Abstract
Considering that social skills (SS) may be predictors of good school performance and that children and adolescents institutionalized for a long time tend to present school difficulties, this study sought to compare SS, behavioral problems, and school performance in children/teenagers with and without institutional sheltering experiences. The study sample consisted of teachers and 36 children/teenagers that were divided into two groups: G1, which included 18 children and teens from three shelters in the countryside of Mato Grosso do Sul; and G2, including 18 children and teens without history of institutional sheltering and from the same school context as G1. All students answered social skills inventories according to their age and the School Performance Test (SPT). Teachers answered two scales: one for SS and one for behavioral problems. In G1, higher social skills scores were associated with good reading performances whereas behavioral problems were associated with lower total scores in the SPT. In G2, higher social skills scores were associated with better performance in SPT mathematics test. Although teachers reported similar social skills in both groups, G2 participants perceived themselves as more skilled than G1 participants. In turn, teachers assigned higher scores for behavioral problems in G1, significantly different than those found for G2. These findings indicate the need for interventions implemented with the help of teachers to reinforce skilled behaviors in their pupils, favoring self-esteem and school performance.
Keywords:
Institutionalized Children; Host; Social Skills; School Performance