Social Competence and Behavioral Problems of Learning Disabled Boys Aged 6-11

Abstract

Parents' reports on social competence and behavioral problems were obtained for 123 learning disabled boys aged 6-11 who were referred for a psychoeducational assessment at the Center for Disorders of Communication at the University of Vermont. One parent of each boy completed the Child Behavior Checklist developed by Achenbach and Edelbrock (1983). On average, the parents of LD boys reported significantly lower levels of social competence and more behavior problems than normative samples of parents. On the social competence scales, the LD boys were significantly lower than the normative samples in their participation in activities, their social involvement and school performance. On the behavior problem scales, the LD boys had significantly higher scores for both "externalizing" and "internalizing" types of problems, including problems related to depression, uncommunicativeness, obsessivecompulsive behaviors, social withdrawal, hyperactivity, aggressivness and "delinquency." Compared to a sample of other clinically-referred boys, a significantly larger proportion of LD boys showed a hyperactive profile pattern, and smaller proportions showed profile patterns indicative of depressed-social withdrawalaggressive behavior and delinquency. There were significant, but low, positive correlations between 1Q scores on the Weschler Intelligence Scale for ChildrenRevised and social competence scores and negative correlations between 1Q scores and behavior problem scores.

Psychiatric disorders, performance level at school and special education at early elementary school age

“…Mildly disabled children also report more dissatisfaction and anxiety of peer relationships than their normally developing counterparts (35). Some studies also have shown that children with learning or intellectual disabilities exhibit more aggressive and disruptive behaviours than other children (22). Rousseau et al (26) have reported that learning difficulties and levels of academic achievement were associated with emotional problems, and similar findings among children with epilepsy have been reported by Sturniolo and Galletti (33).…”

Self‐concepts of students with learning disabilities and their normally achieving peers: a review

“…teachers, peers), regardless of the similarity or differences of the perceptions. Research indicates that teachers and peers' perceptions of the academic and social competence of children with LD are usually negative (McConaughy & Ritter, 1986;Kavale & Forness, 1996). Nevertheless, although their peers and teachers perceived children with LD as having social skills deficits or more negative peer acceptance than their NA peers, the children's own perceptions were not as consistent as the perceptions of others, as we will see shortly.…”

Disentangling the Impact of Low Cognitive Ability and Inattention on Social Behavior and Peer Relationships

“…Identified subgroups of children with elevated levels of inattention or low cognitive ability showed different patterns of peer problems, with low acceptance characteristic of the low cognitive ability (only) group and high dislike ratings characteristic of the inattentive and inattentive/low-ability group. Implications are discussed for the design of early intervention and prevention programs.Children with learning problems, including those identified as learning disabled (McConaughy & Ritter, 1986;Nabuzoka & Smith, 1993), developmentally delayed (Guralnick & Groom, 1987) and low-achieving (Green, Forehand, Beck, & Vosk, 1980;Taylor, 1990), often experience problems gaining acceptance and avoiding rejection by peers. Poor peer relationships, in turn, predict serious difficulties in later life, including truancy, antisocial behavior, social anxiety, and an increased need for mental health services (Parker & Asher, 1987).…”

“…For example, children with identified learning disabilities frequently display disruptive and aggressive behaviors, possibly due to deficits in attention control and social information processing (Bryan, Wheeler, Felcan, & Henck, 1976;McConaughy & Ritter, 1986;Sandler et al, 1993). Attention deficits are associated with impulsive social information processing and hostile attributional biases (Dodge & Newman, 1981), high rates of boisterous and intrusive social behaviors (Whalen & Henker, 1985), frequent disruptions and rule violations in play (Landau & Moore, 1991), and elevated levels of negative affect in peer interactions (Whalen & Henker, 1985).…”