This paper reports on the results of a study (n = 113 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) that examined the effects of the children's perception of the social support (PSS) they receive from their mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends on their sense of competence and hope. PSS explained 13% of the children's overall sense of competence and 4% of their sense of hope. In the perspective of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the amount of maternal support, both in terms of importance and availability, was higher than that of their paternal support.However, the results of a multiple regression analysis have shown that paternal support accounted for 3% of the variance in the children's overall sense of competence and 5% in the variance of their physical competence. PSS from teachers had significantly explained 5%, 4%, and 4% of the variance in the children's overall, social, and physical competence, respectively. The PSS from friends significantly explained 7% of the variance in the children's cognitive competence and 4% of the variance in hope. Theoretical and clinical implications of the study are discussed. KEYWORDS children's perspective, Chinese children of ADHD, hope, perceived social support, perception of competence

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This study draws on survey data from 205 family mediation service users concerning their satisfaction with the outcomes of mediation to address two research questions: (a) how satisfied are service users? and (b) what factors account for users' satisfaction with the outcome of child custody arrangements and the allocation of finances and property? Overall, users' level of satisfaction with outcomes was high. While the mediation process explained a significant variance in satisfaction with the outcomes for child custody and for finances and property, the mediator's perceived professional competence did not predict user satisfaction with the outcomes for either issue. This study contributes to our knowledge on the significance of mediators' process skill, specifically their calm and clear responses to the socioemotional needs of the mediated parties, on the service outcomes for both types of dispute. The implications for mediation training are discussed.

This study investigated both the risk factors and the protective factors against peer rejection at multiple levels in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their typically developing peers. Using standard sociometric procedure, we studied the peer rejection of 108 children with ADHD (aged 7 to 12) and their classmates of the same sex and age ( n = 108). Risk factors (i.e., emotional/behavioral difficulties, academic performance, conflicts in the student-teacher relationship, parental rejection) predicted peer rejection in both groups, but the quality of relationships with teachers had a stronger predictive power in children with ADHD. Protective factors at multiple levels: individual ( extracurricular activity), family ( parental warmth and family social support), social ( school social support and friendship), compensated for all the risks of peer rejection in children with ADHD. However, the effect of prosocial behavior was insignificant after controlling for emotional/behavioral problems. Only school social support and friendship moderated the relationship between rejection and the risk factors in children with ADHD. Compensatory and moderating effects of all factors were found in the comparison group. Prevention and intervention of the peer rejection of children with ADHD should be focused on multiple levels of factors, especially social ones.