Psychology Department, Loyola University Chicago.
Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Research Institute.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2019 Jun 1;44(5):601-610. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsy111.
Examine friendship qualities (i.e., control, prosocial skills, positive affect, support, companionship, conflict, help, security, and closeness) and perceived self-efficacy in friendships of children with spina bifida (SB) and chosen peers over time through observed behaviors and self-report.
Families of children with SB (aged 8-15) were asked to invite the child's "best friend" to participate in-home assessment visits; 127 friendship dyads were included in the current study. Mixed-effects models were used to examine children with SB and their peers across age on observed behaviors and self-reported data about their friendships.
For observed behaviors, peers displayed more control (p = .002) and prosocial behaviors (p = .007) with age than youth with SB. Male peers displayed higher control in their interactions as they aged (p = .04); and males with SB maintained their level of prosocial behaviors with age, compared to an increase in prosocial behaviors with age for all other groups (p = .003). For self-reported data, there was no evidence to suggest significant differences in friendship qualities across age (ps ≥ .2), with the exception of increased help (p = .002). Female peers reported increases in companionship across age compared to the other groups (p = .04).
Differing from previous examinations of social characteristics in SB, most longitudinal trends in friendship qualities did not differ for youth with SB compared to their peers. Promotion of this existing social strength may be a key intervention target for future strategies that promote positive outcomes for youth with SB.
通过观察行为和自我报告，随时间推移，检查患有脊柱裂 (SB) 的儿童及其选择的同伴的友谊质量（即控制、亲社会技能、积极情绪、支持、陪伴、冲突、帮助、安全感和亲密感）和友谊中的自我效能感。
要求 SB 儿童（8-15 岁）的家庭邀请孩子的“最好的朋友”参加家庭评估访问；目前的研究共包括 127 对友谊对子。使用混合效应模型，根据观察到的行为和自我报告的友谊数据，考察 SB 儿童及其同龄人的情况。
在观察行为方面，与 SB 青年相比，同龄人的同伴表现出更多的控制（p = .002）和亲社会行为（p = .007）。随着年龄的增长，男性同伴在互动中表现出更高的控制（p = .04）；与其他所有群体相比，SB 男性随着年龄的增长保持其亲社会行为水平，而所有其他群体的亲社会行为随着年龄的增长而增加（p = .003）。在自我报告数据方面，除了帮助（p = .002）增加外，没有证据表明随着年龄的增长，友谊质量有显著差异（p≥ .2）。与其他群体相比，女性同伴随着年龄的增长报告了陪伴的增加（p = .04）。
与之前对 SB 中社会特征的研究不同，与同龄人的 SB 青年相比，友谊质量的大多数纵向趋势没有差异。促进这一现有社交优势可能是未来促进 SB 青年积极成果的战略的关键干预目标。
