Autonomy support and students’ perceived social-emotional competence: predicting parent-reported social-emotional skills

In this study, we investigated perceived social-emotional competence (PSEC) among 373 Australian secondary school students in relation to parent ratings of social-emotional skills, and perceived teacher and parental autonomy support. Using bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling, we examined five dimensions of PSEC (perceived competence for assertiveness, tolerance, social regulation, emotion regulation, and emotional awareness), identifying a global factor and five specific factors. Following that, we employed structural equation modelling to investigate links between these global and specific factors and five parent-reported social-emotional skills: leadership, cultural competence, teamwork, cognitive reappraisal, and capacity for emotional reflection. Global PSEC was associated positively with all skills, whereas the specific factors were, with one exception, each associated with greater parent-rated skill in a corresponding area (e.g., assertiveness with greater leadership skill; emotion awareness with reflective skills). Addressing a second aim of the research, we tested the extent to which students’ perceptions of autonomy support from teachers and parents assessed near the start of a school term were associated with both students’ PSEC and parent-rated skills assessed at the end of the term. Autonomy-supportive parenting was positively associated with global PSEC. Autonomy-supportive teaching was associated with greater levels of two specific factors: perceived competence for assertiveness and social regulation. Together, findings hold relevance to knowledge and efforts aimed at enhancing social-emotional skills among students.