Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) [PDF]

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Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) Measuring the social capabilities of an individual helps to estimate the social age and social quotient, which is highly correlated intelligence. (Doll,1965) Therefore social maturity and social intelligence are interconnected. Definition of Social Maturity and Social Intelligence Social Maturity Social maturity and social intelligence were used as synonyms from the early 1920s. In general social maturity is defined as “the willingness of an individual to take responsibility for developing his/her community” Social maturity includes the social identity of an individual within the community. A person who is socially matured understands the needs of others. (Importance and Role of Social Maturity in the Concept of Holistic Managerial Competence., 2013) Social Intelligence Wechsler is well known for developing intelligence testing scales. In 1944 he defined social intelligence as “Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment” (Human Intelligence: David Wechsler, 2021) Theories related to Social Maturity/ Intelligence



Edward Thorndike’s theory of intelligence Edward Thorndike, an American psychologist, speaks of social intelligence in his theory of intelligence. According to him Social intelligence is “the ability to understand and manage men and women and boys and girls, to act wisely in human relations” (Thorndike, 1920). His three components of the concept of intelligence are; abstract intelligence which mainly deals with thinking including both verbal and symbolic.The second is the mechanical intelligence which is being able to effectively control one's body as well as manipulate objects.The third is the social intelligence. Social intelligence is not a trait, but is learned from experiences of the individual. (Thorndike’s Intelligence Theory, 2016) Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional and social intelligence Daniel Goleman speaks about social intelligence as the ability to perceive, generate emotions to assist thought, and to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth. The five components of emotional and social intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, social skills and motivation. Kegan’s Theory of Social Maturity According to Kegan’s theory of social maturity (1984), infants grow into adults as they progressively develop a more objective and appropriate view of the social world they inhabit. He proposed six stages of development through which infants pass to achieve maturity. Incorporative. Sense of self is not developed; it is sensing, moving, and based on reflexes. There is no sense of self at this stage as the infant learns through experiences.



Impulsive. The individual becomes impulsive and perceptive. In this stage, reflexes come into play along with senses through which a sense of self emerges. Imperial. The individual becomes aware of needs, wants, and wishes and can manipulate things to satisfy the requirements. Interpersonal. The child starts to appreciate others by expanding perspectives; the child becomes aware of other individuals' needs. Institutional. In this theme are individuality and autonomy. During this stage, children realize some guiding principles allow them to prioritize their needs. Interindividual. The central theme is self-system identity and autonomy. During this stage, the child begins to realize that there may be multiple realities, and there exist different ways for different people to exist, and accept generic and cross-cultural values. (Robert Kegands Theory of Socail Development, 2021) Development of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale The scale was devised by psychologist Edgar A. Doll and first published in April, 1935 at the Training School at Vineland, New Jersey with revisions till 1953 (Doll, 1965). There are 117 items in the scale, arranged with increasing difficulty to measure social competence (Sparrow, 2011). The scale is similar to the Stanford Binet and Simon test of intelligence in terms of design of the statements and concepts of social maturity, social age and social quotient (Vineland Social Maturity Scale - VSMS in Psychology | Part-1 | Psychological Test | IGNOU Practical, 2020).



The test was normatively standardized in the 1930s. It is more clinical than psychometric in nature and is a behaviour-observation scale, ideal for counselling (Pedrini et al, 1973). The test has a correlation of .80 to .85 with the standard intelligence test, Stanford Binet (Roopesh, 2020). Development of the Indian adaptation of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) The original version by Doll (1953) was adapted to the Indian setting by A.J. Malin (1965) and further saw modification by Bharat Raj in 1992. Due to extreme difficulty in obtaining these manuals, over the years several errors have crept in, both in administration and scoring (Roopesh, 2019). When assessing adaptive behavior, this is one of the only standardised measures available in India at present. Description of VSMS The scale is divided into 8 subscales which indicate specific performances corresponding to age which explain how each child differs in maturation and rate of development. The difficulty level of tasks increases as the age bracket increases. Subscales of VSMS



Description



Self Help General



SHG indicates a child’s ability to perform general activities which cannot be categorized in other subscales. For example, 0-1 year: balances head, demands personal attention, 78 years: differentiates between AM and PM show the highest level of ability for SHG.



Self Help Eating



This subscale shows if a child is able to eat and drink independently, without anyone’s assistance. The items spanned over 0 to 10 years reveal a child’s improvement from eating solid foods, holding spoons, glass to understanding self needs when the meal is served.



Self Help Dressing



SHD explains if the child can take care of personal cleanliness and appropriate dressing. The category describes whether the child



unbuttons the dress, gets ready on his own, chooses proper dresses according to the weather, occasion, and maintains personal hygiene by washing hair, care of nails. Self Direction



SD indicates if the child is able to look after himself, handle money and be more independent in social situations asserting his choice. The items in VSMS suggest that the capacity of Self-direction develops around the age of 6 years where the child can be trusted with a small amount of money and it escalates to being able to make choices for clothes, articles/books and buying it using own discretion.



Occupation



This describes a child’s involvement in playful activities, peer groups, helping in household tasks, helping others, exploring things on their own. OCC describes if a child is able to occupy himself as the age increases in activities which allow him to explore himself in social and intellectual terms.



Communication



COM refers to the use of language, appropriate words to express and create social bonds through other means of communication. The statements in the early age indicate whether a child is able to use non-verbal cues to communicate, reciprocate when simulated and how gradually social use of language is improved.



Locomotion



LOC indicates activities which include movement. For example, between 0-1 year whether a child is able to move around the floor, crawl to between 9-10 years being able to move around the town on his own.



Socialization



SOC refers to the child’s ability to establish social relationships with competence and expression. The statements corresponding to this subscale ranges from the child’s involvement with peers in cooperative play to being a part of clubs, social groups and socializing.



Psychometric Properties When Doll developed the VSMS in 1935, he was ahead of his time in employing appropriate psychometric procedures and in standardizing the test on a sample of individuals from Vineland, New Jersey. Doll gives a correlation of .92 as an indication of the reliability of the scale. Doll presents as evidence of validity the progressive order of difficulty of the items, which is according to him remarkably consistent. In addition he correlated the estimated social ages of feebleminded subjects with social-age scores on the scale, obtaining correlations ranging from -73 to .97. Goulet and Barely(1962) have shown a consistent and high correlation between VSMS Social Age and the Stanford Binet M.A. Doll reported a correlation of + = 0.85 and Patterson(1943) reporting a correlation of + =0.96 with the Binet Scale on a sample of normal children .The Vineland Social Maturity Scale thus appears to be a reliable and fairly valid measure of an aspect of development.(Patterson,1943). Applications of the scale Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) in addition to assessing social competence, it is also used as a substitute test to assess intelligence when other core intelligence tests cannot be used due to various reasons, such as poor speech ability and in conditions where the child is not cooperative. Traditionally, the VSMS was used along with a cognitive assessment to help make a diagnosis of mental retardation or intellectual disability. It has also been used extensively to assess the development of activities of everyday life in individuals who are difficult to test



directly because of some handicapping condition but not necessarily intellectually impaired (Sparrow,2011). References DeVries, R. (1997). Piaget's social theory. Educational researcher, 26(2), 4-17. Doll, E. A. (1965). Vineland Social Maturity Scale: Condensed Manual of Directions, 1965 Edition. American Guidance Service, Inc. Importance and role of social maturity in the concept of holistic managerial competence. (2013). Www.Hindawi.Com. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/anemia/2013/819136/ Human Intelligence: David Wechsler. (2021). Intelltheory.Com. https://www.intelltheory.com/wechsler.shtml Thorndike’s Intelligence Theory. (2016). Managementmenia.Com. https://managementmania.com/en/thorndikes-intelligence-theory Daniel Goleman’s five components of emotional intelligence. (1997). Web.Sonoma.Edu. https://web.sonoma.edu/users/s/swijtink/teaching/philosophy_101/paper1/golema n.html Robert kegands theory of socail development. (2021). Https://Www.Mentalhelp.Net/Child-Development/Robert-Kegans-Theory-ofSocial-Maturity/. https://www.mentalhelp.net/child-development/robert-keganstheory-of-social-maturity/



Patterson, C. H. (1943). The Vineland Social Maturity Scale and Some of its Correlates. The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, doi:10.1080/08856559.1943.1053321 Pedrini, D. T., Pedrini, L. N., & Bonnie C. (1973). An evaluation of and a detailed-profile for the vineland social maturity scale. Education and Welfare, National Institute of Education, 7–16. Roopesh, B.N. (2019). Vineland Social Maturity Scale: An update on Administration and Scoring. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46(2), 91-102. Sparrow S.S. (2011) Vineland Social Maturity Scales. Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. Vineland Social Maturity Scale - VSMS in Psychology | Part-1 | Psychological Test | IGNOU Practical. (2020, June 6). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDknKGWFvos



Performa of Client Name: JH D.O.B: 17/8/ Age: 7.2 years Gender: female Education: 2nd grade Occupation: nil Languages spoken: Tamil, English Reason for Referral: Nil Test Administered: Vineland Social Maturity Scale Primary Informant: Mother Date of Testing: 18/09/2021 Purpose of Testing: To identify the level of social maturity of the child. Presenting concerns: Nil Behavioral observations: Normal



Test Results Social Age (SA) = 105 months/ 8.7 years Social Quotient = SA/CA x 100 = 105/84.2x100 = 124.7 Table 2 Presenting the level of the client’s social maturity in years on various domains of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale Area of Social Maturity



Level of Social Maturity (Age in years)



Self-help general



7.3 years



Self-help eating



7.3 years



Self-help dressing



9.3 years



Self-direction



5.6 years



Occupation



8.6 years



Communication



8.6 years



Locomotion



6.3 years



Socialization



7.6 years



Interpretation The overall social age of the child is 105months/ 8.7 years which is higher than the chronological age i.e. 84.2 months/7.2 years. This implies that the child has higher social maturity by 20.8 months/1.7 years. The social quotient of the child is 124.7 which implies that the child falls under the superior social maturity category.



In the area of self-help general, level of social maturity of the child is 88 months/7.3 years which is same as the chronological age. This score implies that the child was able to perform tasks like balancing head, rolling over, grasping, imitating sounds, walking without support, overcoming simple obstacles, signaling to go the toilet, caring for self at toilet and now at the age of 7-8 years is able to differentiate between AM & PM. In this area, the child’s social maturity is same as the chronological age. In the area of self-help eating, level of social maturity attained by the child is 88 months/ 7.3 years which is same as then chronological age. This score implies that the child was able to perform tasks like chewing solid food properly, drinking from cups, eating with own hands, discriminating edible from non-edible substances, successfully unwrapping sweets and chocolates, eating with spoon, drinking water/milk unassisted, mixing rice properly unassisted and now at the age of 7-8 years is able to help herself during meals. This shows that the child social maturity is nearly same as the chronological age in this area. In this area, the child’s social maturity is same as the chronological age. In the area of self-help dressing, level of social maturity attained by the child is 112 months/9.3 years which is exactly 2 years higher than the chronological age. This score implies that the child between 0-6 years was able to perform tasks like, pulling off clothes, putting on clothes unassisted, buttoning and unbuttoning, washing face and hands unassisted, tries on different clothes. The tasks between the age group of 6-7 years like bathing self-assisted also seems to be done well but does not go to bed unassisted. The child has moved beyond her chronological age by doing tasks between 7-9 years like helping herself during meals and bathing unaided. In this area, the child’s social maturity is higher than the chronological age.



In the area of self-direction, level of social maturity attained by the child is 68 months/5.6 years which is 2 years lower than the chronological age. This score implies that the child is able to perform 7-8 year old tasks like differentiating between AM & PM but has not moved beyond it. In this area, the child’s social maturity is not higher than the chronological age but below it. In the area of occupation, level of social maturity of the child is 104 months/8.6 years, which is 1 year higher than the chronological age. This score implies that the child between 0-6 years was able to perform tasks like, occupying self-upright, marking with pencils/crayons, In the area of communication, transferring objects, fetching familiar objects, initiating own play activities, paper folding, helping at little household tasks, flying kites, using knives/scissors. The child has also reached the social maturity of an 8-9 year old by performing tasks like using tools or utensils and doing routine household tasks. In this area, the child’s social maturity is higher than the chronological age. In the area of communication, level of social maturity of the child is 104 months/8.6 years, which is 1 year higher than the chronological age. This score implies that the child between 0-6 years was able to perform all tasks like laughing, crowing, talking, imitating sounds, following simple instructions, using names of familiar objects, talking in short sentences, relating experiences, writing simple words. The child has also reached the social maturity of an 8-9 year old by taking own initiative to read books. In this area, the child’s social maturity is higher than the chronological age.



In the area of locomotion, level of social maturity attained by the child is 76 months/ 6.3 years which is 1 year lesser than the chronological age. This score implies that the child between 0-6 years was able to perform tasks like, creeping, crawling, walking unattended, walking



upstairs and downstairs unassisted, going to the neighborhood unattended and going to school unattended. The child is also able to perform a 8-9 year old task which is using tools or utensils. In this area, the child’s social maturity is lower than the chronological age. In the area of socialization, level of social maturity attained by the child is 92 months/ 7.6 years, which is more or less same as the chronological age. This score implies that the child between 0-6 years was able to perform tasks like reaching for familiar persons, demanding personal attention, playing with other children, performing for others, playing competitive exercise games. The child is also able to perform 7-8 year old tasks like understanding and keeping family secrets and participating in per-adolescent activities. In this area, the child’s social maturity is same as the chronological age. Pattern analysis The pattern that has been identified with the results is that the child has scored exceptionally high in the areas like self-help dressing, occupation and communication. The social maturity seems to higher than the chronological age in these three areas. In areas like Self-help general, self-help eating and socialization the child seems to have social maturity same as the chronological age which is 7-8 years. In areas such as self-direction and locomotion the child has scored lesser than the chronological age. Impressions and Recommendations The results suggest that more focus should be given to increase the self-direction of the child. The child’s capacity of self-direction has developed around the age of 6 years where the informant says that the child can be trusted with a small amount of money but the child can also be trained to be able to make choices for clothes, articles/books and buying it using own discretion to perform well in the upcoming years. In the area of self-help dressing, the child



seems to face difficulty with sleeping unattended and that needs to be given practice and also to know the underlying reason for the child not being able to sleep on her own. This can help identify any fears that the child might be having. The child has well developed social maturity which is either the same or higher than the chronological age hence there needs no training.



Appendix