S u m m a r y

Pölkki P, Kähkönen P & Kukkonen P (1997)

Children's social competence and the external resources of the family

Psykologia 32/1 (31-39). Rauma ISSN 0355-1067.

 

Although the contextualization of development is highly emphasized nowadays, there is still a paucity of studies analyzing the mediation of the external resources of the families on children's social competence. This study analyzed the impact of education, occupation, unemployment and the financial problems of the parents on children's social skills and psychosocial problems. The sample consisted of 492 10-year old children living in the city of Kuopio. The results suggest that the gender of the child (girl), father's higher education and being employed and the child's good relations with family members were influential factors in explaining the social skills of the children as estimated by their teachers. Poor social skills were explained by gender (boy), father's current unemployment and the child's negative relationships with family members. The financial problems of the family were associated with girls' psychosocial problems. The unemployment of the mother and father also affected the atmosphere and problems in the family. The study is part of the "Children's competence and growth networks in the Nordic Countries" project.

 

Key words:

Social competence, social skills, external resources, socioeconomic factors, unemployment.

 

Pirjo Pölkki, Ph.D., Päivi Kukkonen, M.A. Department of Social Sciences, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio.

Päivi Kähkönen, Lic. Psych., Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä. PO Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä.