Previous research has elucidated social competence as a prominent variable contributing to psychosocial adjustment in juveniles with chronic illness. In particular, early interactions with parents and peers play a large role in the development of social competence by teaching young people how to initiate and maintain satisfying and warm relationships. The current study examined developmental differences in relations among parent-child relationship variables (parental protectiveness), peer interaction variables (social skills, social anxiety), and social competence in juveniles with asthma and diabetes. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to evaluate mediated models using data from a sample of 178 preadolescent (ages 7-11) and adolescent (ages 12-16) juveniles.

Results indicated that social anxiety and social skills mediated the relation between parental protectiveness and social competence in the adolescent age group, but not in the preadolescent age group. In contrast, social skills mediated the relation between parental protectiveness and social anxiety in the preadolescent group only. Attachment security evidenced a strong direct influence on social competence, which was not mediated by social skills or social anxiety. Because protective parenting styles were found to influence social competence through peer interaction variables posited to be directly impacted by chronic illness (i.e., social skills and social anxiety), it is suggested that they are an influential illness-specific determinant of psychosocial adjustment in young people with asthma or diabetes.