Social Emotional Competence among School-aged Children in the Chinese Context: Validation of the WCSD Social Emotional Competency Assessment

Abstract Background: The present study aims to validate the 40-item and the brief 17-item Washoe County School District-Social Emotional Competency Assessment, a self-report measure of social emotional competencies, among Chinese school-aged children residing in Hong Kong. Methods: A total of 349 children (M = 9.86 years, SD= 1.22; 45.82% girls) and their parents (77.84% mothers) completed a set of questionnaires independently. The factor structures of both versions of the Washoe County School District-Social Emotional Competency Assessment were evaluated by confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation models were then conducted to examine their predictive validity. Results: Findings showed that both the 40-item and the 17-item versions fit adequately to the data. Both versions were also associated with positive and negative affect, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. However, only the 40-item version was associated with prosocial behavior. Conclusions: The present findings demonstrated adequate factor structures and predictive validity of the full version and the brief version of the Washoe County School District-Social Emotional Competency Assessment in measuring social emotional competencies among Chinese children. Hence, the measure serves as a useful tool for researchers, educators, and mental health practitioners to assess school-aged children’s social emotional competencies in the Chinese context.