The Moderating Role of Verbal Aggression on the Relationship Between Parental Feedback and Peer Status Among Children with ADHD

We examined associations between children’s sociometric status and (a) observed parental feedback as well as (b) child aggression. Participants were 94 children ages 6– 10 (64 male; 44 with ADHD) and their parents. Children’s peer status, parental feedback to their children, and child aggression were all assessed during lab-based playgroups of four children and their parents. Parent criticism in front of the child’s peers was associated with the child receiving more negative (“disliked”) and fewer positive (“liked”) nominations, but only for children who displayed aggression; this interaction applied almost exclusively to children withADHD. Parent praise in front of peers was associated with fewer negative nominations when children displayed low levels of aggression, but more at higher levels. Additional analyses revealed that relationships did not exist in the full sample between privately-given parental feedback and children’s peer status. Processes by which peers use overheard adult feedback to inform their assessments of children are discussed