Griffin Kenneth W, Nichols Tracy R, Birnbaum Amanda S, Botvin Gilbert J
Division of Prevention and Health Behavior, Department of Public Health, Weill Medical College of Comell University, New York, NY 10014, USA.
Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2006 Jan-Mar;18(1):97-106. doi: 10.1515/ijamh.2006.18.1.97.
Social competence is increasingly multidimensional during adolescence as young people encounter a variety of new social situations and can respond with a broad range of appropriate behaviors. However, research on social competence has focused more on children than adolescents. The present study examined the relationships between components of social competence (e.g., assertiveness and social confidence) and adolescent problem behaviors including alcohol use and antisocial behaviors (e.g., aggression and delinquency). A survey was administered to 6th grade students (N=2411) entering 20 New York City public and parochial middle schools and again a year later in the 7th grade. Findings indicated that verbal aggression was reported most frequently among students (93%), followed by physical aggression (69%), delinquent behaviors (53%), and alcohol use (16%). Structural equation modeling indicated that while assertiveness was protective in terms of adolescent problem behaviors, social confidence--the level of confidence that students had in initiating social interactions including dating--was associated with greater alcohol use and antisocial behavior both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Additional analyses revealed that social confidence related to the initiation of dating (e.g., asking someone out for a date or having a conversation with a member of the opposite sex) was most strongly correlated with each problem behavior outcome. These findings suggest that social confidence, particularly as it relates to precocious dating behavior during early adolescence, is a risk factor for the early initiation of alcohol use and antisocial behavior.
随着青少年遇到各种新的社交情境并能以广泛的恰当行为做出回应，社交能力在青春期变得越来越具有多维度性。然而，对社交能力的研究更多地聚焦于儿童而非青少年。本研究考察了社交能力的各个组成部分（如自信和社交信心）与青少年问题行为之间的关系，这些问题行为包括饮酒和反社会行为（如攻击行为和犯罪行为）。对进入纽约市20所公立和教会中学的六年级学生（N = 2411）进行了一项调查，一年后在七年级时再次进行调查。结果表明，学生中报告最多的是言语攻击（93%），其次是身体攻击（69%）、犯罪行为（53%）和饮酒（16%）。结构方程模型表明，虽然自信对青少年问题行为具有保护作用，但社交信心——学生在发起包括约会在内的社交互动时所具有的信心水平——在横断面和纵向上都与更多的饮酒和反社会行为相关。进一步的分析表明，与开始约会（如约某人出去约会或与异性交谈）相关的社交信心与每个问题行为结果的相关性最强。这些发现表明，社交信心，尤其是与青春期早期早熟约会行为相关的社交信心，是饮酒和反社会行为早期开始的一个风险因素。
