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Peer Relationships in Children with Williams Syndrome: Parent and Teacher Insights

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Abstract

Although children with Williams syndrome (WS) are reported to show a strong motivation towards social interaction, evidence suggests many experience difficulties with peer relations. Less is known regarding the characteristics of such difficulties. Parents and teachers of 21 children with WS (7- to 16 years) completed questionnaires measuring aspects of social functioning and peer interactions. Parents and teachers reported that children with WS demonstrated significantly greater peer problems than population norms, including difficulties sustaining friendships and increased social exclusion. More substantial social functioning difficulties were associated with greater peer relation problems. The study provides multi-informant evidence of peer relationship difficulties in children with WS that require further consideration within the broader WS social phenotype.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a PhD Studentship from the University of Strathclyde to the first author. We would like to express our gratitude to all of the families and teachers who generously donated their time to participate in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, 1055 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12 0XH, Scotland, UK

    Amanda E. Gillooly

  2. Department of Psychology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, England, UK

    Deborah M. Riby

  3. School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, 40 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1QE, Scotland, UK

    Amanda E. Gillooly & Kevin Durkin

  4. Child Life and Health, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 20 Sylvan Place, Edinburgh, EH9 IUW, Scotland, UK

    Sinéad M. Rhodes

Authors
  1. Amanda E. Gillooly
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  2. Deborah M. Riby
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  3. Kevin Durkin
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  4. Sinéad M. Rhodes
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception, design and material preparation. Data collection and analysis were performed by AEG. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AEG and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read, contributed to and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sinéad M. Rhodes.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the Institutional Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

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Gillooly, A.E., Riby, D.M., Durkin, K. et al. Peer Relationships in Children with Williams Syndrome: Parent and Teacher Insights. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 169–178 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04503-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04503-6

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