Behavior problems and social competence in Brazilian children with specific language impairment

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the behavior and social profile of Brazilian children with specific language impairment (SLI) and explore whether the severity of language deficits was associated with behavioral problems and low social competence. Twenty-four children with SLI aged from 6 to 11 years who showed substantial expressive language problems and were receiving speech-language therapy were assessed through the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Children with SLI showed high rates of behavioral problems and low levels of social competence. With the exception of two subscales ("somatic" and "rule breaker"), the percentage of children with SLI at risk of behavioral problems was significantly higher than the same proportion in the general population; and almost all children with SLI (95.2 %) demonstrated problems with social competence. The severity of language deficits was associated with the risk of behavioral problems according to only one criterion. No associations were found between the severity of language problems and social competence. The study provides cross-cultural evidence to support the existence of behavior problems and reduced social competence in children with SLI. Our findings point to the need of using a combination of measures to classify the severity of language problems rather than a single dimension.

Προφορικός Λόγος Και Ψυχοκοινωνική Προσαρμογή Σε Παιδιά Πρώτης Σχολικής Ηλικίας Με Διαφορετικά Αναπτυξιακά Γλωσσικά Προφίλ

“…Η κοινωνική, η σχολική και η συναισθηματική επάρκεια συνδέονται με την ψυχοκοινωνική προσαρμογή και συμβάλλουν τόσο στην αποτελεσματική μαθησιακή διαδικασία (Tomblin et al, 2000) όσο και στη γενικότερη θετική προσαρμογή, την ψυχική ανθεκτικότητα και ευεξία των παιδιών αλλά και του περιβάλλοντός τους (Denham et al, 2009). Αρκετοί ερευνητές έχουν υποστηρίξει ότι τα παιδιά με ΑΓΔ μπορεί να εμφανίσουν χαμηλά επίπεδα κοινωνικής επάρκειας (Hart et al, 2004. Puglisi et al, 2016 αρχικά στην προσχολική (McCabe, 2005) και τη σχολική ηλικία (Hart et al, 2004), ενώ πολλές φορές αυτά παραμένουν και στην εφηβεία αλλά και στην ενήλικη ζωή τους (Clegg et al, 2005).…”

Revisión de intervenciones para mejorar las habilidades pragmáticas en niños y niñas con problemas de conducta y atención

“…Furthermore, in social contexts they can have a negative impact on these children's relationships with peers as instead of expressing their own needs assertively, they use more maladjusted relationship models, increasing the risk of defiant or aggressive behaviour. In this sense, several studies suggest that children with pragmatic deficits display less prosocial behaviour and display lower levels of social competence (Puglisi, Cáceres-Assenço, Nogueira, and Befi-Lopes, 2016).…”

Specific language impairment in the long-term perspective – the importance of assessment procedures, reading skills, and communicative competence

“…Research papers frequently mention that SLI children and adults face difficulties in understanding the context of communication, expressions of personal thoughts, wishes, needs, and emotions. Research shows that children with SLI have a lower degree of social competence (Lindsay & Dockrell, 2000;Puglisi et al, 2016), especially at the level of prosocial behavior and social cognition (Bakopoulou & Dockrell, 2016;Hart, Fujiki, Brinton, & Hart, 2004). St Clair, Pickles, Durkin, and Conti-Ramsden (2011) reported serious difficulties in peer relationships among as many as 40% of 16-yearold adolescents with a history of SLI.…”

“…According to the results of this study, the authors suggest that the low quality of relationships may not simply be a direct consequence of language problems, but it is an additional difficulty present in SLI which becomes more evident during adolescence. Another study assessing the relationship between language skills, behavioral problems, and the level of social competence was conducted by Puglisi et al (2016) with Brazilian children between the ages of 6 and 11 years. Children with SLI in this study reported more behavioral problems and a lower level of social competence than their peers with typical development of language skills.…”