Relationships and Differences among Social Skills, Problem Behaviors, and Academic Competence for Mainstreamed Learning-Disabled and Nonhandicapped Students

Abstract

The present study was motivated by the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities (ICLD) recommendation that learning disabilities include social skills as a deficit area and by the fact few researchers have directly assessed specific social skills of students classified as learning disabled. This study used a national representative sample of students from the standardization data of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) to investigate social skills of students with learning disabilities compared with nonlearning disabled students as rated by teachers, parents, and the students themselves. This investigation also examined the relationships among social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence of these students. The results indicated there were significant differences in the frequencies of social skills exhibited by LD and nonLD students. Consistent differences between the two groups of students were noted across parents' and teachers' ratings. Although students' ratings did not differentiate LD and nonLD students, the trends in the self-ratings were consistent with those of parents and teachers. Moderate to low interrater agreement was found among teacher, parent, and student ratings suggesting differences exist in the observations of raters and behavioral differences seem to occur across settings. Overall, these findings were consistent with recent research on children's social functioning and social competence and provide an empirical rationale for social skills training for a wide variety of students whether they are classified as LD or not.