Assessing Social Competence of Adolescents Using the Verbal Interaction Analysis System

Abstract

Forty-seven first-year high school students were videotaped in an initial verbal interaction with four previously unknown adult confederates. The interactions of eight children rated by confederates as being verbally skilled were transcribed together with those of eight children rated less skilled. These sixteen interactions were scored using the Verbal Interaction Analysis System (VIAS) which successfully discriminated between the two groups. The mean ratings of fifteen independent observers who viewed the videotapes, gave further validity to the confederate ratings and VIAS scores. The VIAS scores were however, generally lower than those obtained in previous studies of typical adult-adult conversations. Further, when these adolescent-adult interactions were conceptualized as being more like interviews than conversations, and re-analyzed accordingly, all but one of the adolescents received higher scores. This was as true for those rated verbally competent as for those rated low competent, suggesting the presence of strong demand characteristics in adult-adolescent assessment interactions. The potential use of the VIAS as an aid to assessment and training of social competence with adolescents is discussed in the light of these findings.