title: Perceived social acceptance and peer status differentially predict adjustment in youth with and without ADHD.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study extends previous research and examined if the longitudinal relation between self-perceived social acceptance and changes in adjustment was moderated by peer status and ADHD diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of children with ADHD and a normative comparison group (age 8-13 years) were assessed at baseline and one-year follow-up. Self-perceived social acceptance, peer status, and three areas of adjustment (depression symptoms, aggression/conduct problems, and social skills) were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderation was found when predicting depression symptoms and aggression/conduct problems. Specifically, in children with ADHD only, higher perceived social acceptance protected against increases in depression symptoms for those with lower peer preference, but predicted greater aggression/conduct problems for those with higher peer preference. There was not evidence of significant moderation for predicting social skills; instead non-ADHD status, greater peer preference, and greater self-perceived social acceptance were each predictive of greater social skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results highlight the complex association between positive social self-perceptions and adjustment for children with ADHD and caution against a universal assumption that high self-perceptions are adaptive.
authors.affiliation: 1University of Vermont, Burlington, USA.
authors.forename: Julia D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: McQuade
authors.forename: Aaron J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoza
authors.forename: Dianna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murray-Close
authors.forename: Brooke S G
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: L Eugene
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Lily
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hechtman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception