Social Skills and Learning Disabilities: Causal, Concomitant, or Correlational?

Social isolation and achievement of students with learning disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) experience heightened levels of social isolation, but researchers have not fully explored its various dimensions at school or determined which aspects contribute to educational gaps associated with LDs. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we find that middle and high school students with LDs are more likely to experience most types of isolation. Student with LDs have fewer friends, their friends are less educationally ambitious, they feel more detached and disliked at school, and they are more likely to avoid friendships, though surprisingly not more likely to be actively rejected. Mediation analyses indicate that the aspect of social isolation that contributes most to the LD-gap in high school graduation is one's number of school friends and their educational expectations. Perceptions of social isolation are also consequential, and together these account for nearly one-quarter of the LD-gap in high school graduation, net of past grades.

Behavior Problems and Social Competence in Fragile X Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) causes intellectual disability and is the known leading cause of autism. Common problems in FXS include behavior and social problems. Along with syndromic characteristics and autism comorbidity, environmental factors might influence these difficulties. This systematic review focuses on the last 20 years of studies concerning behavior and social problems in FXS, considering environmental and personal variables that might influence both problems. Three databases were reviewed, leading to fifty-one studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems remain the greatest behavior problems, with behavioral problems and social competence being stable during the 20 years. Some developmental trajectories might have changed due to higher methodological control, such as aggressive behavior and attention problems. The socialization trajectory from childhood to adolescence remains unclear. Comorbidity with autism in individuals with FXS increased behavior problems and worsened social competence profiles. At the same time, comparisons between individuals with comorbid FXS and autism and individuals with autism might help define the comorbid phenotype. Environmental factors and parental characteristics influenced behavior problems and social competence. Higher methodological control is needed in studies including autism symptomatology and parental characteristics. More studies comparing autism in FXS with idiopathic autism are needed to discern differences between conditions.

Measuring social communication behaviors as a treatment endpoint in individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Social communication impairments are a core deficit in autism spectrum disorder. Social communication deficit is also an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder and a factor in long-term outcomes. Thus, this symptom domain represents a critical treatment target. Identifying reliable and valid outcome measures for social communication across a range of treatment approaches is essential. Autism Speaks engaged a panel of experts to evaluate the readiness of available measures of social communication for use as outcome measures in clinical trials. The panel held monthly conference calls and two face-to-face meetings over 14 months. Key criteria used to evaluate measures included the relevance to the clinical target, coverage of the symptom domain, and psychometric properties (validity and reliability, as well as evidence of sensitivity to change). In all, 38 measures were evaluated and 6 measures were considered appropriate for use, with some limitations. This report discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of existing social communication measures for use in clinical trials and identifies specific areas in need of further development.

Behaviour in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: cognition, executive function, attention, emotion, and social competence

AIM

This systematic review aimed to pull together the findings from research into behavioural systems and attention in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and to identify areas that need further study.

METHOD

Relevant papers were identified through searches of electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE) and manual searches through reference lists. In total, 5746 articles were identified and 57 met the inclusion criteria. The data were synthesized using the narrative approach, as the studies varied considerably in terms of participants and measures.

RESULTS

The results of the review showed that intelligence, academic skills, visuospatial skills, social competence, and attention are impaired in children with NF1. Evidence of deficits in memory, motor functioning, language, and executive functions was less clear.

INTERPRETATION

Research has made marked progress in outlining the behavioural phenotype of NF1. However, although the general areas of impairment are becoming better known, the exact nature of the impairment is still not understood in many areas of behaviour. Care needs to be taken with the way in which behavioural constructs are defined and measured, and the variability of problems in NF1 is a particular challenge. Nevertheless, research is steadily moving towards comprehensive understanding of behaviour in children with NF1.

Psychometric properties of the Social Skills Questionnaire: Portuguese adaptation of the student form (grades 7 to 12)

The present study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the student form (Grades 7 to 12) of the Social Skills Questionnaire authored by Gresham and Elliott (1990), on a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Participants included 573 students, both female and male, aged 14 to 19. Reliability was assessed through Cronbach's alpha and was .87 for the total scale, ranging from.58 to .72 for the subscales. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the main adjustment indices presented unexpected values. A principal components analysis indicated that several items of the cooperation subscale correlated with other factors. Adequate adjustment indices were found when cooperation was removed from the model. Semantic dualities due to cultural factors and difficulties assuming the cooperation dimension as an independent dimension might explain the results observed. The reorganization of the SSQ offers a reliable and valid instrument for research within the Portuguese population.

Multimethodale Diagnostik sozialer Kompetenz lernbehinderter Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener

Zusammenfassung. In dieser Studie wird ein Ansatz zur mehrdimensionalen und mehrperspektivischen Diagnostik sozialer Kompetenz lernbehinderter Jugendlicher dargestellt. 77 lernbehinderte Jugendliche aus zwei Zentren für berufliche Rehabilitation wurden per Selbst- und Fremdeinschätzung untersucht. Dabei wurden als Selbstbeurteilungsverfahren der Unsicherheitsfragebogen, das Teenage Inventory of Social Skills sowie der Youth Self Report 11-18 verwendet, ergänzend wurde eine Fremdbeurteilung mit der Child Behavior Checklist 4-18, dem Teilmodul 3 „Soziale Kompetenz” des Handlungsorientierten Moduls zur Erfassung und Förderung beruflicher Kompetenzen und dem Beobachtungskategoriensystem Aggressives, Kompetentes und Initiativloses Verhalten erhoben. Reliabilität und Validität der einzelnen Instrumente wurden überprüft, mittels einer Faktorenanalyse wurden Sekundärdimensionen sozialer Kompetenz identifiziert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die internen Konsistenzen einiger, jedoch nicht aller Skalen überwiegend zufriedenstellend waren. Skaleninterkorrelationen traten in erwarteter Richtung auf. Die Faktorenanalyse ergab eine Reduktion auf fünf Faktoren sozialer Kompetenz. Die Ergebnisse stützen die Mehrdimensionalität des Konstrukts soziale Kompetenz. Insbesondere erwiesen sich kompetentes und problematisches Sozialverhalten als voneinander unabhängige Dimensionen.

Mudança no status sociométrico negativo de alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem

Estudos que investigam a aceitação de alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem mostram que estes apresentam status sociométrico negativo, indicando um repertório inadequado de habilidades sociais. O presente trabalho buscou avaliar a promoção de habilidades sociais sobre o status sociométrico desses estudantes. Os participantes foram divididos em um grupo de intervenção GI (6 alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem) e dois grupos sem intervenção GC1 e GC2 (6 e 12 alunos com e sem dificuldades de aprendizagem, respectivamente). Os alunos foram avaliados antes e depois da intervenção com o Protocolo de Indicação Sociométrica. O Treinamento em Habilidades Sociais com o GI abrangeu 10 sessões de uma hora e meia cada. A comparação entre as avaliações revelou melhora no status de cinco participantes do GI e em apenas dois participantes do GC1. Os dados obtidos ressaltam a importância das habilidades sociais na produção de um status sociométrico positivo.

Funcionalidade da relação entre habilidades sociais e dificuldades de aprendizagem

Estudos no campo das habilidades sociais têm demonstrado a existência de relações entre desempenho interpessoal e acadêmico, embora ainda haja contradições quanto à natureza e funcionalidade dessa relação. O presente estudo pretendeu examinar a relação empírica entre esses dois aspectos por meio de: a) promoção das habilidades sociais com avaliação dos efeitos sobre o repertório acadêmico e b) promoção do repertório acadêmico com avaliação dos efeitos sobre o repertório de habilidades sociais. Utilizou-se um delineamento quase experimental de grupo (um grupo controle e dois experimentais), avaliando-se o repertório acadêmico e social dos alunos antes e após a intervenção. Participaram 16 estudantes com dificuldades na aprendizagem de leitura e escrita, cujas idades variavam entre sete e treze anos. O Treinamento em Habilidades Sociais consistiu em atividades lúdico-pedagógicas com objetivos organizados em ordem crescente de complexidade. A intervenção acadêmica caracterizou-se pelo ensino de 51 palavras de duas e três sílabas simples. Do repertório acadêmico registrou-se leitura, nomeação e ditado. As habilidades sociais foram avaliadas pelo próprio participante e por seus professores e colegas. Os resultados mostraram que, enquanto o grupo que passou por intervenção acadêmica apresentou ganhos em leitura e escrita, o grupo que passou pela intervenção em habilidades sociais apresentou ganhos no repertório social e no acadêmico. Os resultados favoreceram a idéia da existência da relação funcional entre habilidades sociais e acadêmicas.

Construção e validação fatorial de uma medida de inteligência emocional

O estudo teve como objetivo construir e validar uma medida que aferisse cinco habilidades da inteligência emocional. Dentre os 126 itens elaborados para representar as cinco habilidades, 97 deles que apresentaram consistência após análise teórica foram aplicados a uma amostra de 972 sujeitos dos sexos masculino e feminino, com idade média de 22,41 anos. Os dados foram submetidos à analise dos componentes principais e extraídos sete fatores com eigenvalues superiores a 2,0. A rotação dos fatores, através do método ortogonal (varimax), revelou que apenas os cinco primeiros apresentaram agrupamentos de itens teoricamente consistentes com as definições das cinco habilidades da inteligência emocional. O fator 1 cobre o conceito de empatia (14 itens, a = 0,87), o fator 2 o de sociabilidade (13 itens, a = 0,82), o fator 3 representa automotivação (12 itens, a = 0,82), o fator 4 o conceito de autocontrole (10 itens, a = 0,84) e o fator 5 a autoconsciência (10 itens, a= 0,78). A versão da medida da inteligência emocional, resultante deste estudo, abre perspectivas para futuras pesquisas nacionais sobre o assunto, visto que a MIE possui validade fatorial e fatores com índices de precisão que a indicam para aplicações no âmbito científico.

Social skill deficits and learning disabilities: a meta-analysis

Over the past 15 years, increased attention has been directed at social skills and their relationship to learning disabilities. Using the methods of meta-analysis, this investigation explores the nature of social skill deficits among students with learning disabilities. Across 152 studies, quantitative synthesis shows that, on average, about 75% of students with learning disabilities manifest social skill deficits that distinguish them from comparison samples. Approximately the same level of group differentiation is found across different raters (teachers, peers, self) and across most dimensions of social competence. Although social skill deficits appear to be an integral part of the learning disability experience, a number of questions about the relationship between learning disability and social skill deficits remain unanswered. Until these questions are answered, social skill deficits are best viewed as one among many elements of the learning disability constellation, and no significant definitional changes related to social skill deficits appear warranted.