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Heightened Neural Sensitivity to Social Exclusion in Low Peer Preferred Boys During Elementary School

Thu, March 21, 9:30 to 11:00am, Hilton Baltimore, Floor: Level 2, Calloway AB

Integrative Statement

Background
Poor peer preference in elementary school has been described as an adverse social experience in the lives of children and has been associated with many negative outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing problems. Poor evaluation by peers has been suggested to make children sensitive to expecting new negative peer evaluation, or rejection. As such, poor peer preference may translate into neural sensitivity to new adverse peer social experiences. Prior neuroimaging studies showed that adolescents with a history of adverse peer social experiences exhibited increased neural activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during social exclusion (Will et al., 2016; Rudolph et al., 2016; Masten et al., 2012). However, adolescence is a period of increased sensitivity to social evaluations. Moreover, poor peer preference emerges in elementary school and has been linked with maladaptation already in the elementary school period. Therefore, it seems essential to examine how poor peer preference translates into neural sensitivity to new social exclusion experiences in children attending elementary school.
Methods
This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined the neural responses to social exclusion in 55 elementary school boys (mean age =10.4 years, range = 8-12 years) with a history of low peer preference (n = 27) or high peer preference (n = 28). Boys were selected from a longitudinal classroom-based study. Participant’s history of classroom peer preference was assessed with peer nominations on like and dislike on three annual school assessments prior to the fMRI study. A social preference score was calculated (i.e., Zlike – Zdislike), z-standardized at each wave and then averaged across the three years. Children in the 35% lower percentile of the average social preference score were classified as ‘low peer preferred’, while children in the 35% upper percentile were classified as ‘high peer preferred’. During the fMRI session children played the Cyberball computer game with two anonymous same-sex same-aged players. During the first round all players received the ball an equal amount of time (10 out of 30 tosses; inclusion round). In the second round, participants received the ball only once and were then excluded by the two other players (28 tosses; exclusion round). After each Cyberball round children reported on their social distress using a mood and need satisfaction questionnaire.
Results
Low peer preferred boys exhibited increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), supramarginal gyrus, and right orbitofrontal cortex during social exclusion relative to social inclusion compared to high peer preferred boys (Figure 1). Increased left DLPFC activity was negatively associated with self-reported levels of tenseness after social exclusion in low peer preferred boys (r = -.52, p < .01) but not in high peer preferred boys (r = .05, p = .798).
Discussion
Findings show that already in elementary school children, clear differences in neural responses to social exclusion exist in boys with a history of low versus high peer preference. Future longitudinal studies should assess neural responses to social exclusion as a function of the duration of peer adverse social experiences to understand possible pathways to negative developmental outcomes.

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