Introduction
Maturity is the ability to respond to the environment being aware often
correct time and location to behave and knowing when to act according to
the circumstances and the culture of the society one lives in (Weschler.
1950).American Psychologist Jerome Bruner believed the purpose of the
period of immaturity is a time of experimental play without any serious
consequences. where a young one can spend a great deal of time observing
the actions of skilled others in coordination with oversight by and activity
with its mother (Bruner. 1972). Evolutionary psychologists have
hypothesized that cognitive immaturity serves an adaptive purpose as a
protective barrier for children against their under-developed metacognition
and judgement. something that might put them in harm's way.
Maturity might have been indicated through the person's decision making
ability but it develops through the complex interplay of cognitive. social and
moral development. Theorists such as Erik Erikson propounded psychosocial
stages of development, these stages describe progression into adult
maturity, with each maturational stage characterized by a psycho-social
conflict (Cherry, 2020). The stages include Trust Vs Mistrust (birth to 18
months) wherein the infant establishes trust on the primary caregiver which
would eventually shape the infant's view often world. The next stage
Autonomy Vs Shame ( 1-3 years) proposes that infants assert their sense of
independence and autonomy. If infants are restrained too much. They are
likely to develop shame. The third stage Initiative Vs Guilt (3-5 years)
believes that in this stage children are exposed to the widening social world
where they try to engage in active Purposeful behavior. In Identity Vs
Inferiority (6 years to puberty). Children try to master skills to avoid feeling
inferior. The adolescent period according to Erikson leads to the fifth stage.
Identity Vs Role confusion in which adolescents try to establish their identity.
Intimacy Vs isolation (early adulthood) believes in the establishment of
intimate relationships eventually leading to Generativity Vs Stagnation
(middle adulthood) wherein helping the younger generation to develop
becomes a task. Ultimately, in Integrity Vs Despair (late adulthood). The
person starts reflecting on her/his past.
Purpose
The important purpose of this test was for Child Guidance, Child
training and to distinguish.
Between mentally retarded / intellectually disabled child with or
without social incompetence.
It was meant to measure maturity in social independent or social
competence from infant to young adult.
The main purpose of each item is to represent a particular type of
ability to look after one’s own practical needs.
The test has a correlation of .80 to .85 with standard intelligence tests.
Social age
According to APA dictionary of Psychology. “social age (SA) a numerical
scale unit expressing how mature a person is in terms of his or her
interpersonal skills and ability to fulfill the norms and expectations
associated with particular social roles, as compared to others of the same
chronological age.”
” Social age is a reflection of the place occupied by an individual at a
particular point in time within the society to which he/she belongs. This age,
with its corresponding rights and duties, is a relative measure that depends
on individuals’ personal perceptions of the continuities or discontinuities of
their life, and on social perceptions of the stages that make up the life cycle”
Seguy et al. (2019) .
Social age of a person is also influenced by the culture in which a person
lives. In one culture, a person can be socially mature at social age of. 14 in
other he/she can be at age of 18.
Social quotient
The ratio between social age and chronological age. A social quotient is a
parallel concept to an IQ, wherein a score of 100 indicates average
performance for age and scores less than 100 indicate below average
functioning. It is now increasingly called the social intelligence quotient. An
index of social maturity, based on the ratio definition of the intelligence
quotient or IQ. The social quotient being defined as social age divided by
chronological age. The ratio then being multiplied by 100. Hence SQ=
(SA/CA) x 100.
SA – Social Age
CA- Chronological Age
SQ – Social Quotient
Description of dimensions
The items on the scale are classified under categories of items: self-help
general, self-help dressing, self-help eating. Communication, self-direction,
socialization, locomotion, and occupation. Each age level, however, does not
measure all the eight categories resulting in limited item density for all the
categories.
1) Self-help General (SHG): This category indicates a child's ability to engage
in general self-help activities that include, food preparation, hygiene, basic
literacy and numeracy skills.
2) Self Help Dressing (SHD): This category indicates a child’s ability to
cleanse themselves as well as dressing himself/herself.
3) Self-help Eating (SHE): This category indicates a child’s ability to consume
food themselves.
4) Self-direction (SD): Period of adolescent is specifically characterized by
desire of social freedom in personal conduct. This expresses itself in a
gradual breaking away from authority. Which is followed in early childhood
by assumption of responsibility and authority for others.
5) Locomotion: Refers to the social movements associated with social
responsibilities such as going to neighborhoods or school. Locomotion is hind
limb-dominated, with the center of gravity of the body located closer to the
hind limbs, such that the typical walking gait follows a diagonal sequence
(forefoot precedes hind foot on each side (International Encyclopedia of the
Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001).
6) Occupation (0CC): This category includes concentration of playful
activities during infancy mainly involving in self-exploratory tasks and
working for and with others.
7) Communication (COM): This is related to social use of language, literacy
and other means of communication and how these help individuals to adapt
better.
8) Socialization/ Social Skills (SC): It includes social skills like initiation of
mixing socially with others. The process of learning to behave in a way that
is acceptable to society.
Reliability
The Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) is found to be highly reliable,
showing strong test–retest reliability (around 0.80–0.90), which means the
results remain consistent over time. It also has good inter-rater reliability,
indicating agreement among different examiners. The items within the scale
show good internal consistency, proving that all the areas measure the same
concept of social maturity accurately.
Validity
The VSMS has shown strong validity as a measure of social and adaptive
behavior. It has good content validity since it covers all important areas of
social development. Its construct validity is proven by its ability to
differentiate between normal and developmentally delayed individuals. The
scale also shows concurrent validity through its correlation with intelligence
and adaptive behavior tests, and predictive validity in estimating future
social adjustment and independence.