LAUSR

Abstract In a previous study, Palacios et al. (2013) explored the social competence of international adoptees, institutionalized children and a community group of peers during early childhood, mean age 6.5 years. As reported by caregivers and teachers, institutionalized children were found to have lower social skills than children growing up in family contexts. This paper presents the longitudinal follow-up of these 3 groups of children at a mean age of 11 years, as well as between-group and cross-informant comparisons in the second wave of the study. Parents/caregivers and teachers rated the children's social skills, while their sociometric status was reported by teachers. Adoptive parents reported normative social skills in their children, while teachers offered a more negative view. Institutionalized children scored significantly lower than the community group, from caregivers’ and teachers’ perspectives. The probability of having a good friend was statistically similar in all 3 groups, although adoptees tended to have a more negative sociometric status. Compared with the previous data collection, teachers reported a significant decrease in social skills for the adopted group, while the social difficulties remained stable over time in the institutionalized group. This study highlights the importance of studying social competence from a developmental and multi-contextual perspective, especially among children exposed to experiences of early adversity.