Social Competence as a Multifaceted Construct: How do Students with Learning Disabilities Fare?

Abstract

This article summarizes and extends the findings from a prospective, longitudinal study that examined the social competence of students with learning disabilities (LD) from kindergarten through fifth grade. Four components that represent a model of social competence were measured: peer relations, social cognition, behavior problems, and social skills. Findings revealed that over time youngsters with LD demonstrated the same trends on all aspects of social competence as nonLD students. Students with LD did not differ significantly from low-achieving (LA) nonLD students on any of the measures of social competence; however, they were significantly different from average/high-achieving (AHA) nonLD students on social skills and behavior problems, but not peer acceptance or self-concept. The discussion addresses the social competence of students with LD from a developmental perspective as well as how they contrast with other achievement groups (LA and AHA). Issues and suggestions for future directions for research on the social-emotional development of youngsters with LD are presented.