Friendship Quality and Psychosocial Outcomes among Children with Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

This study examined differences in friendship quality between children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and orthopedic injury (OI) and behavioral outcomes for children from both groups. Participants were 41 children with TBI and 43 children with OI (M age = 10.4). Data were collected using peer- and teacher-reported measures of participants’ social adjustment and parent-reported measures of children’s post-injury behaviors. Participants and their mutually nominated best friends also completed a measure of the quality of their friendships. Children with TBI reported significantly more support and satisfaction in their friendships than children with OI. Children with TBI and their mutual best friend were more similar in their reports of friendship quality compared to children with OI and their mutual best friends. Additionally, for children with TBI who were rejected by peers, friendship support buffered against maladaptive psychosocial outcomes, and predicted skills related to social competence. Friendship satisfaction was related to higher teacher ratings of social skills for the TBI group only. Positive and supportive friendships play an important role for children with TBI, especially for those not accepted by peers. Such friendships may protect children with TBI who are rejected against maladaptive psychosocial outcomes, and promote skills related to social competence.

The characteristics of Chinese anxiously withdrawn children's friendships: Quantity, quality, and protecting against loneliness

“…See Figure A1, and Tables A1 and A2 for additional information about the psychometric properties of the RCP 4-item measure of anxious withdrawal used in the present study, in which we carried out an exploratory factor analysis in a split-sample and found that the original four items from the RCP did indeed load together on the same factor and were largely invariant across genders based on subsequent confirmatory factor analyses in the current Chinese sample. This pattern of results is consistent with the original nomenclature and structure of the "anxious withdrawal" variable (see also Correia, Santos, Freitas, Rosado, & Rubin, 2014;Heverly-Fitt et al, 2014;Rubin, Chen, & Hymel, 1993;Stewart & Rubin, 1995;Zhao & Zhou, 2016).…”

Social dysfunction after pediatric traumatic brain injury: A translational perspective

“…In young patients, supportive friendships (Heverly-Fitt et al, 2014) and positive parenting (Wade et al, 2011; Woods et al, 2014a; Yeates et al, 2010) have been identified as factors which may facilitate behavioral recovery after TBI. The influence of a supportive environment can be further explored with experimental models, for example, by introducing multisensory housing conditions including social and cognitive challenges, collectively termed environmental enrichment (Brenes et al, 2015; Doulames et al, 2014).…”

Multicentre, randomised waitlist control trial investigating a parent-assisted social skills group programme for adolescents with brain injuries: protocol for the friends project

“…Brain injuries in childhood can be acquired or congenital. Acquired brain injury (ABI) refers to any damage to the brain that occurs after birth12 and can lead to significant difficulties with physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning 13–15. A 2003 survey of disability in Australia identified approximately 20 000 children under 15 years as having had an ABI 12.…”