Social Skills and Medical Responsibility across Development in Youth with Spina Bifida

Abstract

Objective: To examine the predictive role of social skills in youth with spina bifida (SB) on growth in medical responsibility across development. Methods: As part of a larger, longitudinal study, 140 youth with SB were assessed across four time points (ages 8-22 across time points). Mixed-effects models were investigated for change with: (a) no predictors (i.e., change in medical responsibility across age; time was examined using the participant's age, centered at 11.5 years); (b) social variables (i.e., observed social behaviors, parent- and teacher-reported social skills) as predictors; and (c) social variables as predictors with intelligence quotient, lesion level, and sex as covariates. Results: Significant growth with age was identified for medical responsibility (p