The relationship between social skills and school adjustment in junior high school students: Students’ self-reports and teacher reports

Abstract

The present study investigates the association between social skills and indicators of school adjustment: school satisfaction, loneliness, self-esteem, depression, and academic grades. A total of 1,042 junior high school students (boys = 513, girls = 529, Mage = 13.63, range = 12–15) from 33 classes in three schools participated in a questionnaire survey. The results of correlation analysis with multilevel modeling and Zou’s test revealed that (a) hairyo skills, consisting of compassion for others and maintaining relationships with peers, were positively correlated with academic grades, and (b) kakawari skills, consisting of assertion and developing relationships with peers, were positively correlated with school satisfaction and self-esteem. Both types of social skills were negatively correlated with a sense of victimization and depression. These results show multiple aspects of the effects of social skills toward school adjustment problems.