SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF CHILDREN’S RESPONSE PATTERNS

Considering the movement toward social and educational inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities, many researchers have been interested in assessing social-cognitive skills and social adaptive behavior in children with intellectual disabilities.
The main aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of the responses generated by children with Down syndrome in the context of hypothetical social situations. Seven children with Down syndrome participated in the present study. The chronological age of the participants ranged between 10 and 14 years. Four age-appropriate short hypothetical vignettes representing two different types of social problem situations (peer entry and peer provocation) were administered to the participants. The hypothetical vignettes were presented to each participant and a structured interview was employed. The participants’ responses were tape-recorded. The responses collected were coded into different categories according to their content by two judges. Preliminary results showed that, depending on the type of the social problem presented, a different response pattern emerged. Moreover, aggressive solutions were provided only with regard to the peer provocation situation and not to the peer entry situation. The results of the present preliminary study are discussed in relation to relevant research findings. Future research could provide more definite conclusions regarding the social-cognitive processes, as well as the contextual factors that might influence social problem solving in persons with Down syndrome. Nonetheless, in the context of inclusive practices, research findings on social problem solving in children with intellectual disabilities could contribute to the development of appropriate intervention strategies.