2025 Theses Doctoral

Examining Social-emotional Skills during Childhood and Adolescence

Li, Linda

Social-emotional skills developed in childhood and adolescence are critical for social functioning and contribute to multiple aspects of wellbeing including educational attainment, labor market success, crime, and health (Carneiro et al., 2007; Jones et al., 2015; Heckman & Kautz, 2012). Skills such as effective emotion regulation, self-control, and social skills are assets for positive youth development and enhance successful and healthy transition to adulthood (Viner et al., 2012).

From a public health perspective, these skills not only help to prevent diseases, disorders, injuries, and problem behaviors, but they also promote positive outcomes that improve the quality of life (Greenberg et al., 2017). Moreover, research suggests that these noncognitive skills may also be more malleable throughout childhood and adolescence than cognitive skills, making them desirable targets for prevention or intervention efforts (Carneiro et al., 2007; Heckman et al., 2013; Akee et al., 2018).

My dissertation examines social-emotional skills during childhood and adolescence using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). In Chapter 1, I investigate the role of early social-emotional skills for adolescent wellbeing and social connectedness. In Chapter 2, I examine adolescent’s self-rated social skills and differences by SES, race/ethnicity, and gender.

Then in Chapter 3, I assess the effect of early child care and education arrangements on children’s social-emotional competence through adolescence. Together, these papers will address gaps in the literature, provide further insight into the development and role of social-emotional skills during childhood and adolescence, as well as help to identify potential policies for promoting wellbeing and reducing disparities.