Multidimensional Social Competence in the Formation of Socio-Emotional Skills for School Mediation

Introduction: School mediation training is important because it teaches students to resolve differences in a non-violent way. Despite the benefits it offers, research on the subject is scarce and the background is mostly focused on theoretically understanding the conflict to develop specific techniques and tools that are useful for peer students, teachers and school counselors (Benítez, 2020). In this sense, the need to expand knowledge that allows education from a socio-emotional perspective is identified and therefore, the objective of this research is to establish the influence of multidimensional social competence in the formation of socioemotional skills for school mediation. Method: 1025 Colombian students participated (40.6% men and 59.4% women), aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 14.86; SD = 1.43). A structural equation model informed the relationships and influences of prosociality, social efficacy, and cognitive reappraisal on mediation skills. Results: Specifically, prosocial behavior and cognitive reappraisal affect the understanding and management of conflict. Social efficacy and prosociality would be important in the ease of generating assertive communication. Meanwhile, social efficacy and cognitive reappraisal influence the ability to generate awareness and emotional regulation. Discussion and Conclusions: The mediator's prosociality is the most relevant characteristic because it implies displaying helping behaviors in accordance with the needs expressed by the students. For its part, social efficacy is an important factor because it is associated with motivation, the person's commitment to the task, resistance to frustration, and the management of emotions in relationships. While cognitive reappraisal is influential thanks to the use of strategies such as acceptance, positive focusing and perspective taking.