Going Beyond Traits: Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills Matter for Adolescents’ Success

Abstract

The present research addresses three key questions about social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills. First, how do SEB skills relate with the Big Five traits and Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) core competencies? Second, how do SEB skills relate with consequential outcomes in adolescence? Third, do SEB skills provide incremental validity beyond personality traits? Results from a diverse sample of high school students ( N = 897) indicate that SEB skills converge with the Big Five traits and CASEL competencies in expected and conceptually meaningful ways. Analyses of self-reported and school-reported outcomes extend SEB skills’ nomological network by showing that they predict academic achievement and engagement, occupational interests, social relationships, civic engagement, and well-being. Finally, tests of incremental validity indicate that SEB skills provide unique information beyond personality traits and that this information matters for predicting outcomes during adolescence. These findings advance our understanding of the nature, correlates, and consequences of SEB skills.

Which social media platforms matter and for whom? Examining moderators of links between adolescents' social media use and depressive symptoms

“…Sixth, inter‐item reliability (0.50) for the extraversion scale (BFI‐2‐XS; Soto & John, 2017b) was low. This extra short form has low Cronbach α levels with high school students (.58; Soto et al, 2022) or adults (e.g., .63–.66; Soto & John, 2017b), but our value for extraversion was even lower. Researchers could therefore seek to replicate these findings using more comprehensive and reliable Big 5 inventories.…”

Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills: Age and Gender Differences at 12 to 19 Years Old

“…For the first time, in this study, we will focus on the cross-sectional trajectories of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills, as measured according to the new emerging theoretical framework proposed by Soto et al ( 2022a ), in a large sample of 4106 male and female adolescents (12 to 19 years old). This is crucial because adolescence is hypothesized to involve high use and malleability of SEB skills ( Napolitano et al 2021 ; Soto et al 2021 ), whose importance has been recently documented ( Soto et al 2022b ). Understanding whether and how they change might inform teachers, policymakers, psychologists, and educators about which skills are suitable for improvement or need significant attention, also distinguishing between males and females, who are known to face different situations and challenges (under biological, social, and developmental aspects) during this crucial period of life ( Bramen et al 2011 ; Dahl 2004 ; Sawyer et al 2018 ).…”

“…SEB skills, however, showed divergent validity from all these constructs and incremental validity beyond them. Specifically, in the first studies on the topic, SEB skills were incrementally important during adolescence for a host of positive outcomes, such as academic achievement, school engagement, social relationships, and well-being ( Lechner et al 2022 ; Soto et al 2022a , 2022b ). These results highlight the importance of studying these skills, particularly because SEB skills can be learned and developed, thus providing room for interventions.…”

“…Despite the importance that SEB skills—frequently called “soft skills,” “character skills,” or “non-cognitive skills”—have for policymaking, research, and practice ( European Commission 2016 ; Feraco et al 2023b ; Robles 2012 ; World Economic Forum 2016 ), an integrative psychological framework and a clear measurement method of these skills were missing from the literature. Soto and colleagues ( Soto et al 2022a , 2022b ) recently faced this issue and proposed a framework that consolidates and integrates previous conceptualizations of SEB skills. They developed the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI), which offers “what is arguably the most comprehensive and fine-grained framework for assessing SEB skills to date” ( Lechner et al 2022, p. 2 ).…”

Adapt, Explore, or Keep Going? The Role of Adaptability, Curiosity, and Perseverance in a Network of Study-Related Factors and Scholastic Success

“…Soft skills are personal characteristics that help individuals efficiently regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to finally complete and succeed in a task ( Feraco et al 2022a ; Park et al 2004 ; Robles 2012 ). On this line, their importance in promoting academic performance and study-related factors, as well as sustaining life satisfaction and positive emotions at school, has increasingly been recognized ( Feraco et al 2023a ; Graesser et al 2022 ; Soto et al 2022 ; Weber and Harzer 2022 ). Here, we will focus on three of them, namely, adaptability, curiosity, and perseverance, because, among the others, these are probably the most studied in the school context.…”