Abstract

The aim of this paper was to validate the Interaction Rating Scale for Children (IRSC) as an evidence-based practical index of social skills. Twenty 5-6-year-old preschool students participated in our study. Participants were required to complete a 5-minute interaction session and were evaluated using the IRSC. A motion capture machine, based on an ecologically valid interaction within a candy-distribution setting, monitored participants' head movements. Results indicated a moderately high correlation between IRSC scores and head movements. When cooperation was high, the Pitch was higher (r = 0.548, p < .05) and the Yaw was lower (r = -0.685, p < .01). When self-control was high, the Pitch was lower (r = -0.576, p < .01).The IRSC is able to measure social competence with high validity. Thus, the IRSC is a helpful tool for understanding the development of peer relationships.

Highlights

  • Peer interactions provide opportunities for children to learn social skills from each other and understand rules for appropriate behaviours in different settings

  • Scores for all Interaction Rating Scale between Children (IRSC) subscales are derived from laboratory-based observations of the interactions of 4 children

  • Time profiles of the pitch and yaw head motions were estimated by multivariate autoregressive (MAR) models, and their Akaike’s noise contribution ratio (NCR) was calculated

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Summary

Introduction

Peer interactions provide opportunities for children to learn social skills from each other and understand rules for appropriate behaviours in different settings. The IRS contains 70 items for a behavioral score and 11 items for an impression score, grouped into 10 subscales (5 subscales focus on children’s social skills: Autonomy, Responsiveness, Empathy, Motor regulation, and Emotional regulation; another 5 items assess caregiver’s parenting skills: Respect for autonomy development, Respect for responsiveness development, Respect for empathy development, Respect for cognitive development, and Respect for social-emotional development). This measure is used to evaluate, in less than 5 minutes, an observation appropriate for the assessment of interactions between caregivers and children from birth to 8 years old. The purpose of this study was to clarify the validity and reliability of the Interaction Rating Scale between Children (IRSC: see Appendix 1) as an evidence-based practical index of social competence

Participants
Measures
Procedure
Analysis
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Cooperation: children’s cooperative and empathetic behaviors
Self-Control: children’s behaviors that emerge in conflict situations
Assertion: children’s initiating behaviors

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