Association between Theory of Mind and Peer Problems

The current study was designed to investigate the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) development and peer problems in Pakistani children (N=80). The non-probability purposive sampling technique with survey research design had been used for data collection. Pakistani children with age ranged 4-6 years (Mage = 5.29) were recruited who?took two false belief tasks.?To tap into peer relationship of these children, their parents completed?strength and difficulty?questionnaire. For demographic variables, descriptive statistics was used. Pearson product correlation and linear regression were used to test the hypothesis. Results revealed that performance of 6 years 6 months and older was above chance on all false belief tasks, supporting the universality of ToM development with different age ranges in different cultures. Also, theory of mind negatively predicted peer relationship?problems?of this sample, revealing real life implication of mentalizing for interaction in social world. Research indicated that false belief comprehension is key to better social adjustment and the participants of this study also showed that a child's understanding of mental state terms is critical for better social adaptation.

Predicting Academic Alienation From Emotion Dysregulation, Social Competence, and Peer Relationships in School-Attending Girls: A Multiple-Regression Approach

School alienation (SA) refers to a collection of negative attitudes toward the social and academic realms of schooling consisting of cognitive and affective components. The current study was designed to examine whether emotion dysregulation, social competence, and peer problems predict school alienation. In this vein, 300 school-attending adolescents in Sarab were recruited and completed difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), academic alienation questionnaire (AAQ), social competence test (SCT), and index of peer relations (IPR) measures, but 280 (M age = 16.35; SD = 0.82; 46% girls) completed data were gathered. The results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that school alienation was significantly predicted by emotion dysregulation, social competency, and peer problems. In conclusion, our findings suggest that school psychologists and other clinicians design interventions to improve the students’ shortcomings in emotion regulations, social competency, and peer relationships domains.

Effects of Inter-Parental Conflict on Children’s Social Well-Being and the Mediation Role of Parenting Behavior

Inter-parental conflicts can have devastating effects on children’s well-being and social behavior. This study explores the association between an increased frequency of inter-parental conflict and peer problems and prosocial behavior in children, and whether parents’ emotional warmth and negative communication with their children mediates this association. Data for a total of 1,157 children between the ages of 7 and 16 (4,016 observations) was drawn from the eighth to the twelfth waves of the German Family Panel so as to perform fixed-effects regressions and mediation analyses. The analyses reveal that increased inter-parental conflict is strongly related to decreased emotional warmth and increased negative communication in parents, and to increased peer problems and decreased prosocial behavior in children. The results also suggest that the association between inter-parental conflict and children’s social well-being is mediated by the parenting behavior of mothers and fathers, indicating that increased inter-parental conflict leads to less warm parenting and more negative communication in parents, which ultimately reduces children’s social well-being.

The role of social cognitions in the social gradient in adolescent mental health: A longitudinal mediation model

Purpose. The social gradient in adolescent mental health is well established: adolescents’ socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively associated with their mental health. However, de-spite changes in social cognition during adolescence, and theory and evidence that SES, so-cial cognitions, and adolescent mental health are associated, little is known about whether social cognitions mediate this gradient.Methods. This study used three data waves, each six months apart, from a socioeconomi-cally diverse sample of 1,429 adolescents (Mage = 17.9) in the Netherlands. With a longitu-dinal mediation model, we examined whether three social cognitions (self-esteem, sense of control, and optimism) mediated the associations between perceived family wealth and four indicators of adolescent mental health problems (emotional symptoms, conduct prob-lems, hyperactivity, and peer problems).Results. Adolescents with lower perceived family wealth reported more emotional symp-toms and peer problems concurrently and an increase in peer problems six months later. Adolescents with lower perceived family wealth reported a decrease in sense of control six months later, and lower sense of control predicted increases in emotional symptoms and hyperactivity six months later (though not in the multivariate model with all three social cognitions). Perceived family wealth predicted neither later self-esteem nor optimism, though we found concurrent positive associations between perceived family wealth and all three social cognitions, and concurrent negative associations between social cognitions and mental health problems.Conclusion. Our findings indicate that social cognitions may be an overlooked mediator of the social gradient in adolescent mental health. Future research on this social gradient may benefit from incorporating a focus on social cognition.

Socio-emotional problems and learning skills of Roma and recently arrived refugee children in German elementary schools

Background: In Germany, many recently arrived and minority families live in multi-ethnic, high-poverty districts. Multiple risk factors threaten their children’s development.Aims: We examined the socio-emotional problems of these children in relation to their academic learning skills and executive functioning. Method: We compared teacher-rated socio-emotional problems of n = 112 Roma children (90% foreign-born), n = 101 refugee children (all foreign-born), and n = 56 German-born immigrant children (age in months: M= 99.66, SD= 13.61) between groups and to norm data. We related socio-emotional problems to receptive vocabulary, cognitive reasoning, motor skills, and executive functioning in n = 83 refugee and Roma children.Results: Roma children showed higher rates above cutoff than norm data in all subscales, more problems in all subscales but emotional symptoms than immigrant children, and more hyperactivity/inattention and peer problems than refugee children. Refugee children showed higher rates above cutoff than norm data in all subscales and more peer problems than immigrant children. Academic learning skills were overall below average among recently arrived children. Prosocial behavior was positively linked to fine motor skills. Other socio-emotional problems were not linked to academic learning skills and executive functioning. Gross and visuo-motor skills correlated positively with other academic learning skills. Limitations: We analyzed cross-sectional data. We did not include risk factors or non-immigrant German children.Conclusion: The heightened socio-emotional problems and low academic learning skills of refugee and particularly Roma children in high-poverty districts could jeopardize their educational trajectories. Additional support measures could increase their chances for educational participation.

Anger and Attention Problems as Mechanisms Linking Maltreatment Subtypes and Witnessed Violence to Social Functioning Among Children in Out-of-Home Care

Research has consistently shown that child maltreatment and witnessed violence lead to disrupted patterns of social functioning, yet the mechanisms underlying these pathways remain unclear. This cross-sectional study evaluated whether anger and/or attention problems mediated the links from abuse, neglect, and witnessed violence to peer problems and aggressive behavior. Participants included a diverse sample of 470 children (ages 8–11; 52.1% boys) living in out-of-home care. Subtype and severity of maltreatment exposure were coded using Child Protection Services’ intake reports and court records. Witnessed violence and anger were assessed using child-reports, and caregivers provided ratings of attention problems and social functioning. Indirect effects were tested using a series of structural equation path analysis models. Results indicated that anger fully mediated the links from witnessed violence to both peer problems and aggressive behavior. Further, attention problems fully mediated the links from physical abuse and physical neglect to both peer problems and aggressive behavior. These findings highlight the need for interventions to target anger regulation and attentional control among children in out-of-home care in order to mitigate their risk for social maladjustment.

The social gradient in adolescent mental health: mediated or moderated by belief in a just world?

Purpose A social gradient in adolescent mental health exists: adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) have fewer mental health problems than their peers with lower SES. Little is known about whether adolescents’ societal beliefs play a role in this social gradient. Belief in a just world (BJW) may be a mediator or moderator of the social gradient in adolescent mental health. Methods Using data from 848 adolescents (Mage = 17) in the Netherlands, path analyses examined whether two indicators of BJW (general and personal) mediated or moderated the associations between two indicators of SES (family affluence and perceived family wealth), and four indicators of adolescent mental health problems (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems). Results Adolescents with lower family affluence and lower perceived family wealth reported more emotional symptoms, and the association between perceived family wealth and emotional symptoms was mediated by lower personal and general BJW. Furthermore, higher personal BJW amplified the negative association between SES and peer problems. Conclusion This study suggests BJW may both mediate and amplify the social gradient in adolescent mental health. Adolescents’ beliefs about society may be important to include in research aimed at understanding this social gradient.

Irritability, Defiant and Obsessive-Compulsive Problems Development from Childhood to Adolescence

Little is known about the coexistence of oppositionality and obsessive-compulsive problems (OCP) in community children and how it affects their development until adolescence to prevent possible dysfunctions. The co-development of oppositional defiant dimensions and OCP is studied in 563 children (49.7% female) from ages 6 to 13 years, assessed yearly with measures answered by parents and teachers. A 4-class model based on Latent Class Growth Analysis for three parallel processes (irritability, defiant, and OCP) was selected, which showed adequate fitting indexes. Class 1 (n = 349, 62.0%) children scored low on all the measures. Class 2 (n = 53, 9.4%) contained children with high OCP and low irritability and defiant. Class 3 (n = 108, 19.2%) clustered children with high irritability and defiant and low OCP. Class 4 (n = 53, 9.4%) clustered comorbid irritability, defiant, and OCP characteristics. The classes showed different clinical characteristics through development. The developmental co-occurrence of irritability and defiant plus obsessive-compulsive behaviors is frequent and adds severity through development regarding comorbidity, peer problems, executive functioning difficulties, and daily functioning. The identification of different classes when combining oppositional problems and OCP may be informative to prevent developmental dysfunctions and to promote good adjustment through development.