Initial sociometric impressions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comparison boys: predictions from social behaviors and from nonbehavioral variables.

This study systematically compared the influence of naturalistic social behaviors and nonbehavioral variables on the development of peer status in 49 previously unfamiliar boys, aged 6-12 years, who attended a summer research program. Twenty-five boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 24 comparison boys participated. Physical attractiveness, motor competence, intelligence, and academic achievement constituted the nonbehavioral variables; social behaviors included noncompliance, aggression, prosocial actions, and isolation, measured by live observations of classroom and playground interactions. As early as the first day of interaction, ADHD and comparison boys displayed clear differences in social behaviors, and the ADHD youngsters were overwhelmingly rejected. Whereas prosocial behavior independently predicted friendship ratings during the first week, the magnitude of prediction was small. In contrast, the boys' aggression (or noncompliance) strongly predicted negative nominations, even with nonbehavioral factors, group status (ADHD versus comparison), and other social behaviors controlled statistically. Implications for understanding and remediating negative peer reputations are discussed.