Abstract
A comparison of teacher-ratings and self-ratings of adolescents' social competency was investigated. One hundred five high school students completed the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS; Reynolds, 1987) and were divided according to their scores into three groups: the lowest quartile [low-depressive symptoms (LDS) group (n=27)], the highest quartile [high-depressive symptoms (HDS) group (n=28)], and the remainder. Students also rated themselves and were rated by their teachers on a social competency scale. A 2 (High- and Low-Depressive Groups) × 2 (Teacher-Ratings and Self-Ratings) ANOVA was conducted using social competency rating scores as the dependent variable. The two main effects were significant (p<.01). Adolescents with low-depressive symptoms rated themselves and were rated by their teachers as more socially competent than adolescents with high-depressive symptoms; additionally, self-ratings of social competency were higher than teacher-ratings. Results are discussed in the context of an adolescent optimistic bias or a teacher pessimistic bias.
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The authors wish to thank Dr. Paul Retzlaff, University of Northern Colorado, for his comments and suggestions on the manuscript.
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Dalley, M.B., Bolocofsky, D.N. & Karlin, N.J. Teacher-ratings and self-ratings of social competency in adolescents with low- and high-depressive symptoms. J Abnorm Child Psychol 22, 477–485 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02168086
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02168086