The relationships among behavior, social cognition, and peer acceptance in school-identified children with learning disabilities.

摘要

This study examined the relationships among social cognition, externalizing behavior, and social acceptance in children with and without learning disabilities. It was hypothesized that social-cognitive accuracy and externalizing behavior would mediate differences observed in social acceptance between children with and without learning disabilities. School-identified children with learning disabilities (N = 55) in grades 3 through 5 were compared to their non-identified peers (N = 631) in terms of social acceptance. Social acceptance was determined using peer nominations of liked most and liked least, which were converted into an overall social preference score for each child. When children's learning disability status accounted for a small but significant portion of the variance in children's social acceptance (1.3%), mediation tests were conducted to determine if externalizing behavior or social cognitive accuracy functioned as mediators in the observed relationship. Externalizing behavior was assessed through teacher report on the Child Behavior Checklist. Social-cognitive accuracy was determined by calculating the extent to which individual children's reports of peer groups in their classrooms matched the social groups derived through Social Cognitive Mapping. The results indicated that externalizing behavior partially mediated the relationship between learning disabilities and social acceptance. No evidence was found that social-cognitive accuracy functioned as a mediator. Limitations, implications for improving children's social functioning, and future research on the social functioning, behavior, and social cognition of children with learning disabilities were discussed in light of these findings.