The Status and Disparities of Social-Emotional Competence in University Students: Evidence from a Large-Scale Survey in China

This study investigates the overall level and demographic disparities of social–emotional competence (SEC) among Chinese university students within a culturally grounded relational framework. Drawing on a large-scale survey of 2,876 undergraduates, SEC was assessed using the 26-item Social–Emotional Competence Scale for Chinese University Students, which measures four dimensions: self-relation, other-relation, collective-relation, and responsible decision-making. Descriptive statistics indicated that students' SEC was generally high, with all dimension means exceeding the scale midpoint. However, a clear structural imbalance emerged: other-relation, collective-relation, and responsible decision-making were consistently higher than self-relation. Independent-samples t tests revealed significant advantages for only-child students across all four dimensions. Gender analyses showed dimension-specific effects: males scored higher on self-relation, whereas females scored higher on collective-relation; no significant differences were found in other-relation or responsible decision-making. One-way ANOVA indicated that grade-level differences were significant only for self-relation, with seniors outperforming freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, suggesting a late-stage gain rather than linear growth. These findings highlight both the strengths and developmental bottlenecks of SEC in higher education and underscore the need for culturally responsive, system-wide SEL design, particularly with earlier and more explicit cultivation of self-relation capacities.