Abstract

LACUNZA, Ana Betina  and  CONTINI DE GONZALEZ, Norma. Social abilities in pre-school children in poverty environments. Cienc. Psicol. [online]. 2009, vol.3, n.1, pp.57-66. ISSN 1688-4221.

Research has shown a close relationship between social competence in childhood and the subsequent social performance. The study of social abilities in childhood focuses on preventing difficulties with adaption and facilitating the development of personal resources in different contexts. The aim of this work was to describe a series of social abilities in 318 children between 3 and 5 years old from San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina who live under poverty conditions. Taking into consideration the socioeconomic level, a Scale on Social Abilities and a sociodemographic survey were administered to parents. The results showed no statistically significant differences in relation to poverty levels and the children’s sex. The quality of the social abilities described was subsequently analyzed. The results show that, despite the context of poverty, the children involved showed positive social abilities; therefore, these abilities are considered as a health resource

Keywords : social abilities; pre-school children; poverty.

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