Correlates of optimal behavior among child welfare-involved children: Perceived school peer connectedness, activity participation, social skills, and peer affiliation.

Correlates of optimal behavior among child welfare-involved children: Perceived school peer connectedness, activity participation, social skills, and peer affiliation. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2015 Sep;85(5):483-94 Authors: Merritt DH, Snyder SM Abstract Understanding the association between children's behaviors and their perceptions regarding the quality of school friendships is useful for intervention strategies focusing on the interpersonal networks of children involved with the child welfare system. Rarely are measures of the strength of peer relationships assessed as a protective factor for maltreated children in the context of understanding their behaviors. This research investigates the link between these youth's expressed relational experiences and nonproblematic behavior. Analyses were conducted on 1,054 children (ages 11-17) from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II) dataset. Utilizing a factored measure of perceived school friend connectedness, children's behaviors were predicted using Generalized Ordered Logistic regression analyses. Results demonstrated stronger school friend connectedness is a protective factor in that, children who perceive strong peer connections at school are more likely to classify below the problem behavior threshold than those with weaker peer connections. Further, children with increased social skills; fewer deviant peer affiliations; and those who take responsibility ...
Source: The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Am J Orthopsychiatry Source Type: research