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Peer Relationships and the Mental Health of Young Children with Intellectual Delays
Author(s) -
Guralnick Michael J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of policy and practice in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1741-1130
pISSN - 1741-1122
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-1130.2006.00052.x
Subject(s) - psychology , competence (human resources) , intellectual disability , mental health , social isolation , developmental psychology , social competence , isolation (microbiology) , social psychology , psychiatry , social change , political science , law , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Available evidence indicates that a substantial majority of young children with intellectual delays exhibit special problems in forming peer relationships and developing friendships. This increased social isolation from peers poses a considerable threat to their mental health in both the short and long term. This problem is related to but extends far beyond expected difficulties based on the increased level of behavior disorders evident for children with intellectual delays. Contemporary evidence suggests that children's peer‐related social competence based on both emotion‐regulation and social‐information processes contributes to their peer relationship difficulties. A number of practice and policy suggestions are outlined to address this critical problem.