Does parent social emotional competence predict the social emotional competence of their children?

Social-emotional skills are vital for young children, and children have been shown to imitate the actions of adults. Given the powerful influence of imitation of parents, it seems as if there should be a relationship between the social-emotional competence (SEC) of a parent and their child. Our study compared parental SEC levels to the SEC levels of their child. More specifically, 90 parents of children 3–6 years old in the United States completed an anonymous online survey assessing their child’s SEC (Social Skills Improvement System- Social Emotional Learning Edition (SSIS SEL)) and their own SEC (CASEL’s Personal SEL Reflection) overall and across 5 domains (self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making, and self-management). Parental overall SEC levels were a significant predictor of a child’s overall SEC levels. When examining individual domains, parent social awareness significantly predicted child social awareness. Parent self-management significantly predicted child self-management, child self-awareness, and overall child SEC. Parental demographics (race, gender, marital status, education level, income) did not predict SEC. This work has important implications as results suggest that targeting adult social-emotional competence levels, and possibly particularly targeting adult self-management skills, may be a vital first step in increasing the social-emotional competence of young children.