The role of parental psychopathology in friendship among children with AD/HD

Impairment to social functioning has been consistently found among children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) with research indicating it extends into adulthood for 30-50% of these individuals (Jackson & Farrujia, 1997). Recent research has found that even a single, high-quality friendship can act as a buffer against the negative outcomes associated with peer rejection (Hodges and Boivin, 1999), and that parents play an especially important role (Frankel 1996, 2003; Frankel & Myatt 2003; Ladd & Hart 1992; Krappman, 1986). However, parents of children with AD/HD have been commonly found to experience psychopathology of their own. (Hechtman, 1996, in Johnson & Mash, 2001; Chronis-Tuscano & Clarke, 2008). The goal of this study was to examine the role of parental psychopathology in the number and quality of friendships of children with AD/HD. Participants in this study included 28 children between the ages of 7-11 and one caregiver. Multiple regression analysesdid not find a significant relation between parental psychopathology and child friendships. However, post-hoc analysesindicated that this study may have been under-powered. Post-hoc analyses also revealed a relation between aggressive behavior and the quality, but not the number, of child friendships

Affective sharing, friendship, and outcomes among boys with autism spectrum disorders

Research among typically developing boys aged 8-12 has found affective sharing to be a key distinguishing characteristic of friendship. However, to date no research exists that further examines and builds upon these findings among boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This study examined whether affective sharing (defined as positive social engagement and synchrony, which consisted of time spent in synchronous interaction and responsiveness) predicted friendship reciprocity and quality over and above opportunities to participate in activities with other children. Additionally, this study examined whether affective sharing, friendship reciprocity, and overall friendship quality are predictive of lower rates of internalizing symptoms and higher rates of adaptive behavior among boys with ASD. Findings suggest a comparable pattern of friendship behavior among children with ASD and typically developing (TD) boys during friend interactions, albeit with lower mean rates of affective sharing among children with ASD. However, affective sharing did not mediate the relation between participation in surface level activities with peers and friendship quality, internalizing symptoms, or adaptive behavior. Additionally, a distinct pattern of characteristics of children who were not able to identify a friend to participate in the second visit emerged among participants with ASD, suggesting differences may lie between children with ASD and TD peers without reciprocated friendships