Friendship interventions for children with neurodevelopmental needs: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS ONE, vol. 18, pp. e0295917

Abstract

RATIONALE: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, developmental language disorder (DLD), intellectual disability (ID), and social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SPCD) experience difficulties with social functioning due to differences in their social, emotional and cognitive skills. Previous systematic reviews have focussed on specific aspects of social functioning rather than broader peer functioning and friendships. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review and methodologically appraise the quality and effectiveness of existing intervention studies that measured friendship outcomes for children with ADHD, autism, DLD, ID, and SPCD. METHOD: Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched five electronic databases: CINAHL, Embase, Eric, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Two independent researchers screened all abstracts and disagreements were discussed with a third researcher to reach consensus. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomised Trials. RESULTS: Twelve studies involving 15 interventions were included. Studies included 683 children with a neurodevelopmental disorder and 190 typically-developing children and diagnosed with either autism or ADHD. Within-group meta-analysis showed that the pooled intervention effects for friendship across all interventions were small to moderate (z = 2.761, p = 0.006, g = 0.485). The pooled intervention effect between intervention and comparison groups was not significant (z = 1.206, p = 0.400, g = 0.215). CONCLUSION: Findings provide evidence that some individual interventions are effective in improving social functioning and fostering more meaningful friendships between children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their peers. Effective interventions involved educators, targeted child characteristics known to moderate peer functioning, actively involved peers, and incorporated techniques to facilitate positive peer perceptions and strategies to support peers. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of friendship interventions for children with DLD, ID and SPCD, more comprehensively assess peer functioning, include child self-report measures of friendship, and longitudinally evaluate downstream effects on friendship.

Authors 9

1. Reinie Cordier corresponding

   University of Cape Town · Curtin University · Northumbria University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

   Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

   Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

2. Lauren Parsons corresponding

   Curtin University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

3. Sarah Wilkes‐Gillan corresponding

   The University of Sydney

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

4. Matthew Cook corresponding

   Northumbria University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

5. Matthew McCloskey-Martinez corresponding

   Northumbria University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

6. Pamela Graham corresponding

   Northumbria University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

7. David Littlefair corresponding

   Northumbria University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

8. Cally Kent corresponding

   Curtin University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

9. Renée Speyer corresponding Aachen Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery

   Leiden University · University of Oslo · Curtin University · Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

   Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia