Prosocial skills may be necessary for better peer functioning in children with symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders

PeerJ

Brendan F. Andrade¹  Dillon T. Browne²  Rosemary Tannock² 

[1] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada;Ontario Institutes for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada;

关键词: Conduct Disorder;    Oppositional Defiant Disorder;    Prosocial skills;    Moderation;    Mediation;    Peer problems;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.487

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Children with disruptive behavior disorders experience substantial social challenges; however, the factors that account for (i.e., mediate), or influence (i.e., moderate), peer problems are not well understood. This study tested whether symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder were associated with peer impairment and whether prosocial skills mediated or moderated these associations. Teacher ratings were gathered for 149 children (Mage = 9.09, SD = 1.71, 26% female) referred for behavioral concerns to an urban child psychiatry clinic. Path-analytic linear regressions testing mediation and moderation effects showed that prosocial skills significantly moderated the negative effects of symptoms of Conduct Disorder on peer impairment. Children showed less peer impairment only when they had relatively few conduct symptoms and high prosocial skills. Measurement of prosocial skills, in addition to conduct problems, may best capture factors which contribute to peer problems of children with disruptive behaviors.

【 授权许可】

Unknown