Navigating Social Inclusion: How Social and Cognitive Factors Relate to Friendship Quality in Children with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Neurotypical Development

Abstract

Friendships contribute to children’s social inclusion at school. Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia experience substantial difficulty maintaining meaningful friendships. This study aims to elucidate the direct and indirect influence of social understanding on friendship quality features and executive functions in primary school children with neurotypical development (NT), ADHD, or dyslexia. Participants were divided into three groups of 64 children each (Mage = 9.77 years, SD = 1.22). Self-report research instruments and tasks were individually administered to examine children’s friendship quality, social understanding (beliefs, empathy, emotion regulation), and executive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility). Results showed that in children with NT, beliefs and emotions as components of social understanding mediated the positive relationship between all executive functions and friendship quality, after controlling for gender. In children with ADHD or dyslexia, only beliefs mediated the relationship between working memory and friendship quality. These findings highlight the dynamic role of social understanding in children’s cognitive development and their friendships, leading to psychosocial adjustment and school inclusion.