title: Friendship quality and social information processing in clinically anxious children.
abstract: The association between perceived friendship quality (FQ) and social information processing (SIP) was examined in three groups of children and their close friends aged 7-12 years: 16 anxiety disordered children with social phobia (SP); 12 anxiety disordered children without SP (No-SP); and 32 nonclinical children. Positive and negative FQ positively associated with target children's positive and negative responding on a vignette measure of SIP. SP children reported lower positive SIP than No-SP but not nonclinical children; and this was the only group difference in SIP. Target children and their friends were similar in negative but not positive SIP. Following discussion about the vignette with a close friend, all target children increased in positive SIP; negative SIP did not change. Lower FQ and a more socially anxious friend predicted higher negative target child SIP postdiscussion. Close friendships play an important role in the SIP of both clinical and nonclinical children.
authors: DCRC, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Level 3, AGSM Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia, jessica.baker@unsw.edu.au.
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Baker
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Hudson
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires