Sluggish cognitive tempo and peer functioning in school-aged children: A six-month longitudinal study

Abstract

Although research demonstrates sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms to be statistically distinct from other child psychopathologies (including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], anxiety, depression, and oppositionality) and associated with social impairment, all studies conducted to date have been cross-sectional. Thus, while extant research demonstrates an association between SCT and social functioning, it is entirely unknown whether or not SCT longitudinally predicts increases in social impairment. This study provides an initial examination of the prospective association between SCT symptoms and children׳s peer functioning. Teachers of 176 children in 1st–6th grades (ages 6–13; 47% boys) provided ratings of children׳s psychopathology (i.e., SCT, ADHD, anxious/depressive, and oppositional/conduct problems) and peer functioning (i.e., popularity, negative social preference, peer impairment), and peer functioning was assessed again 6 months later. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that, above and beyond child demographics, other psychopathologies, and baseline peer functioning, SCT symptoms were significantly associated with poorer peer functioning at the 6-month follow-up. In addition, 75% of children with high levels of SCT were rated as functionally impaired in the peer domain, in contrast to only 8% of children with low SCT. Further research is needed with larger samples to examine SCT over a longer developmental period and with other domains of adjustment.