(PS4-13) Unpacking the Social Challenges Related to Inattention: The Role of Prosocial Behavior and Age

Abstract Text: Peer relationships aid in the development of social and emotional health throughout childhood. Preschool-aged children exhibit behaviors that alter their peer status. As children age into middle childhood, behaviors in the classroom continue to affect peer status. However, differences in behavioral expectations and norms change tremendously from early childhood to middle childhood. Children with elevated inattention (IA) are at an increased risk for social difficulties, which can have long-term negative impacts on academic and mental health outcomes (Agnew-Blais et al., 2018; Salla et al., 2016). Prosocial behavior (PSB; e.g., helping, sharing) has been shown to mitigate these risks (Andrade et al., 2014). However, whether PSB contributes to the link between IA and social outcomes equally in different developmental stages remains unclear. In this study, we explored whether PSB accounted for the relation between IA and social outcomes (i.e., reciprocal friendships, peer acceptance, peer rejection) and if these indirect effects are moderated by child age.

Participants included 134 children (grades K-5) across 34 classrooms identified as at-risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social problems by their teachers. Teacher reports of inattention and PSB were assessed via the ADHD-IV Rating Scale and the prosocial subscale of the SDQ. Social outcomes were assessed via positive, negative, and reciprocal friendship nominations obtained via sociometric procedures. All data was collected during the beginning of the school year. Participants were categorized into two distinct age groups: early childhood (4-6 years) and middle childhood (7-10 years). Three moderated mediation models were conducted, and each included IA as the predictor, PSB as the mediator, and categorical age as the moderator. The three models varied based on outcome variable (i.e., reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, peer rejection).

In the two models with reciprocated friendships and peer acceptance as the outcome variable, significant indirect effects were found, but the index of moderated mediation was non-significant, indicating that age did not appear to moderate the indirect effects of PSB on the relation between IA and reciprocal friendships and peer acceptance. When peer rejection was examined as the outcome variable, a significant indirect effect was found, and the index of moderated mediation was significant (index = -.070, 95% CI [-.152, -.004]), indicating that the indirect effects were significantly moderated by age. Specifically, PSB fully accounted for the links between IA and peer rejection in early childhood but only partially accounted for these links in middle childhood.

Results underscore the importance of considering developmental stages when exploring mechanisms linking IA to social outcomes in children at risk for ADHD. Findings suggest the diminishing role of PSB as a buffer against peer rejection for IA, with its protective effect being stronger in early childhood when peer interactions are simpler and less structured. Future research should continue to consider developmental periods when investigating what links ADHD symptoms to social outcomes and when considering intervention development.