Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies

Social competence may be associated with psychological well-being during adolescence, when interpersonal relationships and adjustment to school life become increasingly important. This study examined social competence as a predictor of psychological well-being among secondary school students in Delta Central Senatorial District, Delta State, Nigeria. A correlational research design was adopted. The study population comprised 17,915 Senior Secondary Two students in public secondary schools, from whom 375 students were selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected through a questionnaire comprising a 15-item Social Competence Rating Scale and a nine-item Psychological Well-Being Rating Scale. The reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.70 and 0.72, respectively. Pearson’s product-moment correlation was used to assess the relationship between the variables, while simple linear regression was used to test the null hypothesis at the 0.05 significance level. The findings indicated a weak positive correlation between social competence and psychological well-being (r = 0.27). The regression analysis also indicated a statistically significant relationship (F = 29.924, p < 0.001), with a reported standardised coefficient of 0.274. These results suggest that students with higher social competence tended to report better psychological well-being, although the correlational design does not establish causation. School guidance and counselling services may therefore consider opportunities for constructive peer interaction and interpersonal skills development, while evaluating their effects independently.