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This paper examines the emergence of gender differences in socioemotional skills and traits during adolescence, and the socioeconomic and cultural factors that may explain such gaps, in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. Findings from Young Lives longitudinal data showed that the gender gap in self-efficacy emerges around age 19, with males scoring more highly than females in Ethiopia, India and Vietnam. Similar, but less consistent, patterns were observed for self-esteem and peer relations. At age 22, males also scored more highly than females, in at least one country, in emotional stability, conscientiousness, grit, and teamwork. In India and Ethiopia, the two countries with higher poverty and more unequal gender attitudes, we found gender differences in a greater number of socioemotional skills or traits. A predictive analysis of self-efficacy, emotional stability and teamwork found that time spent in paid and unpaid household activities, having a more equal attitude to gender roles, and socioeconomic status were associated with the gender gap in socioemotional skills. These covariates explained gender gaps more in India and Ethiopia than in other countries. However, substantial portions of gender differences remained unexplained by available variables. Our findings may help clarify the origins of gender inequalities in life outcomes and how they can be addressed through socioemotional programmes in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of socioemotional teaching skills has been highlighted for its link with better academic, social, emotional, and behavioral results of students, as well as for its contribution to the work wellbeing, mental health, and prosperity of teachers. However, there are few instruments that measure these skills in teachers in the context of their professional practice. The purpose of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the socioemotional Skills Instrument for Teachers (SEMS-IT). An instrumental design and a sample of 853 Chilean secondary school teachers were used. To evaluate the dimensional structure of the instrument, a portion of the sample (n = 468) underwent a network estimation method with exploratory graph analysis (EGA) using a Gaussian GLASSO model. Then, in order to confirm the structural consistency and stability of the items, the analysis was replicated in a second sample (n = 385), where these results were additionally contrasted with those of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EGA findings confirmed a structure of four dimensions and 19 items in total: (a) cognitive management of teacher emotion (four items), (b) teacher empathic concern (four items), (c) teacher–student relationship (four items), and (d) adverse classroom climate (seven items), with a 7-point Likert scale response format. The CFA showed good and acceptable fit indicators, X2 (171) = 354.546 (p < 0.001), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.971, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.966, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.061, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.062. In conclusion, a tool for the assessment of teachers' socioemotional skills, valid for school-based educational research, is provided. Implications of the findings at the theoretical and practical levels are discussed, as well as limitations and future projections for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The R3ISE Integrative Framework suggests that racist policies and practices have a multigenerational impact on children's development. • Regional levels of historical racism were positively correlated with contemporary structural inequality and implicit bias. • These regional differences were not significantly associated with the outcomes of Black children in high quality ECE programs. • High ECE programs show promise as places where Black children's outcomes do not relate to historical racism. Racial disparities in educational outcomes start early in childhood and persist through adulthood. High quality Early Care and Education (ECE) programs tend to show benefits for Black children, but less is known about how larger contextual inequalities, both historical and contemporary, relate to young children's outcomes in these high-quality settings. Previous work has shown that historical racism, such as the prevalence of enslavement in 1860 (just before the Civil War) relates to present-day structural inequalities and implicit bias across geographic regions. In this study (N = 1,343), we examined the relation between an area's historical racism, operationalized as the proportion of enslaved individuals living there in 1860, current structural inequalities (economic mobility, racial disparities in poverty, and residential segregation), implicit bias, and children's outcomes in high quality ECE settings. Although significant correlations were found among historical and current structural inequities, implicit bias, and children's outcomes, no significant relation remained after accounting for nesting and children's prior skills. Though more work is needed to establish the reliability and robustness of these findings, our analysis provides initial evidence that negative structural factors are not linked to children's outcomes within more optimal settings, such as high quality ECE programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills encompass a broad range of interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities that are crucial for establishing and maintaining relationships, managing emotions, setting and pursuing goals, and exploring new learning opportunities. To address the lack of consensus regarding terminology, definition, and assessment of SEB skills, Soto et al. developed the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI), which consists of 192 items, 32 facets, and 5 domains. The objective of the current study was to adapt the BESSI to Spanish (referred to as BESSI-Sp) and enhance the overall understanding of the BESSI framework. A sample of 303 people was employed with a mean age of 30.35 years (SD = 14.73), ranging from 18 to 85 years. The results indicate that the BESSI-Sp demonstrates strong psychometric properties. Its facet- and domain-level structure aligns with the theoretical expectations and closely resembles the English-language source version. The facets exhibit high reliability (mean ω =.89), and the scores demonstrate adequate stability after 3 to 4 weeks (mean rICC =.77). The BESSI-Sp also displays evidence of convergent validity and integrates well with the Big Five framework, providing incremental validity for various outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for the assessment of SEB skills and future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-emotional competences (CSE) refer to the development of empathy, respect, trust, assertiveness, dialogue, cooperation, acceptance and appreciation of diversity, which are fundamental for an adequate coexistence in society. Socio-emotional development has been established as a predictor of psychosocial adaptation and an important factor in the prevention of academic difficulties, mental disorders and psychosocial conflicts. Much has been discussed about the pedagogical projects of schools and the training of teachers in this regard. However, due to the recent approval of the new curricular basis, there are still few works that have proven effective proposals. To continue promoting dialogue and reflection on this topic, this article aims to contribute with some pedagogical proposals based on historical-cultural psychology and its conception of personality development, as well as presenting curricular programs developed in other countries, highlighting the contributions of creative activities to socioemotional education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we experimentally evaluate Colombia's Think Equal program, which teaches socioemotional skills to children ages 3 to 6. Given the context of COVID-19, the original design was adapted as a hybrid model, alternating in-person and remote instruction and engaging families in the implementation of the curriculum. We found that the program had positive effects on children's prosocial behavior, self-awareness, and cognitive learning. The intervention also had an impact on the education center's personnel (community mothers) and caregivers implementing the activities. Treated community mothers had higher levels of empathy, lower negative health symptoms, better pedagogical practices, and a closer relationship with the children's caregivers compared with those in the control group. Treated caregivers had better stimulation practices and lower negative health symptoms compared with those in the control group. These findings suggest that a well-designed intervention has the potential to develop socioemotional skills in children at an early age and, at the same time, to develop capacities in those who implement the activities. Our results have important implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of early childhood socioemotional learning programs and provide novel evidence about the challenges faced by interventions combining face-to-face and remote learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that the development of abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy (theory of mind) is severely hindered when children are deprived of the stimulation of a school environment. We document significantly lower abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy scores in elementary school children who returned from an extended school closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic relative to proximate pre-pandemic cohorts. This developmental delay has a significant socioeconomic gradient, with underprivileged children experiencing more substantial delays. We also document a significant disruption in the development of socioemotional skills: 0.24 sd lower grit, 0.43 sd lower emotional empathy, 0.06 sd lower epistemic curiosity, and 0.24 sd higher impulsivity. About eight months of school exposure results in a remarkable recovery in abstract reasoning and theory of mind for all socioeconomic groups. However, the measured levels still indicate significant delays relative to the expected developmental trajectories. No notable improvements are observed in socioemotional skills except for curiosity. These findings reveal that the damage school closures inflicted on children goes beyond well-documented academic losses and highlight the crucial role of the school environment in fostering fundamental cognition and socioemotional development in children. • Extended COVID-19 school closures lower abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy in elementary school children. • Underprivileged children experience greater developmental delays in abstract reasoning and theory of mind. • Children were also measured to have lower curiosity, lower grit, reduced emotional empathy and higher impulsivity. • Eight months of school exposure improves abstract reasoning and theory of mind, but recovery falls short of expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the trajectory of positive attributes from childhood to early adulthood and how these trajectories might be modified by environmental factors. Methods: We enrolled 2,511 participants aged 6 to 14 years from a large prospective school-based community cohort of Brazilian children and adolescents, 45% of whom were girls. They were assessed and followed for up to 3 years (with 80% retention) or 6 years (with 71% retention). Positive attributes were assessed by using the Youth Strength Inventory (YSI). A composite measure using several indicators was used to assess childhood exposure to threats and deprivations. Results: The trajectories of YSI scores were nonlinear for male and female participants, being high in childhood, decreasing in adolescence, and being high again in early adulthood. Exposure to threat and deprivation presented a negative linear association with YSI over time. Furthermore, exposure to threat and deprivation early in life, but not later, presented an additional effect on decreasing positive attributes during the life course. Conclusion: Our findings provide new evidence on the trajectories of positive attributes in children and adolescents and show how early life adversity affects not only mental disorders but also positive aspects of mental health.

The importance of socioemotional teaching skills has been highlighted for its link with better academic, social, emotional, and behavioral results of students, as well as for its contribution to the work wellbeing, mental health, and prosperity of teachers. However, there are few instruments that measure these skills in teachers in the context of their professional practice. The purpose of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the socioemotional Skills Instrument for Teachers (SEMS-IT). An instrumental design and a sample of 853 Chilean secondary school teachers were used. To evaluate the dimensional structure of the instrument, a portion of the sample (n = 468) underwent a network estimation method with exploratory graph analysis (EGA) using a Gaussian GLASSO model. Then, in order to confirm the structural consistency and stability of the items, the analysis was replicated in a second sample (n = 385), where these results were additionally contrasted with those of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EGA findings confirmed a structure of four dimensions and 19 items in total: (a) cognitive management of teacher emotion (four items), (b) teacher empathic concern (four items), (c) teacher–student relationship (four items), and (d) adverse classroom climate (seven items), with a 7-point Likert scale response format. The CFA showed good and acceptable fit indicators, X2(171) = 354.546 (p

Currently, the development of training programs in socioemotional skills in childhood has increased because they are considered as a valid tool for adaptation and coping with a variety of situations, both academic and personal. However, there are few studies that show a comprehensive view of available evidences. This research presents an umbrella review based on PRISMA method guidelines. It includes reviews on socioemotional development programs applied in Primary Education with the aim of synthesizing their characteristics and compiling the main results on their effectiveness. The following databases were used: ERIC, WOS, PSYCINFO, SCOPUS and COCHRANE. After a blind peer process, 15 reviews that met the inclusion criteria were selected and analysed. Using the AMSTAR-2 and SANRA tools, it was found that 60% of secondary studies have critically low or low quality. Thirty nine programs reported in good quality reviews were identified, 51.2% presented moderate or strong evidence and reported significant effects mainly on behavioral adjustment, social and emotional competencies and academic skills. The impact of the methodological quality found and the evidences on the interpretation and generalization of the findings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine parenting styles (observed parent-child interactions via the Two-Bag Task) associated with young children's socioemotional outcomes, comparing children from Mexican-American and African American families with children from their White counterparts.MethodsThe Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort data were used to examine 6 global parenting styles with socioemotional outcomes at 48 months of age while controlling for both time-independent and time-depending sociodemographic, maternal mental health, and child characteristics. Data were stratified by race and ethnicity, and weighted longitudinal linear regressions models were estimated using STATA/Xtmixed.ResultsThe 6 global parenting scores from the Two-Bag Task measures differed across White, African American, and Mexican-American groups of parents. White parents on average scored higher on parenting styles related to sensitivity, positive regard, and cognitive stimulation, whereas Mexican-American and African American parents scored lower. These parenting styles were associated with both approach to learning and social competence outcomes among White children but were nearly nonexistent for Mexican-American and African American children when adjusting for covariates.ConclusionOur results highlight the need to critically evaluate measures of parenting behaviors used in research studies with racially and ethnically diverse families. Examining the comprehensive psychometric properties and cultural appropriateness of parenting measures for diverse families is important to optimally support child development for non-White children. Furthermore, a critical lens is important to mitigate the perpetuation of inaccurate research findings for Mexican-American and African American children.

Marital conflict is common in many families. The effects of marital conflict may often spill over to parent–child dyads and affect children's development via their parenting practices. However, couples handle their marital conflict in different ways, and conflict resolution strategies may play a role in children's outcomes. Although mother-reported marital conflict has been a primary focus in most prior studies, little is known about fathers' perspectives. To that end, we examined the mediating effect of fathers' parenting in the association between the frequency of marital conflict and mother-reported children's socioemotional skills in preschool, as well as the moderating role of father constructive conflict resolution frequency in the association between father reports of the frequency of the marital conflict and parenting. Results indicate that father parenting warmth and parenting stress mediated the association between the frequency of marital conflict and children's socioemotional skills. We also found that father reports of the frequency of the marital conflict was positively associated with involvement and negatively associated with warmth at higher levels of constructive conflict resolution frequency. Fathers who reported higher constructive conflict resolution frequency showed higher father involvement and warmth. Finally, the moderated-mediation analysis revealed that, after accounting for mothers' parenting variables, father warmth was the moderated mediator, such that there was a negative indirect effect between the frequency of marital conflict and children's socioemotional skills through father warmth at average and higher levels of constructive conflict resolution frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the effect of a Career Education intervention intended to promote socialemotional skills. A total of 62 students attending the 9th grade of a public school participated in this study. Data were obtained using the Inventory for the Assessment of Social and Emotional Skills (SENNA 2.0). The intervention effects were analyzed by comparing Intervention Group A (GA), Control Group (CG), and Intervention Group B (GB) and within groups. The results show statistically significant differences only between the groups and in two dimensions: Agreeableness in favor of Intervention Group A (GA) and Openness in favor of Intervention Group B (GB). These findings show the benefits an intervention program intended to promote the development of social-emotional skills can promote in Career Education. However, the small number of participants stands out in terms of limitations. Hence, studies with larger samples are needed to replicate the results. In addition, this study reveals methodological aspects to be considered in the design of Career Education programs, such as more sessions to reach more individuals and obtain more effective results over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research has consistently shown the benefits of developing intervention programs in educational settings, enhancing the learning process and socioemotional skills. There is a growing investment in creating and supporting a healthy school environment, prioritizing learning through play. This study aimed to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of an innovative intervention approach—“Education in Action—ABALL1”—focused on promoting literacy and numeracy skills and socioemotional competencies of second-grade children. Methods: A total of 113 children aged between 7 and 9 participated in the study and were allocated into two groups: intervention (N = 69) and control (N = 44). The intervention consisted of 24 educational games aligned with the mathematics and Portuguese curricula, applied for 3 months, twice a week; two self-report instruments were used to measure aptitudes for school learning and socioemotional skills, considering two assessment moments: before and after the program implementation. In addition, a focus group involving a subsample of children and teachers who followed the intervention in different school cohorts was carried out. Results: Our results suggested a positive effect of the program concerning children's academic skills, showing a significant improvement in terms of the pre–post-intervention scores in the intervention group (Cohen's d = 0.95). Moreover, the qualitative findings also indicate the high acceptability of the program among children and head teachers, who reported a positive effect on the acquisition and consolidation of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills and on the promotion of teamwork, empathy, autonomy, and self-reflection. Conclusion: Overall, the “Education in Action—ABALL1” program provides a promising intervention based on learning through play directly impacting second-grade children's academic, emotional, and interpersonal skills. Further studies are required to understand the transdisciplinary capacity of this intervention approach and its effectiveness at different school levels and curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Using Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data (N = 3259), the current study examined Black and Latinx mothers' and fathers' trajectories of engagement in learning activities (e.g., storytelling) from infancy to age 5, and whether those trajectories predicted socioemotional skills at age 9, predictors of the trajectories (poverty, mother‐father nonresidence, temperament, race/ethnicity), and moderators of the trajectories. Mothers' and fathers' learning activities decreased significantly over time as children got older. Higher rates of decline in fathers' engagement in learning activities over time significantly predicted lower socioemotional skills. Mother‐father nonresidence during infancy was associated significantly with higher rates of decline in mothers' and fathers' learning activities. Difficult temperament moderated the association between fathers' trajectories and child outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social–emotional skills have been shown to be beneficial for many important life outcomes for students. However, previous studies on the topic have suffered from many issues (e.g., consideration of only a small subset of skills, single-informant, and single-cohort design). To address these limitations, this study used a multi-informant (self, teacher, and parent) and multicohort (ages 10–15 from Finland, N = 5,533) perspective to study the association between 15 social–emotional skills and 20 educational (e.g., school grades), social (e.g., relationships with teachers), psychological health (e.g., life satisfaction), and physical health outcomes (e.g., sleep trouble). Results showed that (a) there was a modest level of interrater agreement on social–emotional skills, with the highest agreement between students and parents (mean r =.41); (b) inclusion of multi-informant ratings substantially enhanced the ability of social–emotional skills in predicting outcome variables, with parent- and self-rated skills playing important, unique roles; (c) by modeling skills at the facet level rather than at the domain level, we identified the key skills for different outcomes and found significant variation in facets' predictive utility even within the same domain; and (d) although the older cohort showed lower levels of most social–emotional skills (9/15), there were only minor changes in the interrater agreement and predictive utility on outcomes. Overall, self-control, trust, optimism, and energy were found among the four most important skills for academic and life success. We further identified the unique contribution of each skill for specific outcomes, pointing the way to effective and precise interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examined family engagement practices, linguistic match, and ELL child outcomes. • Teacher communication practices promote early literacy skills for ELL children. • ELL children in ELL minority classes benefit more from family engagement practices. • Families with few linguistically similar peers may need more support from teachers. As linguistic diversity increases in the U.S., it is essential for pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs to expand their capacity to serve families whose home languages are not English. Family engagement is a key component of early childhood education; however, it is unclear whether family engagement practices uniformly benefit students from diverse backgrounds, including English Language Learners (ELL). In this mixed methods study, we explored whether teachers' family engagement practices were associated with ELL children's attendance and early learning, focusing on whether two aspects of the linguistic context—classroom composition of ELL students and teachers' practices for communicating in families' home languages—moderates these associations. Additionally, we used parent focus groups to shed light on ELL families' experiences with family engagement. We found consistent evidence that associations between teachers' family engagement practices and ELL children's attendance and socioemotional skills were moderated by classroom composition of ELL students. Specifically, family engagement practices were associated with better attendance and higher socioemotional skills among ELL children in minority ELL classrooms (less than 20% ELL) but not in classrooms with more ELL students (20% or more). Results aligned with themes from our qualitative analysis, which found that having few ELL families in the classroom made it difficult for ELL parents to make connections with other families, which might make it challenging to build a sense of community. This suggests that families without access to networks of linguistically similar peers at school might need additional support from teachers to feel welcome and encouraged to participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Psychopathology is associated with impaired learning and early termination of schooling, whereas positive attributes are associated with better educational outcomes. However, it is important to understand if and how psychopathology and positive attributes longitudinally impact each other so we could shed light on where to intervene to promote educational outcomes through these constructs. A large prospective school-based community cohort of youths (5–15 years of age, 45% female) were assessed and followed up for 3 years (n = 2010; 80% retention). We assessed the longitudinal impact of positive attributes (Youth Strength Inventory) and psychopathology (bifactor model of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) using a cross-lagged panel model. We also used generalized mixed effects models to investigate how these both constructs predict school dropout and literacy, adjusting for confounders and testing their interaction. Positive attributes negatively predicted, and were negatively predicted by, the general factor of psychopathology and conduct problems in the cross-lagged panel model. Positive attributes (OR = 0.57, 95% CI [0.44, 0.73], p < 0.001) and specific conduct symptoms (OR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.64, 3.33], p < 0.001) predicted school dropout, whereas the general factor of psychopathology predicted lower literacy ability (β = − 0.08, 95% CI [− 0.11, − 0.05], p < 0.001). However, the protective association of positive attributes on school dropout decreases as the general factor of psychopathology increases. These findings provide new evidence that positive attributes and psychopathology mutually influence each other over development and have interactive effects on educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide scientific community has been promoting science communication from colleges and universities to schools, and different tools for communicating scientific discoveries have been created. Among this variety of tools, our choice fell on a storybook. The book, entitled The Curious Case of Ants That Live in Galls, is directed at 8-to-12-year-old children, and its use is suggested for literature and science classes. We propose either reading the text with the students or individual reading, followed by a debate and retextualization exercise. Also, the teacher can use the story as a motivation to address the science content and to discuss the scientific method. We observed the emergence of new questions, teaching methodologies, and didactic resources capable of amplifying the scientific context and, consequently, the student's motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the socioemotional skills of students attending 7th grade at schools in Priority Education Intervention Territories and study their relationship with the students' personal characteristics (gender, nationality and parents' education). A stratified sample of 675 students participated. The number of participants of both genders was equivalent, the majority was of Portuguese nationality (89%) and the average schooling of the mother and father was 9 years. The results indicated a tendency for the majority of the youngsters to perceive themselves positively, mainly in Self-Esteem, while they considered themselves less competent in Class Participation and Responsibility. Differences were observed according to the personal characteristics of the students: girls considered themselves more competent than boys, as well as Portuguese students when compared to foreign students. The mother's and father's education proved to be directly proportional to the students' socioemotional competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\n Personality traits and social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills are closely related but incrementally predict life outcomes. This implies that although tightly connected, what a person tends to do (personality traits) and what they are capable of doing (skills) are not always perfectly aligned. In this study, we investigated whether matches and mismatches between traits and skills predict important life outcomes. We studied a diverse sample of high school students (N = 840) who self-reported their Big Five personality traits, five SEB skill domains, and an array of academic, social, and emotional outcomes. Using response surface analysis, we found that matching trait/skill levels did not confer a unique benefit for adolescents over the additive effects of traits and skills. In contrast, we found that trait/skill mismatches predicted outcomes, and in some cases, adolescents with mismatching trait/skills had the best and worst outcomes. Specifically, youth with higher skill levels relative to their traits reported better outcomes, and those with lower skills relative to their traits reported worse outcomes. Our findings provide insights into functioning that are missed by solely focusing on direct effects and show that SEB skills can enhance youth’s personality strengths and buffer against shortcomings.Personality traits are how a person tends to think, feel, and behave, whereas social, emotional, and behavioral skills are how someone is capable of acting at their best. Although personality traits and skills are related, what people tend to do and what they are capable of doing are not always perfectly aligned. Some theories propose that people will have better life outcomes if they have matching levels of traits and skills, meaning they tend to act in ways that match their capabilities. Other theories propose that people will have better outcomes if they have mismatching trait and skill levels, meaning they are capable of acting at higher levels than they usual act. This study tested these competing hypotheses in a sample of 840 high school students. Results only supported the benefits of mismatching trait and skill levels. Specifically, we found that youth with higher skill levels relative to their traits reported better academic, social, and mental health outcomes. Additionally, we found that having high skills and high trait levels predicted better outcomes, even though having matching levels did not provide additional benefits. Together, our study suggests that having high skill levels can help people compensate for personality shortcomings and that having high levels of traits and skills can enhance someone’s outcomes by allowing them to fully capitalize on their personality strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the potential of a questionnaire answered by teachers about the behavior and socio-emotional skills of children enrolled in preschool – start of compulsory schooling in Brazil. Based on this instrument, it describes the development of indicators of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and personal, social and emotional development. It uses multivariate linear regression models to identify factors associated with the cognitive development of children enrolled in preschool. The results suggest that more inattentive children tend to have lower cognitive attainment, especially in language. The estimated coefficients in the multivariate model suggest that the Personal, Social and Emotional Development has a moderate to high effect size for language and mathematics. Implications of the results for educational policies are presented.

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Publicly funded adult health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had positive effects on low‐income adults. We examine whether the ACA's Medicaid expansions influenced child development and family functioning in low‐income households. We use a difference‐in‐differences framework that exploits cross‐state policy variation and focus on children in low‐income families from a nationally representative, longitudinal sample followed from kindergarten to fifth grade. The ACA Medicaid expansions improved children's reading test scores by ~2% (0.04 SD). Potential mechanisms for these effects within families are more time spent reading at home, less parental help with homework, and eating dinner together. We find no effects for children's math test scores or socioemotional skill development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Social skills are of key importance in everyday and work life. However, the way in which they are typically assessed via self-report questionnaires has one potential downside; self-reports assess individuals' global self-concepts, which do not necessarily reflect individuals' actual social behaviors. In this research, we aimed to investigate how self-concepts assessed via questionnaires relate to skill expression assessed via behavioral observations after short interpersonal simulations. For this, we used an alternative behavior-based skill assessment approach designed to capture expressions of predefined social skills. Self- and observer ratings were collected to assess three different social skills: agency (i.e., getting ahead in social situations), communion (i.e., getting along in social situations), and interpersonal resilience (i.e., staying calm in social situations). We explored how these skills were related to self-concepts by differentiating between a classic personality measure (i.e., Big Five Inventory 2; BFI-2) and a novel skill questionnaire (i.e., Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory; BESSI). The results (N = 137) showed that both personality and skill self-concepts predicted self-rated skill expression, with the BESSI showing incremental validity. For both personality and skills self-concepts, the relationships with observer-rated skill expression were significant for agency but not for communion or interpersonal resilience. We discuss these results and highlight the theoretical and practical importance of differentiating between skill self-concepts and actual skill expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education in health study programs is particularly focused on the development of technical skills, despite there being a consensus on the importance of training students regarding socioemotional and life skills. The aim of this study was to characterize and explore correlations between socioemotional skills and decision-making styles in undergraduate health students. Undergraduate students (18–25 years old) were recruited at a School of Health Sciences in Portugal. Participants were characterized in terms of sociodemographic data, socioemotional skills (Study on Social and Emotional Skills questionnaire) and decision-making styles (Melbourne Decision Making questionnaire). Descriptive statistics and correlations between questionnaires´ subscales were calculated. Students presented higher scores in tolerance (34.8±3.4), cooperation (34.7±2.4), empathy (31.1±3.2), vigilance (16.0±1.9), and procrastination (9.9±2.1). Assertiveness presented negative correlations with buck-passing (rho=-0.43, p

• Executive functioning findings varied by lab-based tasks versus parent report. • Socioeconomic status related to 4-7-year-olds' lab-based executive functioning. • Household chaos related to lower levels of children's social-emotional skills. • Parenting relationships strongly related to children's social-emotional skills. • Parenting relationships also strongly related to children's survey-based EF. Low socioeconomic status (SES) and high household chaos are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that increase the risk of worse executive functioning (EF) and socioemotional (SE) development. EF and SE skills are foundational for lifelong success, but less is known about how positive childhood experiences (PCEs) such as parenting relationships may buffer the impact of ACEs on these important skills. This study examined how SES and household chaos related to EF and SE skills within the context of varying parenting relationships among a sample of 83 socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse 4- to 7-year-old children in the urban United States. SES was associated with children's lab-based EF, but not survey-based EF or SE skills. Household chaos was related to children's SE skills, with evidence of full mediation through parenting relationships, but was not related to children's EF. Although we found evidence of moderation, none of the interactions was in the expected direction. Thus, this study failed to find evidence of parenting relationships as a PCE protective against risk from SES and household chaos for children's EF and SE skills. However, parenting relationships were more strongly related to children's survey EF and SE skills than either ACE, indicating the importance of fostering parenting relationships for children's SE development across risk levels. Results increase our understanding of how positive and adverse childhood experiences relate to child development in a diverse sample and have implications for measurement approaches and family policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examined associations between pre-k family engagement and early learning skills. • Teacher communication practices associated with lower chronic absenteeism in pre-k. • Associations varied by child, family, and program characteristics. Family engagement is a key component of preschool program quality with the potential to benefit children's early learning skills. Yet, there is limited research on what practices teachers and programs use to engage families and whether these practices are associated with improved child outcomes. This study links administrative data on children's records and survey data collected from public pre-k teachers and administrators in a mid-sized, urban school district to estimate the associations between family engagement practices and children's attendance in pre-k and their early literacy and socioemotional skills at the end of pre-k. Overall, we found limited evidence that family engagement practices are, on average, associated with children's outcomes. Only teachers' practices for communicating with families were associated with lower chronic absenteeism. However, these associations varied by child, family, and program characteristics. Our findings identify promising family engagement practices for preschool programs and highlight the need for future research to consider the heterogenous effects of family engagement across different types of practices and across child, family, and program characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-esteem is a fundamental construct in the development of human beings throughout life, its transcendence has a direct influence on people's quality of life, productivity, and mental health. The objective of this research is to disseminate intervention programs used to strengthen students' self-esteem, with verifiable results that can be replicated in various educational institutions. To do this, a systematic review is conducted in SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet. The results show that all intervention programs implemented according to inclusion criteria showed an increase in students' self-esteem. In this scenario, all efforts should tend towards this self-knowledge, which fosters a culture of peace and nonviolence, so necessary nowadays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature provides evidence on the positive connection between cognitive test scores and higher wages. Fewer and newer studies have explored the correlation between non-cognitive test scores and wages. However, these studies only focus on developed countries. The main objective of this study is to identify latent abilities and explore their role in the gender wage gap in a developing country: Peru. The main identification strategy relies on exploiting panel data information on test scores and arguing that time dependence across measures is due to latent abilities. We exploit two databases: the Young Lives Study and the Peruvian Skills and Labor Market Survey. The results show that when accounting for differences in actual latent abilities, socioemotional abilities account for important inter-gender differences in the endowment and returns of abilities. Moreover, inter-gender differences in latent abilities play an important role in not only wage profiles but in schooling, employment, and occupational decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents and discusses the results of the evaluation of the effects of an intervention to strengthen socio-emotional skills carried out in Colombia in 2019 as part of the international cooperation project "La Paz Unica Esperanza Para el Desarrollo Economico y Social" (PUEDES). The evaluation is carried out with the difference-in-difference method, on a group of 754 adolescents aged between 10 and 18, attending secondary school in the Department of Putumayo. The competences being assessed are self-esteem, regulation of positive and negative emotions and empathy. The results show that the effects were positive in all skills and, observing the differentiated effect by gender, it was found that it was more intense among girls than boys. Furthermore, participatory processes have produced positive effects especially in girls, in particular as regards the management of negative emotions, confirming the relevance of the gender variable in this type of process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is significant evidence that emphasizes the importance of social and emotional learning in schools for students' positive development and adjustment. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a socioemotional skills promotion program, implemented with a group of socioculturally vulnerable young adolescents. Data were collected in the 2020–2021 school year from all students from 6th grade (n = 50, from four classes) in a high-risk school in Portugal (56% females). Two classes served as the comparison group. Participants responded to self-concept and emotional and behavioral problems measures at two moments (pre- and post-intervention). Results indicated a significant impact on self-concept, namely an increase in behavioral adjustment, happiness, and satisfaction and a decrease in anxiety in the intervention group compared with the comparison group. These findings support intervention efficacy. Educational implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The data presented in this article— originally reported by Soto and colleagues (Soto et al., in press)— assess social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills, indexed by the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI), across seven independent samples (N = 6,309). Four of the datasets (N = 5000) were collected using an online survey housed on PersonalityLab.org. In two of these internet datasets, participants provided their responses to sociodemographic items, subsets of BESSI items (45 – 102 items), and the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2, 60 items). In the other two internet datasets, participants answered the same sociodemographic items and the full BESSI questionnaire (192 - 200 items). The fifth dataset was collected via an online survey sponsored by the Character Lab Research Network and included responses from 499 high school students. The High School Student Sample completed sociodemographic items, the full BESSI (192 items), and measures of academic engagement, occupational interests, peer acceptance, friendship quality, romantic relationship satisfaction, family relationship satisfaction, volunteerism, physical exercise, and life satisfaction (96 total items). The sixth dataset was collected using the Qualtrics Online Sample service, and 488 adult respondents completed an extended, observer-report version of the BESSI (284 items), sociodemographic items, and information regarding their relationship with the person whom they were reporting on (7 items). The seventh data set consisted of college students (N = 322) from Colby College. The College Student Sample completed a survey on Qualtrics that included sociodemographic items, the full BESSI (192 items), the BFI-2 (60 items), and four other SEB skill inventories (116 items). All datasets, questionnaires, and scoring forms are hosted on OSF. The data can be used to (1) understand the structure and organization of SEB skills, (2) model the relationship between SEB skills and conceptually adjacent constructs such as personality traits and character strengths, and (3) explore the associations between SEB skills and consequential outcomes.

Compared to traditional psychosocial interventions, the transdiagnostic approach focuses on common processes or factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of emotional problems. In Spain, the Super Skills Program has proven its effectiveness, but issues with displacement or scheduling for families can hinder access to the intervention. This study aims to examine the program's effectiveness in preventing children's psychosocial problems through learning socio-emotional skills when self-administered via the Internet. Participants were 283 Spanish children between the ages of 8 and 12. The children and their parents completed anxiety and depression scales before and after receiving the intervention and 12 months later. The program consisted of 8 self-applied sessions, at a rate of two per week, which included emotional education, cognitive restructuring, self-regulation techniques, training in social skills, problem-solving, and video feedback with cognitive preparation. Significant differences in anxiety and depression symptoms were found after the intervention. A significant reduction in anxiety scores and a marginally significant decrease in depression scores was observed at the long-term follow-up. The "intention to treat" analysis revealed a tendency for children who improved to drop out of the program, completing the intervention children with more symptomathology. Learning socio-emotional skills through a self-applied intervention via the Internet effectively reduced emotional symptoms in school children and is a valuable resource to improve child well-being and prevent future psychological problems.

The objective is to describe students' perceptions in initial training at a Brazilian public university regarding certain social teaching situations, in the light of socio-emotional skills, focus on relationship management, and regulation of emotions. The methodological design is quantitative, using a test entitled Test of Regulation and Understanding of Social Situations in Teaching (TRUST), formulated by Aldrup et al. (2020), translated and adapted to the Brazilian context. As a result, we observed that the vast majority of the strategies best evaluated by the undergraduates are the most effective in the test context. Through statistical tests carried out in the Jamovi software, we identified differences in the results, neither about age nor about the period in which the respondents are in the carries. The only difference identified was concerning gender, about emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Higher education in health study programs is particularly focused on the development of technical skills, despite there being a consensus on the importance of training students regarding socioemotional and life skills. The aim of this study was to characterize and explore correlations between socioemotional skills and decision-making styles in undergraduate health students. Undergraduate students (18-25 years old) were recruited at a School of Health Sciences in Portugal. Participants were characterized in terms of sociodemographic data, socioemotional skills (Study on Social and Emotional Skills questionnaire) and decisionmaking styles (Melbourne Decision Making questionnaire). Descriptive statistics and correlations between questionnaires' subscales were calculated. Students presented higher scores in tolerance (34.8±3.4), cooperation (34.7±2.4), empathy (31.1±3.2), vigilance (16.0±1.9), and procrastination (9.9±2.1). Assertiveness presented negative correlations with buck-passing (rho=-0.43, p<0.01) and procrastination (rho=-0.38, p<0.01) and positive correlation with vigilance (rho=0.22, p=0.03). Students demonstrated higher values in empathy, cooperation, and tolerance skills, meaning they tend to be kind and care for others' well-being. Vigilance style is related to assertiveness characterizing hard working leaders able to pay attention to others' needs. Training that involves socioemotional skills might be crucial for the style of decision-making in future health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social mastery motivation is a critical correlate of children's vocabulary and socioemotional skills, but little research has investigated the relationships among these factors. The present study investigated the direct relationships between socioemotional skills and the instrumental and expressive indicators of social mastery motivation and the indirect relationships between these variables through receptive vocabulary. The participants were 171 Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children (76 girls; mean age 3.84 years) and their parents. The children's social mastery motivation, receptive vocabulary, and non-verbal intelligence were individually assessed in their homes. Both of each child's parents reported their educational level and child's socioemotional skills. Path analysis revealed that expressive social mastery motivation had a positive relationship with socioemotional skills and that instrumental social mastery motivation was indirectly related to socioemotional skills through receptive vocabulary. The findings highlight the different relationships between two indicators of social mastery motivation and socioemotional skills, and social mastery motivation may improve children's vocabulary and socioemotional skills through day-to-day social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• School readiness skills at age 4 predicted academic performance through 5th grade. • Socioemotional skills modestly predict achievement beyond pre-academic readiness skills. • School readiness predicts the odds of retention and suspension in elementary school. In this study, we use a large-scale (n = 33,717) ethnically diverse (59% Latinx, 34% Black, and 7% White/other) largely low-income sample to assess the predictive power of a wide range of school readiness skills measured at age four in preschool on authentic academic outcomes through Grade 5. Specifically, we explored the extent to which cognitive, language, fine motor, gross motor, and socioemotional skills at age four are related to GPA, standardized test scores, likelihood of retention, and likelihood of suspension in Kindergarten and key grades through Grade 5. OLS and logistic regressions revealed that each of these measures of school readiness was related to later academic outcomes, even when controlling for demographic characteristics and other measures of performance in preschool. Preschool socioemotional readiness skills were consistently related to K to Grade 5 outcomes. These findings suggest that school readiness skills at age 4 have long-term influence on academic performance in elementary school and that socioemotional skills are an important component of school readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Lusofona de Educacao is the property of Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, CEIEF and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)