Social competence and temperament in children with chronic orthopaedic disability

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate social competence in children with orthopaedic disability and its concurrent relations to child's temperament, health condition, and maternal warmth. Participants were 68 Turkish children (mean=5.94years) with chronic orthopaedic disability and their mothers coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Mother ratings were used to measure social competence, temperament, general health condition, and parental warmth. The attending physician rated the severity of orthopaedic disability. Attentional focusing, emotional reactivity, and child's sex significantly predicted social competence. Age at first operation was slightly negatively associated with reactivity. The findings revealed the importance of emotional and attentional regulation for social functioning in children with orthopaedic disability, and pointed to the susceptibility of reactivity to environmental conditions. The study suggested that social functioning of youth with orthopaedic disability might benefit from temperament-based intervention and prevention programmes.