ABSTRACT
Interest in social development has gradually expanded in psychological literature from the maturation of children's social competence to the conceptualization of an individual as an active agent in his or her environment. Social functioning may be seen in playing various roles, handling money, work and other daily tasks, and in participation in social life and leisure activities, coping with substance use, and feeling a sense of belonging. Positive social functioning is an implicit goal in several theoretical approaches to human development: growth models, life-span models, and life-course models. Social functioning takes place in different spheres of life. Life experiences and personal characteristics may support positive social functioning, which has gained more attention as a result of the emergence of positive psychology at the beginning of this millennium. The concept "positive psychology" focuses on the study of positive subjective experiences, positive individual traits, and institutions such as education that enable positive experiences and traits.
