scholarly journals An Integrative Framework for Conceptualizing and Assessing Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills: The BESSI

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Soto ◽  
Christopher Napolitano ◽  
Madison Nicole Sewell ◽  
Heejun Roy Yoon ◽  
Brent Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Using Data

People differ in their social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills: their capacities to maintain social relationships, regulate emotions, and manage goal- and learning-directed behaviors. In five studies using data from seven independent samples (N = 6,309), we address three key questions about the nature, structure, assessment, and outcomes of SEB skills. First, how can SEB skills be defined and distinguished from other kinds of psychological constructs, such as personality traits? We propose that SEB skills represent how someone is capable of thinking, feeling, and behaving when the situation calls for it, whereas traits represent how someone tends to think, feel, and behave averaged across situations. Second, how can specific SEB skills be organized within broader domains? We find that many skill facets can be organized within five major domains representing Social Engagement, Cooperation, Self-Management, Emotional Resilience, and Innovation Skills. Third, how should SEB skills be measured? We develop and validate the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI) to measure individuals’ capacity to enact specific behaviors representing 32 skill facets. We then use the BESSI to investigate the nomological network of SEB skills. We show that both skill domains and facets converge in conceptually meaningful ways with socioemotional competencies, character and developmental strengths, and personality traits, and predict consequential outcomes including academic achievement and engagement, occupational interests, social relationships, and well-being. We believe that this work provides the most comprehensive model currently available for conceptualizing SEB skills, as well as the most psychometrically robust tool available for assessing them.

Taking Skills Seriously: Toward an Integrative Model and Agenda for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills

2020 ◽  
pp. 096372142097861
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Soto ◽  
Christopher M. Napolitano ◽  
Brent W. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Future Work

Success in life is influenced by more than cognitive ability and opportunity. Success is also influenced by social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills: a person’s capacities to maintain social relationships, regulate emotions, and manage goal- and learning-directed behaviors. In this article, we propose an integrative model that defines SEB skills as capacities (what someone is capable of doing) rather than personality traits (what someone tends to do) and identifies five major skill domains: social engagement, cooperation, self-management, emotional resilience, and innovation. We then argue that operational measures of SEB skills should reflect rather than obscure the distinction between skills and traits. Finally, we propose an agenda for future work by highlighting open questions and hypotheses about the assessment, development, and outcomes of SEB skills as well as interventions and public policy targeting these skills.

scholarly journals Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills: An Integrative Model of the Skills Associated With Success During Adolescence and Across the Life Span

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Napolitano ◽  
Madison N. Sewell ◽  
Hee J. Yoon ◽  
Christopher J. Soto ◽  
Brent. W. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Management Innovation ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Social Transitions ◽  
Wide Range

Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills encompass a wide range of competencies related to how individuals build and maintain relationships, understand and manage emotions, pursue goals, and learn from experience. Despite near-consensus on the importance of SEB skills for success in life, there are numerous frameworks that simultaneously converge and diverge in how they define and measure SEB skills. In this article, we discuss our integrative model encompassing five broad skill domains: Self-Management, Innovation, Social Engagement, Cooperation, and Emotional Resilience Skills (Soto et al., 2021a). Our model defines SEB skills as skills (i.e., what someone is capable of doing) and not traits (i.e., what someone tends to do). Using this definition and model as a foundation, we argue for the importance of investigating SEB skill development during adolescence, a period where SEB skills may be both particularly amenable to change and particularly predictive of life outcomes. In particular, we highlight how SEB skills allow adolescents to take advantage of the new opportunities afforded to them as they make major cognitive and social transitions.

Social Engagement in Assisted Living and Implications for Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Sook Park ◽  
Sheryl Zimmerman ◽  
Kathleen Kinslow ◽  
Hae Jung Shin ◽  
Lucinda Lee Roff
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Southern State ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach ◽  
Depth Interviews

While it is known that social engagement is important for the well-being of older people, its role among residents in assisted living (AL) residences has not been well explored. The purposes of this study were to explore the experiences of social engagement among AL residents and explain its components and processes as unique to this setting. Qualitative data were collected via semistructured, in-depth interviews with 29 residents in four AL residences in a Southern state. Salient themes were derived using the grounded theory approach. Findings revealed the complexity of social engagement and were organized around five themes related to characteristics of desired social relationships, the perspective of time and loss, barriers to and resources for social engagement, and strategies to develop or modify relationships. AL providers could make concerted efforts to develop practices to provide residents with more social and emotional resources and help them engage in meaningful social interactions.

scholarly journals INCREMENTAL VALIDITY OF OPTIMISM AND PURPOSE FOR PREDICTING OLDER ADULTS’ DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S314-S315
Author(s):  
Lauren L Mitchell ◽  
Chris Erbes ◽  
Paul Arbisi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Incremental Validity ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Symptom Trajectories ◽  
Big Five Traits ◽  
Using Data

Abstract After age 60, depressive symptoms tend to increase slowly over time on average across the population. However, individual trajectories vary, with some increasing more steeply, and others remaining stable. A broad array of psychological constructs have been demonstrated to predict depressive symptoms, including neuroticism, extraversion, optimism, and sense of purpose in life. It is important for psychologists to understand which among these factors are the strongest and most robust predictors. A substantial body of research demonstrates that Big Five personality traits are strongly associated with depressive symptoms (e.g., Hakulinen et al., 2015). Optimism and purpose are also associated with well-being (Carver et al., 2009; Pinquart, 2002), but it is not clear whether such associations could be accounted for by Big Five traits, which are also correlated with optimism and purpose. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 14,021), we tested the incremental validity of optimism and purpose for predicting older adults’ depressive symptoms, controlling for Big Five traits and demographics. A latent growth curve modeling approach allowed us to examine associations with trajectories of depressive symptoms over six waves (approximately 10 years). Results demonstrated that both optimism and purpose are significantly associated with baseline levels of depressive symptoms, over and above the Big Five. However, only Big Five traits were associated with linear and quadratic slope in depressive symptom trajectories. These findings suggest that optimism and purpose are not redundant with Big Five traits for predicting depressive symptoms, and may be valuable targets for intervention efforts.

Associations Between Social Relationships and Emotional Well-Being in Middle-Aged and Older African Americans

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 713-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Warren-Findlow ◽  
James N. Laditka ◽  
Sarah B. Laditka ◽  
Michael E. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Relationship Type ◽  
Contact Frequency ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Family Emotional Support

Social relationships may enhance emotional health in older age. The authors examined associations between social relationships and emotional health using data from the Milwaukee African American sample of the second Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II) study, 2005-2006 ( n = 592). Self-reports indicated good, very good, or excellent emotional health, distinguished from fair or poor. Social relationships were measured by relationship type (family or friend), contact frequency, and levels of emotional support and strain. Control variables included demographic characteristics, types of lifetime and daily discrimination, neighborhood quality, and other social factors. In adjusted results, each increase on a family emotional support scale was associated with 118% greater odds of reporting better emotional health (odds ratio [OR] = 2.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.43, 3.32]). Friend emotional support also was associated with better emotional health (OR = 1.59, CI [1.07, 2.34]). Daily discrimination substantially reduced reported emotional health; family and friend support buffered this effect.

Empathy and Altruism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Stocks ◽  
David A. Lishner
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Helping Behavior ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Fruitful Research

The term empathy has been used as a label for a broad range of phenomena, including feeling what another person is feeling, understanding another person’s point of view, and imagining oneself in another person’s situation. However, perhaps the most widely researched phenomenon that goes by this label involves an other-oriented emotional state that is congruent with the perceived welfare of another person. The feelings associated with empathy include sympathy, tenderness, and warmth toward the other person. Other variations of empathic emotions have been investigated too, including empathic joy, empathic embarrassment, and empathic anger. The term altruism has also been used as a label for a broad range of phenomena, including any type of helping behavior, personality traits associated with helpful persons, and biological influences that spur protection of genetically related others. However, a particularly fruitful research tradition has focused on altruism as a motivational state with the ultimate goal of protecting or promoting the welfare of a valued other. For example, the empathy–altruism hypothesis claims that empathy (construed as an other-oriented emotional state) evokes altruism (construed as a motivational state). Empathy and altruism, regardless of how they are construed, have important consequences for understanding human behavior in general, and for understanding social relationships and well-being in particular.

scholarly journals The Impact of Sheltering in Place During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults’ Social and Mental Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C Krendl ◽  
Brea L Perry
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Relationship Strength ◽  
Personal Social Networks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Objectives We examined whether social isolation due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders was associated with greater loneliness and depression for older adults, and, if so, whether declines in social engagement or relationship strength moderated that relationship. Methods Between April 21 and May 21, 2020, 93 older adults in the United States who had completed measures characterizing their personal social networks, subjective loneliness, and depression 6–9 months prior to the pandemic completed the same measures via phone interview, as well as questions about the impact of the pandemic on their social relationships. Results Older adults reported higher depression and greater loneliness following the onset of the pandemic. Loneliness positively predicted depression. Perceived relationship strength, but not social engagement, moderated this relationship such that loneliness only predicted depression for individuals who became closer to their networks during the pandemic. For those who felt less close, depression was higher irrespective of loneliness. Discussion The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected older adults’ mental health and social well-being in the short term. Potential long-term impacts are considered.

scholarly journals Towards an Integrative Taxonomy of Social-Emotional Competences

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Schoon
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Integrative Taxonomy ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Being There ◽  
Task Oriented

Social-emotional competences are critical for positive development and significantly predict educational and occupational attainment, health, and well-being. There is however a lack of consensus about the number of core competences, and how these are defined and operationalized. This divergence in approach challenges future research as well as the scientific usefulness of the construct. In an effort to create an integrative framework, this focused review evaluates different approaches of conceptualizing and assessing social-emotional competences. Building on shared conceptions, an integrative taxonomy “DOMASEC” is introduced, specifying core domains and manifestations of social-emotional competences that bridge across frameworks focusing on social and emotional learning, personality traits (such as the Big Five) and self-determination theory. Core domains include intrapersonal, interpersonal and task-oriented competencies, differentiating between affective, cognitive, and behavioral manifestations of competences across these domains. It is argued that the integrative taxonomy facilitates the conceptual specification of key constructs, that it helps to better organize the multitude of terms and definitions used, and to guide the conceptualization and operationalization of social-emotional competences and their various facets.

Equity-Oriented Data Use: Identifying and Addressing Food Insecurity at Copper Springs Middle School

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Erin D. Atwood ◽  
Jo Beth Jimerson ◽  
Briana Holt
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Learning Climate ◽  
Student Needs ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Important Data ◽  
Readiness To Learn ◽  
Using Data

Using data is foundational to school leadership; however, when “data” are narrowly construed as academic outcomes, important data perceived as tangential to academics can be backgrounded, ignored, or unused. Today’s school leaders must also attend to data around chronic absenteeism, discipline, learning climate, and social, emotional, and physical well-being—all of which factor into students’ ability and readiness to learn. In this case, educators at Copper Springs Middle School move from frustrations with “poor student choices” to a better understanding of student needs and issues related to food insecurity through the collection and analysis of broader data through an equity lens.

The Effect of Receiving a Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias on Social Relationships of Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Takashi Amano ◽  
Addam Reynolds ◽  
Clara Scher ◽  
Yuane Jia
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dementia Diagnosis ◽  
New Diagnosis ◽  
The Impact

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Although early diagnosis has been recognized as a key strategy to improve outcomes of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), the effect of receiving a diagnosis on patients’ well-being is not well understood. This study addresses this gap by examining if receiving a dementia diagnosis influences social relationships. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Data from the 3 waves (2012, 2014, and 2016) of the Health and Retirement Study were utilized as part of this study. This study examined whether receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD changed subsequent social relationships (social networks, social engagement, and social support). Regression analyses with inverse probability weighting were performed to estimate the impact of receiving a dementia diagnosis on changes in social relationships. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD reduced both informal and formal social engagement. We found no statistically significant impacts of receiving a diagnosis of ADRD on social networks and social support. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Results suggest that receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD may have unintended impacts on social relationships. Practitioners and policymakers should be aware of these consequences and should identify strategies to alleviate the negative impact of receiving a diagnosis of ADRD and methods to mobilize support networks after receiving a diagnosis.

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