peers plays an important role in child and adolescent development, as well as in the long-term adjustment of individuals. Accordingly, school psychologists are in the process of developing social skills training programs to enhance peer social relations where social deficits exist. The present article suggests that we should: (a) be more cautious in the selection of specific children for intervention; (b) be more cautious in the choice of specific sociometric instruments to select children in need of social skills training; and (c) more closely link the goals of intervention to the correlates of sociometric status. Issues in the identification of children at risk and appropriate intervention strategies are addressed.