| The study of social skills in children has been a popular field of research for many decades. The popularity of this construct may be due, in part, to the importance of social skills. Investigators recognize social skills as an essential set of abilities that correlate with overall personal adjustment in both children and in adults (Agostin & Bain, 1997; Copeland, 2006; Dodge, Murphy, & Buschsbaum, 1984; Green, Forehand, Beck, & Vosk, 1980; Vinnick & Erickson, 1994). Some children learn to skillfully master social skills, whereas for others, their skills in interacting effectively with others are insufficient to achieve success in the social world.;Knowledge of an individual's differences may be important in understanding an individual's level of social skills. One form of an individual's difference is his/her temperament and another is his/her level of emotional intelligence (EI). Currently, there is no research examining the relationship among EI, social skills, and temperament in preschool-aged children. One reason for this paucity is that until recently there was no assessment measure for EI of young children. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to determine what accounts for the variability in preschool aged children's social skills.;It was hypothesized that a child's level of social skills would be influenced by both his/her level of EI and their temperament. Parents of 94 preschool children, aged 4 years to 5 years 6 months participated in the study. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire and gave their child's teacher permission to complete three rating scales, Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS), Temperament Assessment Battery for Children-Revised (TABC-R), and the Teacher/Parent Rating Scale for Emotional Intelligence (T/PRSEI). Based on the data collected, all the proposed hypotheses in this study were confirmed.;Results of this study indicate that higher scores of EI were predictive of higher scores of social skills, t(90) = 1.84, p = .07. Although not significant at the customary p < .05 level, this positive relationship showed a trend toward significance. Scores on both temperament variables were also predictive of social skills. Specifically, there was a significant negative relationship between inhibition and social skills, t(90) = -5.24, p < .001. Thus, higher scores on the inhibition scale of the TABC-R predicted lower scores on the SSRS. Additionally, impulsivity and social skills scores were negatively related, t(90) = -6.07, p < .001. Therefore, high scores on the impulsivity scale of the TABC-R were predictive of lower scores on the SSRS.;Analyses were also conducted to investigate whether or not gender may be influencing EI. Results showed that when gender was entered into the regression analysis, the variance accounted for significantly increased, t(89) = 4.77, p < .001. In addition, when gender was added as a predictor in the multiple regression, the t-test assessing the contribution of EI revealed it as a stronger predictor of social skills, t(89) = 2.87, p < .01. Thus, when gender was controlled for, EI significantly predicted students' social skills.;Knowledge about what accounts for the variability in children's social skills may help School Psychologists to tailor interventions to assist the child in enhancing his/her social skills. Although a child's temperament is often stable across their lifespan and cannot be changed, skills that are deficits in the child's temperament traits can be taught and learned and in turn may help their level of social skills. Next, knowing a child's temperament will help professionals choose different strategies and interventions to work on social skills. Finally, although there is little research on teaching EI skills, it is possible that teaching EI skills to children who have deficits in social skills would lead to an improvement in their social skills. |
