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Parent-Child Interaction and Peer Relationships in School-Age Children with ASD
Objectives: 1) Compare peer competence and friendships in school-aged children with ASD and TD. 2) Examine the relationship between communication ability and parent-child shared control in preschool to peer competence and friendships in school-age.
Methods: This study included 26 children with ASD (20 male) assessed at preschool-age (M=4.3 years) and school-age (M=11.7 years) and 25 peers with TD assessed at school-age (18 male; M=10.45 years). School-age IQ ranged from 30-128 in the ASD group. Preschool parent-child interaction in the ASD group was microanalytically coded (Relationship Affect Coding System; Peterson et al., 2010) to quantify shared control during play. Higher values of Shared Control (ratio of parent questions + directives to child questions + directives) indicated more parental control. Preschool and school-age communication was measured with the Vineland. School-age peer competence (Social Skills Responsiveness Scale) and friendship quality (Friendship Qualities Scale, FQS; Bukowski et al., 1994) were measured via parent report.
Results: Children with ASD had lower Peer Competence and Friendship Quality than children with TD (2-tailed t-tests, ps<.001). Almost 70% of children with ASD (18/26) and all children with TD had one or more friends. Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. For Peer Competence: Block 1, (NVIQ and age), was significant, R2=.33, p<.001. Block 2, (Group and school-age Communication), was significant, R2change=.30, p<.001. For Friendship Quality: Block 1, (NVIQ and age) was significant, R2=.11, p<.05. Block 2, (Group and school-age Communication) was significant, R2change=.25, p<.01. Shared Control correlated with Peer Competence, (r=-.44, p<.05), but not Friendship Quality. To examine the relationship between Shared Control and Peer Competence, a multiple linear regression was performed. Block 1, (preschool Communication) was at trend level, R2=.135, p=.08, f2=.26. Block 2, (Shared Control), was at trend level, R2change=.07, p=.08. This study is ongoing, and the final analyses will include four in-process subjects who have not yet completed the study.
Conclusions: Many school-age children with ASD have at least one friend, indicating that children with a range of communication abilities and intellectual functioning can develop reciprocal friendships. However, most children with ASD and poorer communication had lower peer competence and friendship quality. A trend level association between shared parent-child control of interactions was detected, but future studies are needed to further elucidate the potential relations between parent-child interaction and later peer relationships. Better understanding of precursors to peer competence and friendships is needed to build evidence-based interventions for improving outcomes for school-aged children with ASD.
See more of: Social Cognition and Social Behavior