The purpose of the study was to examine contributions of sociable and prosocial
dimensions of social competence in childhood to the prediction of educational
attainment and socioemotional adjustment in early adulthood in urban China. A sample
of children at 12 years of age participated in the original study, and was followed
up seven years later when they graduated from high school. Sociability and prosocial
orientation in childhood were assessed by peer evaluations. Data concerning youth
adjustment were collected from self-reports of the participants and their parents.
The results indicated that sociability and prosocial orientation had differential
significance for later adjustment in different areas. Whereas prosocial orientation
made unique contributions to the prediction of educational achievement, sociability
in the early years was a significant and reliable predictor of later socioemotional adjustment.
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