Interpersonal Social Competence Among School Going Children

The present study was conducted in Hisar city of Haryana state. The sample comprised of 160 children in the age group of 6-8 years. These children were assessed for interpersonal problem-solving skills in obtaining access to an object in another child’s possession with the help of Social Problem-Solving Test. Children’s quantitative responses were computed for total number of different categories of strategies, relevancy of strategies and within-story flexibility in use of strategies. Quality of children’s responses was computed for proportional use of forceful and non-forceful strategies. Results revealed that in interpersonal problem solving, most frequently suggested strategies by children were non-forceful in nature. Results also revealed that there were no gender differences in quantitative scores of interpersonal social competence among school children. Significant differences were found for usage of quality of strategies. Girls suggested greater proportions of non-forceful strategies as compared to boys; on the other hand, boys suggested greater proportions of forceful strategies as compared to girls. It can be concluded that in interpersonal social dilemmas boys becomes more aggressive as compared to girls.