Poster #225 - Predictors of Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction in Maltreated Youth

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Background: It has been found that adults who retrospectively report child maltreatment have smaller social support networks, are less satisfied with their supportive networks, and perceive their relationships as less supportive (Gibson & Harthorne, 1996; Harmer et al., 1999; Stroud, 1999). The primary contributors to the association between child maltreatment and inadequate social support remain unclear. It may be that disrupted social development due to maltreatment renders individuals less able to elicit social support due to inappropriate behaviors or underdeveloped social skills. Indeed, it has been proposed that maltreated children may have grown up in dysfunctional family environments resulting in having poor scripts for healthy adult relationships (Finkelhor, 1996; Vranceanu et al., 2007). Another possibility is that perceptions of inadequate social support reflect cognitive distortions related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as altered cognitions characterized by feelings of detachment or estrangement from others are described in the DSM-V PTSD criteria. Finally, it may be that depressive symptoms are driving this effect by causing maltreated youth to withdraw from social relationships. The current study seeks to unpack these possibilities with the goal of determining the primary contributors to perceptions of inadequate social support in maltreated youth. To that end, investigators examine the relationship between feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and teacher-reported social skills in a nationally-representative sample of maltreated adolescents.
Method: The sample included 539 adolescents (grade 7 to 12; 51% male) selected from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW I). The sample was initially recruited in October of 1999 on the basis of a child protective services report for alleged maltreatment and was followed prospectively. The data used in the current analysis was collected at Wave 5 between September 2005 and January 2007. Adolescents’ traumatic stress symptoms were measured using the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). The Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire for Young Children was administered to the entire sample, including adolescents, with higher scores indicating greater loneliness. Finally, teachers reported on adolescents’ social skills on the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Investigators estimated a hierarchical ordinary least squares regression model. Covariates (age, gender, race) were entered at the first step, and social skills, depressive symptoms, and trauma symptoms were entered at the second step.
Results: Results revealed that more depressive symptoms predicted higher levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction (β = .47, t(532) = 10.79, p < .01) while higher teacher-reported social skills predicted lower levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction (β = -.08, t(532) = -2.21, p < .05). Adolescents’ PTSD symptoms independently predicted loneliness and social dissatisfaction controlling for depressive symptoms and social skills (β = .11, t(532) = 2.47, p < .05).
Conclusions: These findings further inform our understanding of the relationship between inadequate social support and child maltreatment. Findings may inform the development of interventions aimed at enhancing social support for maltreated youth by targeting these contributing factors.

Group Authors

National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect

Authors

• Bethany Watson, The University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author

• Sara Jaffee, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author