Mapping the maze: A network analysis of social–emotional skills among children and adolescents with social–emotional difficulties

Developing social-emotional skills is crucial for all children and adolescents, particularly those experiencing social and emotional difficulties. This study used network analysis to identify the central skills and network association of different social-emotional skills and investigated how these networks differ between childhood and adolescence. Data were obtained from the 2019 Survey on Social and Emotional Skills by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Our study focused on the bottom quartile of participants aged 10 and 15 years, including 7737 and 7439 individuals from each age group. Optimism and cooperation consistently emerged as the central skills of social-emotional competence across both age groups. When comparing network structures, there was a significant difference between children and adolescents. The connectivity of social-emotional networks was stronger among adolescents, indicating closer skill associations. Understanding these developmental differences is important for educators and practitioners to more effectively support the social-emotional development of children and adolescents experiencing social-emotional difficulties.