Program Outcomes for Youth

Social Competencies

Social Responsibility
Measures

Social responsibility is a highly complex construct and seems to defy the development of one overarching measurement. Additionally, the literature does not suggest that one can measure social responsibility in and of itself. Rather, most researchers and practitioners measure the individual components they believe contribute to an individual developing into a socially responsible person. Social responsibility has been conceptualized and linked to diversity, ethnicity, tolerance, and gender issues. A variety of instruments have been used to measure the underlying dimensions of social responsibility. These include the Adolescent Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire, The Helping Dispositions Scale (Middleton & Kelly, 1996), the Social Goal Questionnaire, and the Beliefs About the Causes of Social Success (Jarvinen & Nicholls, 1996). None of these instruments however, attempt to directly measure the entire scope of social responsibility.

It is possible that often overlooked qualitative measures such as portfolios, diaries or journals, and personal interviews can be valuable and useful alternative sources of data gathering in the investigation of social responsibility.

Name: Adolescent Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (AICQ)
Author: Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis
Date: 1988
Instrument Description: A questionnaire was developed to investigate the utility of distinguishing among different domains of interpersonal competence. It was used across three subsequent studies. The measurement contains five subscales: Relationship Initiation, Self-Disclosure, Negative Assertion, Offering Emotional Support, and Conflict Management. Each scale consists of 8 items set up in a way that allows adolescents to respond to questions regarding common interpersonal situations by means of a 5-item Likert-type scale ranging from "poor at this" to "good at this." Scale scores are determined by averaging the responses for each of the five scales. Higher scores indicate higher functioning in each area.
Where Available: Duanne Buhrmester, Dept. of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Literature Reference: Buhrmester, D., Furman, W., Wittenberg, M. T., & Reis, H. T. (1988). Five Domains of Interpersonal Competence in Peer Relations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(6), 991-1008.
Cost: Not available
Intended Audience: College students but has been used on adolescents ages 15-18 (See Middleton, E.B. & Kelly, K. R. (1996). Effects of community service on adolescent personality development. Counseling & Values, 40, 132-142)
Subtests: None indicated.
Psychometrics: Internal consistency coefficients were found to be between .77 and .87 with a mean of .83. A 4-week test-retest reliability estimate were between .69 and .89 for the five scales. The validity of the independence of the five scales was tested by factor analysis.
Advantages/Disadvantages None noted.


Name: Beliefs about the Causes of Social Success Questionnaire
Author: Dennis W. Jarvinen and John G. Nicholls
Date: 1996
Instrument Description: Designed to measure adolescents level of agreement with statements about what peers who get along well with others must do to succeed socially. Factor analysis revealed six factors accounting for 64% of the variance. The belief factors were be sincere, status, be responsible, pretend to care, entertain, and be tough.
Where Available: Denis W. Jarvin, MetriTech Incorporated, 4106 Fieldstone Dr., Champaign, IL 61821
Literature Reference: Jarvinen, D. W. & Nicholls, J. G. (1996). Adolescent's social goals, beliefs about the causes of social success and satisfaction in peer relations. Developmental Psychology, 32(1), 435-441
Cost: Not Available
Intended Audience: Adolescents
Subtests: Sincere, status, be responsible, pretend to care, entertain, and be tough.
Psychometrics: Coefficient alphas were sincere (.88), status (.87), be responsible (.82), pretend to care (.82), entertain (.67), and be tough (.75).
Advantages/Disadvantages Lack of other psychometrics such as test-retest reliability. Instrument testing to date has been confined to only one group.


Name: Social Goals Questionnaire
Author: Dennis W. Jarvinen and John G. Nicholls
Date: 1996
Instrument Description: This instrument is designed to assess adolescent's preferences for different types of peer social interactions. Factor analysis revealed six dimensions accounting for 62% of the variance: dominance, intimacy, nurturance, leadership, popularity, and avoidance.
Where Available: Denis W. Jarvin, MetriTech Incorporated, 4106 Fieldstone Dr., Champaign, IL 61821
Literature Reference: Jarvinen, D. W. & Nicholls, J. G. (1996). Adolescent's social goals, beliefs about the causes of social success and satisfaction in peer relations. Developmental Psychology, 32(1), 435-441
Cost: Not available
Intended Audience: Adolescents
Subtests: Dominance, intimacy, nurturance, leadership, popularity, and avoidance.
Psychometrics: Alpha coefficients for the scales were dominance (.85), intimacy (.84), nurturance(.83), leadership (.81), popularity (.78), and avoidance (.80).
Advantages/Disadvantages Lack of other psychometrics such as test-retest reliability. Testing to date confined to only the one group.


Measures

Bibliographies


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