Examining the Process and Impact of Social Problem Solving in Autistic Children.

Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has measured how SPS components not only relate to one another but also discretely and conjointly predict autism-related symptoms and social difficulties in autistic children, specifically. Fifty-eight autistic children (44 male; 6-10 years old, Mage=8.67, SDage=1.31) completed a self-administered, computerized assessment of SPS. To elucidate how SPS components discretely, and combined, contribute to autism-related symptoms and social difficulties, commonality analyses were conducted for each measure assessing autism-related symptoms and social difficulties. Socially normative problem identification, goal preference, and solution preference were related to fewer parent-reported autism-related social difficulties. Measures related to autism symptomatology, social perspective taking, and emotion recognition were not significantly associated with discrete SPS components in this sample. The problem identification aspect of SPS contributed the most unique variance to parent-reported autism-related social difficulties, while shared variance across all SPS components accounted for substantial variance in both parent-reported autism-related social difficulties models. Results suggest that SPS components are interrelated, but distinct, constructs in the autistic population. These findings not only further clarify the impact of SPS components on autism-related symptoms and social difficulties, but also have implications for refining SPS-focused interventions in the autistic population.

Development and Validation of a Shortened Form of SELweb EE, a Web-Based Assessment of Children's Social and Emotional Competence.

This article describes the development and validation of a shortened form of SELweb EE, a web-based assessment for social-emotional skills in the early elementary grades. Using a Rasch approach, in the first study, we used data from two archival data sets to reduce the number of items in three subtests to create short forms that maintained item fit, item difficulty, item discrimination, and test information function range. In the second study, we created and administered a short form of SELweb EE to a demographically diverse cross-validation sample of 22,683 students. We evaluated the shortened assessment subtests' score reliability, fit to a hypothesized factor structure, and association with age and other variables to evaluate criterion-related validity. Findings from this study suggest that score reliabilities, factor structure, and criterion-related validity for the short form are similar to corresponding properties of the long form. In addition, using a confirmatory factor analysis framework, the short form of SELweb EE demonstrated evidence of configural, metric, and scalar invariance across sex, ethnicity, and language. Shortening SELweb EE reduced the mean administration duration from 36 to 24 minutes. This reduction substantially increases its usability and feasibility while maintaining its psychometric merit.

Web-based Assessment of Social-Emotional Skills in School-Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Few tools are available to comprehensively describe the unique social-emotional skill profiles of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study describes the usability, reliability, and validity of SELweb, a normed, web-based assessment designed to measure four core social-emotional domains, when used to measure these skills in a sample of 57 well-characterized youth with ASD (ages 6-10 years with IQ ≥ 80). SELweb measures facial emotion recognition, theory of mind, social problem solving, and self-control. SELweb was well tolerated and yielded scores with reliabilities comparable to those found in normative samples. SELweb scores showed good evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for three of the four skills it was designed to assess. Mean deficits were found for theory of mind, social problem solving, and self-control, whereas no mean deficits were found for emotion recognition. Individual profiles varied considerably, suggesting the sensitivity of SELweb to the within- and between-person individual differences among youth with ASD. Findings support the usefulness and accessibility of SELweb as a tool for measuring complex social-emotional skill profiles in youth with ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1260-1271. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: No single, simple, high-quality test exists that measures multiple social thinking skills directly in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study suggests that SELweb, a web-based assessment system, is an effective and valid way to measure how children with ASD think about and understand social and emotional information, and is able to capture strengths and weaknesses experienced by children with ASD.

Psychometric Properties and Differential Item Functioning of a Web-Based Assessment of Children's Social Perspective-Taking.

Social perspective-taking (SPT), which involves the ability infer others' intentions, is a consequential social cognitive process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of a web-based social perspective-taking (SELweb SPT) assessment designed for children in kindergarten through third grade. Data were collected from two separate samples of children. The first sample included 3224 children and the second sample included 4419 children. Data were calibrated using Rasch dichotomous model (Rasch, 1960). Differential item and test functioning were also evaluated across gender and ethnicity groups. Across both samples, we found: evidence of consistent item fit; unidimensional item structure; and adequate item targeting. Poor item targeting at high and low ability levels suggests that more items are needed to distinguish low and high ability respondents. Analyses of DIF found some significant item-level DIF across gender, but no DIF across ethnicity. The analyses of person measure calibrations with and without DIF items evidenced negligible differential test functioning (DTF) across gender and ethnicity groups in both samples.

Virtual Environment for Social Information Processing: Assessment of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Social information processing (SIP) skills are critical for developing and maintaining peer relationships. Building on existing assessment techniques, Virtual Environment for SIP (VESIPTM ), a simulation-based assessment that immerses children in social decision-making scenarios, was developed. This study presents preliminary evidence of VESIP's usefulness for measuring SIP skills in children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Twenty-one children with ASD and 29 control children participated. It was hypothesized that (a) children (8-12 years old), with and without ASD, would understand and interact effectively with VESIP; (b) VESIP scores would be reliable in both populations; and (c) children with ASD would score lower on SIP domains than typically developing peers. Results supported these hypotheses. Finally, response bias was also evaluated, showing that children with ASD have different problem-solving strategies than their peers. VESIP has great potential as a scalable assessment of SIP strengths and challenges in children with and without ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 305-317. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often struggle interpreting and responding to social situations. The present study suggests that an animated, simulation-based assessment approach is an effective way to measure how children with or without ASDs problem-solve challenging social situations. VESIP is an easy-to-use assessment tool that can help practitioners understand a child's particular strengths and weaknesses.

Reliability and validity of a Spanish language assessment of children's social-emotional learning skills.

Few Spanish language tools are available for assessing important social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. The present study presents evidence of the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language version of SELweb (SELweb-S), a web-based system for assessing children's ability to recognize others' emotions and perspectives, solve social problems, and engage in self-control. With a sample of 524 students in Grades K to 3, we examined the reliability and validity of SELweb-S. This study provided evidence that (a) individual assessment modules exhibited moderate to high internal consistency and moderate 6-month temporal stability, (b) composite assessment scores exhibited high reliability, (c) assessment module scores fit a theoretically coherent factor structure, and (d) performance on SELweb-S assessment modules was positively related to teacher-reported SEL skills. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of direct assessments of SEL skills in languages other than English. In addition, we highlight the importance of abiding by rigorous recommendations in the literature for the translation and cultural adaptation of assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record

Social-Emotional Correlates of Early Stage Social Information Processing Skills in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Difficulty processing social information is a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet the failure of children with ASD to process social information effectively is poorly understood. Using Crick and Dodge's model of social information processing (SIP), this study examined the relationship between social-emotional (SE) skills of pragmatic language, theory of mind, and emotion recognition on the one hand, and early stage SIP skills of problem identification and goal generation on the other. The study included a sample of school-aged children with and without ASD. SIP was assessed using hypothetical social situations in the context of a semistructured scenario-based interview. Pragmatic language, theory of mind, and emotion recognition were measured using direct assessments. Social thinking differences between children with and without ASD are largely differences of quantity (overall lower performance in ASD), not discrepancies in cognitive processing patterns. These data support theoretical models of the relationship between SE skills and SIP. Findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms giving rise to SIP deficits in ASD and may ultimately inform treatment development for children with ASD.

Direct assessment of children's social-emotional comprehension.

Social-emotional comprehension includes the ability to encode, interpret, and reason about social-emotional information. The better developed children's social-emotional comprehension, the more positive their social interactions and the better their peer relationships. Many clinical tools exist to assess children's social behavior. In contrast, fewer clinically interpretable tools are available to assess children's social-emotional comprehension. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a group of direct assessments of social-emotional comprehension. Scores on these assessments reflected children's performance on challenging tasks that required them to demonstrate their social-emotional comprehension. In 2 independent samples, including a general education school sample (n = 174) and a clinic sample (n = 119), this study provided evidence that (a) individual assessments yield variably reliable scores, (b) composite scores are highly reliable, (c) direct assessments demonstrate a theoretically coherent factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity, and (d) composite scores yield expected age- and diagnostic-group differences. Implications for clinical practice, theory, and assessment development are discussed.

Social equity theory and racial-ethnic achievement gaps.

In the United States, racial-ethnic differences on tests of school readiness and academic achievement continue. A complete understanding of the origins of racial-ethnic achievement gaps is still lacking. This article describes social equity theory (SET), which proposes that racial-ethnic achievement gaps originate from two kinds of social process, direct and signal influences, that these two kinds of processes operate across developmental contexts, and that the kind of influence and the setting in which they are enacted change with age. Evidence supporting each of SET's key propositions is discussed in the context of a critical review of research on the Black-White achievement gap. Specific developmental hypotheses derived from SET are described, along with proposed standards of evidence for testing those hypotheses.

Diagnostic efficiency of several methods of identifying socially rejected children and effect of participation rate on classification accuracy.

Social rejection is associated with a wide variety of negative outcomes. Early identification of social rejection and intervention to minimize its negative impact is thus important. However, sociometric methods, which are considered high in validity for identifying socially rejected children, are frequently not used because of (a) procedural challenges, (b) community apprehension, and (c) sensitivity to missing data. In a sample of 316 students in grades K through 8, we used receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to compare the diagnostic efficiency of several methods for identifying socially rejected children. When not using least-liked nominations, (a) most-liked nominations yielded the greatest diagnostic efficiency (AUC=.96), (b) peer ratings were more efficient (AUC=.84 to .99) than teacher ratings (AUC=.74 to .81), and (c) teacher report of social status was more efficient (AUC=.81) than scores from teacher behavior rating scales (AUC=.74 to .75). We also examined the effects of nominator non-participation on diagnostic efficiency. At participation as low as 50%, classification of sociometric rejection (i.e., being rejected or not rejected) was quite accurate (κ=.63 to .77). In contrast, at participation as high as 70%, classification of sociometric status (i.e., popular, average, unclassified, neglected, controversial, or rejected) was significantly less accurate (κ=.50 to .59).

Developmental antecedents and social and academic consequences of stereotype-consciousness in middle childhood.

The present study, which included 124 children ages 5-11, examined developmental antecedents and social and academic consequences of stereotype-consciousness, defined as awareness of others' stereotypes. Greater age and more frequent parent-reported racial socialization practices were associated with greater likelihood of stereotype-consciousness. Children who knew of broadly held stereotypes more often explained hypothetical negative interracial encounters between White actors and Black targets as discriminatory. In addition, among African American and Latino children who knew about broadly held stereotypes, diagnostic testing conditions led to stereotype threat effects on a standardized working memory task. Findings are discussed in terms of the contribution to our understanding of children's developing thinking about and response to stereotypes and related phenomena.

Social-emotional learning skill, self-regulation, and social competence in typically developing and clinic-referred children.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) skill includes the ability to encode, interpret, and reason about social and emotional information. In two related studies, we examined the relationship between children's SEL skill, their ability to regulate their own behavior, and the competence of their social interactions. Study 1 included 158 typically developing children ages 4 to 14 years. Study 2 included 126 clinic-referred children ages 5 to 17 years. Findings from both studies supported the conclusion that SEL skill includes three broad factors: awareness of nonverbal cues; the ability to interpret social meaning through theory of mind, empathy, and pragmatic language; and the ability to reason about social problems. Furthermore, the better children perform on measures of SEL skill and the more their parents and teachers report that children can regulate their behavior, the more competent their social interactions.

Teacher expectations, classroom context, and the achievement gap.

In two independent datasets with 1872 elementary-aged children in 83 classrooms, Studies 1 and 2 examined the role of classroom context in moderating the relationship between child ethnicity and teacher expectations. For Study 1 overall and Study 2 mixed-grade classrooms, in ethnically diverse classrooms where students reported high levels of differential teacher treatment (PDT) towards high and low achieving students, teacher expectations of European American and Asian American students were between .75 and 1.00 standard deviations higher than teacher expectations of African American and Latino students with similar records of achievement. In highly diverse low-PDT classrooms in Study 1 and highly diverse low-PDT mixed-grade classrooms in Study 2, teachers held similar expectations for all students with similar records of achievement. Study 3 estimated the contribution of teacher expectations to the year-end ethnic achievement gap in high- and low-bias classrooms. In high-bias classrooms, teacher expectancy effects accounted for an average of .29 and up to .38 standard deviations of the year-end ethnic achievement gap.

Concurrent validity and clinical usefulness of several individually administered tests of children's social-emotional cognition.

In this study, the validity of 5 tests of children's social-emotional cognition, defined as their encoding, memory, and interpretation of social information, was tested. Participants were 126 clinic-referred children between the ages of 5 and 17. All 5 tests were evaluated in terms of their (a) concurrent validity, (b) incremental validity, and (c) clinical usefulness in predicting social functioning. Tests included measures of nonverbal sensitivity, social language, and social problem solving. Criterion measures included parent and teacher report of social functioning. Analyses support the concurrent validity of all measures, and the incremental validity and clinical usefulness of tests of pragmatic language and problem solving.

The development and consequences of stereotype consciousness in middle childhood.

Two studies including an ethnically diverse sample of 202 children ages 6 to 10 examined the development and consequences of children's awareness of others' stereotypes ("stereotype consciousness"). Study 1 revealed that between ages 6 and 10, children's ability to infer an individual's stereotype increases dramatically. Children's awareness of broadly held stereotypes also increases with age, and children from academically stigmatized ethnic groups (African Americans and Latinos) are at all ages more likely be aware of broadly held stereotypes than children from academically nonstigmatized ethnic groups (Whites and Asians). Study 2 revealed that among children from stigmatized ethnic groups aware of broadly held stereotypes, on 1 of 2 challenging cognitive tasks and self-reported effort, diagnostic testing conditions led to stereotype threat effects.