Social skills are essential to function in our society. The aim of the present study is to improve understanding of i) the bidirectional influence of social cognition and social skills, ii) the...Show moreSocial skills are essential to function in our society. The aim of the present study is to improve understanding of i) the bidirectional influence of social cognition and social skills, ii) the impact of the behavior of parents, influenced by a parent course is, and iii) the effect of gender on the development of social cognition and social skills of children aged four to nine years. In this repeated measures design study, 293 primary school pupils with a mean age of 5 in 2009 and 6 years during the follow up in 2010, have participated. Social cognition and social skills are measured by the Social Cognitive Skills Task and the Social Skills Rating System respectively. Results indicated that i) social cognition appears to be a positive predictor for social skills a year later; ii) girls have further developed social skills and social cognition than boys at age 5. For this reason interventions to stimulate social functioning by a different approach for boys and girls are discussed in this manuscript.Show less
