Covitality in Adolescence: The Role of Socioemotional Skills in Only Children

Abstract

Covitality, understood as the set of social-emotional competencies that promote emotional regulation and the development of healthy interpersonal relationships, is a key indicator of psychological well-being in adolescence. However, there is little evidence on how these skills manifest in only children, whose socialization dynamics may differ from those of adolescents with siblings. In this context, the objective of the present study was to describe the levels of covitality, its domains, and the socio-emotional skills of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who are only children and attend educational institutions in Cuenca (M = 14.65; SD = 1.50). A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive-comparative, cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 451 only children attending public, private, and church-affiliated schools. Data were collected using the Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The results showed a predominance of average (35.7%) and high (24.6%) levels of socio-emotional health, with higher scores observed in the domains of emotional competence and engaged life. Additionally, statistically significant differences in socio-emotional skills were observed across sociodemographic variables, with higher scores among females.