Abstract
An individual’s social competencies and interpersonal relationships have been repeatedly linked to a number of behaviors not typically directly associated with social skills including depression (Hokanson & Rupert, 1991) and aggressive behavior (McColloch & Gilbert, 1991). In addition to these more social behaviors, social skills have also been shown to be predictive of both risk and protective factors related to academic functioning (Newcomb, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993; Parker & Asher, 1987). The current study aims to add to the literature by examining the relationship between teacher, parent, and self-ratings of specific classes of social skill behaviors and teacher ratings of externalizing behavior and academic competence in the classroom as rated on the Social Skills Improvement System-Rating- Scales (Gresham & Elliott, 2008a). Results suggest that teacher, parent, and student ratings of Social Skills related to Responsibility, Communication, and Cooperation, can be used to create a model with reasonable fit that adequately predicts academic achievement as rated by Teachers on the SSRS-IS when taking teacher ratings of externalizing problem behaviors into account. This adds to the literature by suggesting a starting place for targeted social skills interventions for students with academic difficulties.
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