Description

The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) is a widely-used tool designed to assess social behaviors and competencies in children. The system encompasses multiple perspectives by utilizing separate versions of the assessment for children, teachers, and parents. This multi-informant approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of a child’s social functioning across different settings, such as home and school.

The SSRS provides insights into key social skills, including cooperation, communication, and assertiveness. It also addresses problem behaviors, which may impact the child’s ability to interact effectively in social environments. The ratings are designed to guide interventions, promote positive social development, and identify areas where children may need additional support.

Components

The SSRS includes three separate versions:

Children Version (Self-Report): Completed by the child, assessing their view of their social skills, emotional regulation, and interactions with peers.
Teacher Version: Completed by teachers, this version assesses how children behave in structured, academic, and peer-related settings.
Parent Version: Completed by parents, this version provides insights into the child’s social skills in the home and community contexts.

Analysis and Use of Data

The data obtained from the SSRS can be analyzed to gain a broad understanding of a child’s social skills profile. The following steps are typically involved in the analysis:

Scoring: Responses from the SSRS are converted into numerical scores, which can be divided into categories such as “Social Skills,” “Problem Behaviors,” and “Academic Competence.” These scores are compared against standardized norms to assess where the child falls in relation to peers.
Comparison Across Informants: A comparison can be made between the child’s self-report, the teacher’s observations, and the parent’s assessment to identify discrepancies or consistencies in how the child’s social skills are perceived.
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses: The scores help identify areas where a child excels or struggles, guiding the creation of targeted interventions. For instance, a child who scores low in assertiveness but high in cooperation may need help developing self-advocacy skills.

Calibration

Calibration of the SSRS is essential for ensuring that the instrument remains reliable and valid across diverse populations. To achieve this, the system relies on normative data gathered from a large, representative sample of children. Regular updates ensure that the system accurately reflects current social norms and behaviors in children of various age groups, genders, and cultural backgrounds.

Application

The SSRS is widely used in:
Educational settings to identify students who may need social skills interventions or special education services.
Clinical settings as part of psychological evaluations to assess social skills deficits in children with conditions such as autism or ADHD.
Research to study the development of social competence in children over time.

Bibliography

Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). Social Skills Rating System. American Guidance Service.
Demaray, M. K., & Elliott, S. N. (1998). Teachers’ judgments of students’ social skills: A comparison of ratings from the SSRS and the Walker-McConnell Scale. Psychology in the Schools, 35(3), 211-219.
Elliott, S. N., Gresham, F. M., Freeman, T. P., & McCloskey, G. (1988). Teacher and observer ratings of children’s social skills: Validation of the Social Skills Rating Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6(2), 152-160.