Abstract

PACHECO MARIMON, Magaly  and  OSORNO ALVAREZ, Gloria Yanet. Incidence of parental competences in the development of social skills in kids from single children families. Interdisciplinaria [online]. 2021, vol.38, n.1, pp.101-116. ISSN 1668-7027.  http://dx.doi.org/10.16888/interd.2021.38.1.7.

Multiple researches have shown that parenting styles influence socio-emotional development during childhood, in which the family is considered the first socializing entity. The objective of this research was to analyze the incidence of parental competencies in the development of the social skills of single children aged between three and five years, taking into account four areas: linkage, formative, protective and reflexive. Regarding social skills, six behavioral attitudes were analyzed: basic social skills; making new friends; conversational; feelings and emotions; ability to face and solve problems; and way of relating to adults. It is a quantitative research, correlational method where the sample corresponded to 36 children and 61 parents. Two tests were applied: Positive Parentally Scale and Social Skills Scale. Pearson Chi-square was used to analyze the information, using Statistica software. The Pearson Chi-square test is a non-parametric test, which aims to determine the existence or not of a significant relationship between two variables.

The Parental Competence scale is a very simple questionnaire that applies to the parents or caregivers of a child or adolescent, whose objective is to determine the degree of development of parental competencies that adults use to establish a relationship with the child in care, either as a parent or as a caregiver. The scale groups these competences into four areas: Link, training, protection and reflection. This scale defines three zones to determine the level of competence of the parents: the risk zone, where the parents whose scores are below the reference sample are located; subsequently, the monitoring area is located, where the parents who present scores with percentiles between 30 and 40 are located according to the reference sample. Finally, the optimal zone is defined, where the parents with high scores are located.

The social skills scale of Lacunza is a questionnaire that must be applied by parents or caregivers to children between 3 and 5 years old, which measure observable behaviors, which account for the child's social performance during the last three months. This questionnaire is based on other instruments that measure social skills, but makes an adaptation according to the developmental stages of development in preschool children, perfecting three questionnaires according to age: for 3 years the scale presents a composite questionnaire for 12 items; At the age of 4 years, the evaluation is carried out through the development of 12 questions, while for the age of 5 the questionnaire is made up of a total of 15 items.

The findings of this research do not match what theoretically would be expected. It is paradoxical that children who have medium social skills have parents with optimal parental skills, while children with high social skills, have parents whose parental skills are located in any of the three ranges (at risk, monitoring and optimal). Another finding is related to children who presented high social skills in the six areas, in turn, their parents registered protective parental competencies in the monitoring area, which leads us to think that there are other factors that can affect in the development of the social skills of minors.

Keywords : social skills; parental competence; parenting guidelines; family; single children.

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