Matson Evaluation Of Social Skills With Youngsters Research Articles

Assessing elementary school children's social skills: Evaluation of the parent version of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters.

This study examined J. L. Matson's (1990) assertion that the Teacher Version of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) can also be used with parents. Parents and teachers of 179 children completed the MESSY. Parent- and teacher-completed MESSYs were compared on factor structure, score convergence, and relationship to conceptually relevant cognitive and behavioral variables. Additionally, the factor structure and correlates of the parent-teacher composite scores were examined. Results suggested that the parent-reported MESSY does not show a particularly stable factor structure and is not highly related to teacher reports. However, the composite score, which integrated parent and teacher reports, may be a reasonable means of involving parents in reports of children's social skills.

Relationships Among Student Scores on Four Social Skills Measures

Thirty-six fifth-grade children identified by their teachers as “disruptive” were rated with the ACCEPTS Placement Test, a curriculum-based rating scale, the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment, a norm-referenced rating scale, and the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY), a teacher rating and student self-report measure. Correlations among the total scores and the subscale scores were calculated. Significant correlations were found between the MESSY student self-report social-skills factor and most of the teacher rating scales. Stronger correlations were found among the teacher rating subscales and total scores. These results should be of benefit to school personnel who are searching for multiple social-skills measures on which to judge students' social functioning.

Comparison and item analysis of the MESSY for autistic and normal children

Seventeen autistic children were matched for age, race, and sex with 17 nonautistic children, and group differences in social skills were assessed. Appropriate social skills and levels of inappropriate assertiveness/impulsiveness were assessed and evaluated using the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY). Significant differences in both the appropriate and inappropriate social behaviors displayed by the two groups were found. The implications of these results are discussed.

Social Skills in the Hearing Impaired

Assessed the social skills of hearing-impaired 6- to 17-year-olds in four studies. Measures included the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The CBCL Aggressive and Social Withdrawal subscales were consistent predictors of scores on the MESSY Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness subscale. Significant differences were also observed between hearing and hearing-impaired students on measures of social withdrawal and aggression, although both groups were generally within the normal range. In addition, the CBCL Unpopular subscale was a significant predictor of scores on the MESSY Appropriate Social Skills subscale.

Social Skills and Subsequent Depressive Symptomatology in Children

We conducted two studies that examined the relationships between measures of social skill and depressive symptomatology in normal children. Into Study 1, we administered the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) to 46 children. We administered the Adult MESSY and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Social Competence scales to parents. One month later, we readministered the CDI, the Child MESSY, and the Adult MESSY. Child and parent ratings of social skill were correlated with concurrent and subsequent levels of depressive symptomatology; however, activity level assessed by the CBCL was unrelated to depressive symptoms. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that measures of social skill, independent of concurrently assessed depressive symptoms, were significantly related to level of depressive symptomatology 1 month later. Study 2 replicated these findings in a population of 24 children. These results provide modest evidence for the gene...

Assessing Social Behaviors in the Visually Handicapped: The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY)

The present investigation was divided into three studies aimed at establishing the reliability and validity of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) with a visually handicapped population. Age, sex, and related variables also were evaluated. In Study 1, 75 severely visually impaired persons (ages 9-22) who were receiving services for the visually handicapped were evaluated. A number of adaptations to the scale (providing the in formation in large print and on audio cassettes) were made to insure that self-report as well as teacher-report data could be obtained. Internal reliability were all .78 or above on either the teacher- or self-report versions. Study 2 used the same population but aimed at evaluating the differences on various demographic variables of this visually handicapped sample. Age differences were not apparent but six differences and groupings by placement classroom showed significant differences. Visual acuity did not markedly effect differences in social behavior but this may have been due to the relatively severe visual impairments of all the persons studied. The final study compared children and youth matched on age and sex with a total sample of 45 visually handicapped and 45 non-handicapped persons. Analyses of variance showed several differences between these groups on social behavior. The implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed.

Psychometric properties of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) with emotional problems and self concept in deaf children

In Study One the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) was scored by teachers for 96 deaf children ranging from normal intelligence through mentally retarded. Inter-item and split-half correlations were high, and internal consistency of particular items correlated to the scale as a whole was high. Items that were particularly spurious were looking and smiling at others, an interesting finding since these social behaviors are frequently targeted in treatment research. Therefore, re-evaluating behaviors which should receive priority for treatment may need to be considered at least with deaf children. In Study Two, these children were evaluated on social (MESSY) and emotional behavior (AML), and self-concept (Piers-Harris). Correlations between scales showed the greatest relationship between social and emotional responses. The implications of these data are discussed.

Validation of methods for assessing social skills in children

Fifty‐eight children ages 8–13 (X = 9.7 years) from an elementary school were assessed on teacher and child measures of popularity and social skills. Measures given to children included a behavioral role‐play test, peer nominations, the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY), a paper and pencil Likert‐type scale, and a structured interview in which children were asked what they would say and do in six different situations involving interactions with peers. Measures completed by teachers included a popularity ranking and a social skills rating based on several questions concerning social behaviors. Behavioral role‐play test performance was not consistently correlated with measures of popularity and social skills as assessed either from the perspective of child popularity or predicted by ratings of general social adjustment, other teacher or child measures of social skills or child gender. Implications of these and related findings for assessing popularity and social skills excesses and deficits in children are discussed.

Development of a rating scale to measure social skills in children: The matson evaluation of social skills with youngsters (MESSY)

The development of a scale for assessing social skills with children is reported. The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) was completed on 744 children between 4 and 18 years of age. A self-report form was completed on 422 children while 322 children were rated on a teacher-report measure using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Analyses included test-retest reliability conducted at a 2-week interval using Pearson correlations, factor-analytic procedures and selected analyses of variance and appropriate post-hoc tests. Implications of present findings and directions for future research are discussed.