Measuring stress resilience and coping in vulnerable youth: the Social Competence Interview.

Full Abstract

A brief interview to measure stress coping capabilities was developed and tested in 4 samples of African American and White adolescents in low-income neighborhoods of 2 large U.S. cities. The Social Competence Interview (SCI) is a 10-min social stressor that assesses physiological and social-emotional responses to a recurring real-life problem. A new behavioral coding system using audiotapes permits reliable and valid assessment of components of social competence, including Interpersonal Skills (expressiveness, empathy), Goal-Oriented Strivings in coping (self defense, social acceptance, competitiveness, stimulation-pleasure, approval, self improvement), and Social Impact (high vs. low affiliation/control). High SCI expressiveness and self-defensive striving create a critical-aggressive social impact, which is correlated with increased hostility and anger.

Author information

Author/s: Ewart, Craig K (CK); Jorgensen, Randall S (RS); Suchday, Sonia (S); Chen, Edith (E); Matthews, Karen A (KA);

Affiliation: Center for Health and Behavior, Department of Psychology, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244-2340, USA. cewart(-atsign-)psych.syr.edu

Grants: HL07560 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; HL25767 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; HL45139 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; HL52080 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; R01-HL36298 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Psychological assessment (Psychol Assess), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Sep; vol 14 (issue 3) : pp 339-52

Dates: Created 2002/09/06; Completed 2002/10/21; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12214440, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.