SUMMARY
Socio-emotional competences are fundamentally important for the psychological, social and academic development of young people, and especially those in highly vulnerable contexts. It is essential that Social Pedagogy socio-educational interventions with these young people take these competences into consideration. However, there are no copyleft diagnostical instruments in this area. In this study, we present a validation of the criteria employed in the situational test for Socio-emotional Competence Development among Young People (DCSE-J), a copyleft instrument designed for 12- to 18-year-old boys and girls and adapted for use with both young people who live with their families and in care centres. A total of 409 secondary school students were asked to take the test and identify peers whose behaviour showed signs of these competences. The results showed that those students nominated most often by their peers also scored highest in the test. It was also observed that girls were nominated more often and had higher test scores. In addition, the results showed the multidimensional nature of the test items and the multilevel interrelationship of the competences, meaning that the mastery of more complex competences requires the mastery of more basic ones. The results demonstrated the criterion validity of the test and that the DCSE-J test is a valid psycho-educational evaluation instrument for measuring socio-emotional competences among young people. This, in turn, allows for specific pedagogical intervention that addresses the specific socio-emotional competences of the group.