FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE SOCIAL SKILLS RATING SYSTEM ACROSS CHILD GENDER AND ETHNICITY

Social skills are learned behaviors that enable children to interact success-fully with others (Gresham & Elliot, 1984). They are an important component in the development and adjustment of children, particularly with regard to their social development. For instance, Stormshak and Webster-Stratton (1999) examined relationships between negative social behavior and school and home behavior problems among children identified by their parents as demonstrat-ing conduct problems. Results suggested that children who lack positive social skills, and are unable to successfully negotiate play with their peers, experience feelings of both sadness and loneliness. Child loneliness, in turn, was associat-ed with teacher reports of externalizing behavior at school. In addition, failure with peers was found to be associated with increased deviant behavior at home. There is also considerable research documenting the impact of social skills on child academic development. Correlational findings suggest that prosocial and antisocial behaviors are independent predictors of students ’ grade point average among middle school students (Teo, Carlson, Mathieu, Egeland, &amp