Social outcomes in childhood brain disorder: A heuristic integration of social neuroscience and developmental psychology.

Abstract

The authors propose a heuristic model of the social outcomes of childhood brain disorder that draws on models and methods from both the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience and the study of social competence in developmental psychology/psychopathology. The heuristic model characterizes the relationships between social adjustment, peer interactions and relationships, social problem solving and communication, social-affective and cognitive-executive processes, and their neural substrates. The model is illustrated by research on a specific form of childhood brain disorder, traumatic brain injury. The heuristic model may promote research regarding the neural and cognitiveaffective substrates of children's social development. It also may engender more precise methods of measuring impairments and disabilities in children with brain disorder and suggest ways to promote their social adaptation. Surprisingly little is known about the extent, basis, and consequences of the social problems associated with neurological dys-function and brain insults occurring during childhood, despite the significant long-term implications of social development for children's functioning at home, in school, and in the community (Parker, Rubin, Erath, Wojslawowicz, & Buskirk, 2006;Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Until recently, the lack of measurement tools and articulated models of social functioning has limited our ability to address social outcomes in children with brain disorder. The development of more sensitive measures and explicit models of social functioning would help researchers and clinicians to target children with brain disorders for further study and intervention.Now is an excellent time to consider social outcomes in children with brain disorder. The emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience provides a critical perspective on the social impact of childhood brain disorder. Social neuroscience not only supplies tools needed to better understand the neural substrates and social-cognitive processes associated with social functioning, but also provides a foundation for a multilevel, integrative analysis of the social difficulties arising from neurological insults (Brothers, 1990;Cacioppo, Berntson, Sheridan, & McClintock, 2000;Moss & Damasio, 2001;Ochsner & Lieberman, 2001;Posner, Rothbart, & Gerardi-Caulton, 2001). Although social neuroscience to date has focused primarily on adults, in part because of the inability to study the developing brain in vivo, this no longer need be the case. With contemporary neuroimaging, various elegant methods are available that can inform researchers about brain development and neuropathology in the study of social behavior in children with brain disorder (Toga & Thompson, 2005).The methods and models derived from social neuroscience will be particularly powerful when combined with those associated with the study of social competence in developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). The latter approaches reflect a development...

Executive Functions and Theory of Mind as Predictors of Social Adjustment in Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury

“…[It] encompasses the quality of children's relationships as perceived by others but also includes self-perceptions of loneliness, social support, or social self-esteem'' (p. 358). 1 Childhood TBI is also linked to deficits in social information processing (SIP) across domains that include executive function, 2 theory of mind, 3 and social problem-solving. 4 For example, children with TBI exhibit problems making inferences about the mental states of others and show impairments on traditional theory of mind tasks.…”

“…1 The model proposes that SIP involves both social-affective and cognitive-executive processes that are broadly subsumed by the social brain network and that contribute to social interaction and adjustment. The model has received support from our recent study of social outcomes in children with TBI, which has documented deficits in theory of mind 10 and classroom peer relationships 11 that are related to one another and to broader aspects of social adjustment.…”

“…The present analyses contribute to the existing literature by testing a portion of the theoretical model proposed by Yeates and colleagues. 1 Specifically, we examined the individual and collective contributions of executive function and theory of mind as predictors of social adjustment. We predicted that executive function and theory of mind would both individually and collectively predict social adjustment, across both groups of children, and act as significant mediators of the effects of TBI on social adjustment.…”

“…1 Social adjustment ''reflects the extent to which children attain socially desirable and developmentally appropriate goals. [It] encompasses the quality of children's relationships as perceived by others but also includes self-perceptions of loneliness, social support, or social self-esteem'' (p. 358).…”

Everyday psychological functioning in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: does executive functioning play a role?

“…12 As well as being important for cognitive functioning, executive skills are involved in emotional responses, behavioural actions, and social skills. 12,19,20 Yet, there is a paucity of research investigating the impact of cognitive executive functioning deficits on children with unilateral CP on everyday executive functioning. The increased risk of children with CP for behavioural disorders and social difficulties may be partly explained by cognitive executive functioning deficits.…”