Helping me, helping you: behavioral and neural development of social competence from childhood to adolescence

Dobbelaar, S.

Why do some children easily find their way in social situations and are satisfied with their social lives, while others experience more difficulties? One key component that may explain this is social competence: the ability to fulfill both own and other’s social goals. This thesis focused on individual differences in social competence from childhood to adolescence by examining contextual, developmental and neurobiological influences on aggressive and prosocial responses to social evaluation. Findings showed robust neural processes related to social feedback and subsequent aggression already in middle childhood. Additionally, this thesis revealed that the period between childhood and adolescence is important for the behavioral and neural development of inhibition of aggression following negative, neutral and positive social feedback. Aggression following social feedback decreased towards adolescence, but aggression following positive feedback decreased earlier in childhood than...Show moreWhy do some children easily find their way in social situations and are satisfied with their social lives, while others experience more difficulties? One key component that may explain this is social competence: the ability to fulfill both own and other’s social goals. This thesis focused on individual differences in social competence from childhood to adolescence by examining contextual, developmental and neurobiological influences on aggressive and prosocial responses to social evaluation. Findings showed robust neural processes related to social feedback and subsequent aggression already in middle childhood. Additionally, this thesis revealed that the period between childhood and adolescence is important for the behavioral and neural development of inhibition of aggression following negative, neutral and positive social feedback. Aggression following social feedback decreased towards adolescence, but aggression following positive feedback decreased earlier in childhood than following negative feedback. Moreover, the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, known for its role in executive functioning, decreased over time. Finally, results indicated that the co-occurrence of aggression following rejection and prosocial behavior following observed rejection may possibly protect against externalizing behaviors and promote wellbeing. This thesis highlights the importance of examining the interplay of developmental processes across social contexts to understand mental health outcomes.
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Helping me, helping you: behavioral and neural development of social competence from childhood to adolescence

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