Assessment of Social Self-perceptions of Acceptance and Enmity in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study analyzes the self-perceptions of social competence in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It compares two groups of participants, children with ADHD (N = 20) and children without ADHD (N = 20) ages between 8 and 12 years old. Sociometric questionnaires were completed by two groups of participants and 707 peers, as well as a questionnaire that evaluates children’s behavior from parents’ and teachers’ perspectives. Results indicate that children with ADHD correctly perceive enmity, but incorrectly perceive friendship. Children with ADHD have low rates of positive reciprocity and qualities that indicate friendship differs considerably from the children without ADHD. The children with ADHD have a different profile of social self-perception than children without ADHD, especially regarding recognizing friendship. The results contribute to the understanding of perceptions of elements of peer relationship and friendships with strong ecological validity. This small scale study provides a proof of concept for improving ecological validity in the methods of evaluating social skills and social emotion learning programming for children with ADHD.