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O RI G I N A L P A P E R
Theory of Mind, Socio-Emotional Problem-Solving,Socio-Emotional Regulation in Children with Intellectual
Disability and in Typically Developing Children
Celine Baurain • Nathalie Nader-Grosbois
Published online: 11 September 2012
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract This study has examined the link between
social information processing (SIP) and socio-emotionalregulation (SER) in 45 children with intellectual disability
(ID) and 45 typically developing (TD) children, matched
on their developmental age. A Coding Grid of SER,
focusing on Emotional Expression, Social Behaviour and
Behaviours towards Social Rules displayed by children in
three dyadic contexts (neutral, competitive or cooperative)
was applied. Correlational analyses highlighted specific
‘‘bi-directional’’ links between some abilities in SIP and in
SER, presenting between-groups partial similarities and
dissimilarities that allowed discussing the developmental
delay versus difference hypotheses in ID children. Cluster
cases analyses identified subgroups with variable patterns
of links. In both groups, the SIP and some categories of
SER varied depending on developmental age.
Keywords Theory of mind Social problem-solving
Emotion regulation Dyadic play Intellectual disability
Introduction
This study has examined the link between abilities in the-
ory of mind-emotions (ToM), in socio-emotional problem-
solving (SEPS) and the socio-emotional regulation (SER)
in children with intellectual disability (ID) compared to
typically developing (TD) children matched for develop-
mental age (DA) ranging from 3 to 6 years, in order to testthe ‘‘difference structure hypothesis’’ between components
of these processes in ID children. Our approach was based
on the heuristic model of social skills in typical and atyp-
ical childhood, developed by Yeates et al. (2007), that
distinguishes three interrelated levels:(1) social informa-
tion processing (SIP) including ToM and SEPS; (2) social
interactions including SER; (3) social adjustment in the
social relationships.
The SIP depends on the individual’s social cognition
contributing to the understanding of social situations and to
the socio-emotional problem-solving (Nader-Grosbois
2011a). As the ToM refers to the cognitive ability to infer
or understand his or her own mental states, emotions and of
others, it requires the child to take into account others’
perspective (Flavell 1999; Koski and Steck 2010).
Depending on their cognitive maturation, preschoolers
discriminate various expressions of emotions in facial,
gestural and verbal display and they acquire the under-
standing of emotions that allow them to predict emotions
according to situations (understanding of causes) and to
predict behaviours according to the emotions that are felt
(understanding of consequences) (Cole et al. 2008; Gouin-
Decarie et al. 2005; Hughes and Leekam 2004; Ketelaars
et al. 2010; Nader-Grosbois 2011a, b; Perron and Gosselin
2009; Scharfe 2000; Slaughter et al. 2002). Moreover, they
gradually become able to think about social problem-
solving which contributes to a more and more effective
social functioning in their relationships (Dodge et al.
2002). In this study, we have focused on the ID and TD
children’s understanding of causes and of consequences of
emotions in ToM and on their abilities in socio-emotional
problem-solving (SEPS), situated in the SIP level of the
model of Yeates et al. (2007).
C. Baurain N. Nader-Grosbois (&)
Institute of Psychological Sciences (IPSY), Research Center
for Health and Psychological Development, Chair Baron Frere
in Special Education, Catholic University of Louvain, 10,
Place Cardinal Mercier, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
e-mail: [email protected]
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During social interactions, the children may express
their emotions and/or social behaviours and regulate them
according their goals, the context or the person with whom
they are interacting. Emotion regulation (ER) was defined
‘‘as the process of initiating, avoiding, inhibiting, main-
taining, or modulating the occurrence, form, intensity, or
duration of internal feeling states, emotion-related physi-
ological, attentional processes, motivational states, and/orthe behavioural concomitants of emotion in the service of
accomplishing affect-related biological or social adaptation
or achieving individual goals’’ (Eisenberg and Spinrad
2004, p. 338). ER refers to changes associated with acti-
vated emotions, including changes in the emotion itself and
in other processes (e.g., memory, social interaction) (Cole
et al. 2004, p. 320). During the development, children learn
to use inter- and intra- personal strategies in order to
control and to modify the expression of their emotions to
achieve their prioritized goals and adjust themselves to the
context (Cole et al. 2004; Davidson et al. 2000; Dennis
2007; Eisenberg et al. 2001; Feng et al. 2008; Galyer andEvans 2001; Gross 2007; Kalpidou et al. 2004; Tamir
2011; Thompson 1994, 2011). From the age of 2–3 to 6, the
representations, the language help the children to acquire
self-regulated, anticipated and proactive strategies of ER;
they display socio-emotional behaviours in respecting
social rules, for the benefit of positive social interactions
with peers and adults (Cole et al. 2004, 2008; Dennis 2006,
2007; Dennis and Kelemen 2009; Dennis et al. 2009;
Eisenberg and Fabes 1992; Eisenberg et al. 1995, 1997;
Fabes et al. 1999; Holodynski and Friedlmeier 2005;
Kalpidou et al. 2004; Macklem 2008; Perron and Gosselin
2004, 2009; Rieder et al. 2007; Saarni 1999; Spinrad et al.
2006). As preschooler’s ER includes an inter-individual
process facilitating their adjustment to social environment
(Eisenberg et al. 1995; Fabes et al. 1999; Feng et al. 2008;
Rydell et al. 2003) and an intra-individual process helping
self-control (Dumas and Lebeau 1998; Stein et al. 2008);
and as we focus on how children regulate their emotional
and social behaviour, we call them ‘‘socio-emotional reg-
ulation’’ (SER). In this study, the children’s socio-emo-
tional behaviours are observed during interactions with
others (adult and peer) in distinct contexts (neutral, com-
petitive or cooperative); the observation of SER is situated
in the social interactions level of the model of Yeates et al.
(2007).
What Links are Postulated Between SIP and SER
Processes?
In their model, Yeates et al. (2007) postulate ‘‘bi-direc-
tional’’ links between the processes of the three levels of
social skills; thus, SIP can affect social interaction
(including socio-emotional behaviour) which in turn
affects social adjustment and vice versa. In other words,
children whose SIP is appropriately mobilized were able to
interact easily, display prosocial behaviour and to establish
positive relationships (Nader-Grosbois 2011a). Barisnikov
and Hippolyte (2011) support these bi-directional links in
ID and TD people. Similarly, the understanding of emo-
tions and the SER are also conceived as interrelated skills
in models developed by other authors (Halberstadt et al.2001; Leerkes et al. 2008).
In a predictive perspective, other authors postulated that
the understanding of emotion enables emotion regulation
which in turn facilitates cognitive and behavioural coping
strategies; consequently, the understanding of emotion
should be considered as a mediator of relations between
emotion regulation and social adaptation (Izard et al. 2000);
or the level of regulation in preschoolers could predict their
emotional understanding 2 years later (Schultz et al. 2001).
Nevertheless, more rarely, a lack of association between
these two processes was observed: TD children with a high
level in SIP have not necessarily a good SER and viceversa (Lindsey and Colwell 2003).
What About These Skills in SIP and SER in ID
Children in this Developmental Period?
In order to appreciate whether there is deficit or delay in
these skills, it requires referring to the distinction between
developmental delay hypothesis versus difference hypoth-
esis about the development in ID children compared to TD
children (Flanagan et al. 2008; Hodapp et al. 1990; Zigler
and Balla 1982). As most of studies describing deficits in
ID children compared them to TD children, matched on
their chronological age (CA), Zigler and Balla suggested
that it necessary to match both populations on their mental
age to distinguish their similarities or differences and
estimate whether ID children’s specificities could be
explained either in terms of ‘‘delay’’ or ‘‘difference’’ of
development.
According to the developmental delay hypothesis, ID
children should present similar developmental sequences and
similar structures in their abilities and according the devel-
opmental difference hypothesis, ID should present dissimilar
sequences and structures, in comparison with DA-matched
TD children (Nader-Grosbois 2006). During the last decade,
there has been an emergence of studies about ID persons on
their ToM, their emotion regulation, their emotional abilities
in taking into account their specificities in communication and
in social adjustment (Nader-Grosbois 2011b).
Focusing on ToM, Thirion-Marissiaux and Nader-
Grosbois (2008a, b, c) found that ID and TD children
matched on their DA did not differ in their levels of
understanding of causes and consequences of emotions,
supporting the hypothesis of developmental delay of ToM
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in ID children. In both groups, the ToM varied depending
on the children’s DA, but not on the CA in ID children. A
delay or some deficits in ID children in their SIP (including
emotion recognition; Pochon et al. 2006; Wishart et al.
2007; Zabalia and Corfec 2008) and in executive functions
implying difficulties in self-control, in self-regulation, in
inhibition (Anderson et al. 2001; Edgin 2003; Nader-
Grosbois 2007) could influence their emotion regulation.The study conducted by Baurain and Nader-Grosbois
(2012) used a new methodological design and a validated
grid of coding for the assessment ofSER (see detailson inter-
raters validity andfactorialanalyses for validationin Baurain
and Nader-Grosbois 2011b). TD and ID children were asked
to solve socio-emotional problems in three dyadic contexts
(neutral with an adult, competitive and cooperative with a
peer). Their results indicated no significant difference
between DA-matched ID and TD children for the intensity
and the frequency of emotional expressions (joy, sadness,
frustration and anger), the frequency of their behaviour
towards social rules and for their adaptation of expressedemotions; these observations supported the hypothesis of
developmental delay of SER skills in ID children. Only the
displaying of social behaviour was significantly less frequent
in ID group than in TD group. In both groups, there was an
effect of dyadic context on the frequency of emotional
expressions and of social behaviour, and also on the intensity
of expressed emotions (in favour of cooperative and com-
petitive contexts with peers). Moreover, the behaviour
toward social rules of both groups and the emotional
expressions in TD group varied depending on their DA and
only very partially depending on the CA in ID group.
Although several studies have highlighted emotional
abilities in ID children (Brun and Mellier 2004; Buchel and
Paour 2005; Pochon et al. 2006), there are too rare studies
investigating the link between their SIP and SER (Baurain
and Nader-Grosbois 2009a, b, 2011a; Leerkes et al. 2008).
However, some authors have investigated the use of per-
spective taking and mental-state inference in representing
and taking part in dyadic interactions in adolescents and
adults with autism and TD children (Begeer et al. 2010).
The literature justified to study the links between the SIP
and the SER in ID and TD children.
Our main objective was to test structural hypotheses of delay
or difference about the links between abilities in SIP (including
ToM and socio-emotional problem solving) and abilities in
SER, by examining between-group similarities versus differ-
ences in relational structural patterns in these abilities in
DA-matched ID and TD children. We took into account the
possible impact of their CAand their DAon these processesand
investigated whether inter- and intra-individual variability in
these processes could involve the identification of subgroupsof
children who present distinct patterns of links between specific
components of these processes in their profiles.
Method
Participants
The 90 participants were 45 ID children (26 girls, 19 boys)
and 45 TD children (23 girls, 22 boys), recruited from
French-speaking Belgian special schools (adapted for
children with mild and moderate ID) and ordinary schoolsrespectively. Both groups were matched for their DA,
assessed by means of the Differential Scales of Intellectual
Efficiency- Revised edition (EDEI-R, Perron-Borelli
1996). Table 1 shows the mean and the standard deviation
of their CA and their DA. For both groups, their DA of
between 3 and 6 years correspond to a critical develop-
mental period of the processes in SIP and in SER. The
aetiologies of ID were genetic syndromes, pre-, peri- or
post-natal complaints, and non-specific retardations due to
environmental under-stimulation. We included only chil-
dren with French as their mother tongue and excluded
children presenting conduct disorders or autism, and sen-sory or motor deficiency. 90 children who acted as partners
in dyadic games were matched with the targeted children
on the basis of their similar level of school learning. The
adult partner in the game was the examiner/researcher.
Instruments
Differential Scales of Intellectual Efficiency-Revised
Edition (EDEI-R, Perron-Borelli 1996 )
Validated with atypical and typical populations for children
from 3 to 9 years old, these scales were used in order to
match the participants of the two groups for global DA.
They made it possible to distinguish between a verbal
developmental age (VDA) and a non-verbal developmental
age (NVDA). The VDA was calculated by means of scores
obtained on five scales (vocabulary, word definition,
knowledge, social understanding and conceptualization).
The NVDA was calculated by means of the scores obtained
on four scales (classification of pairs of pictures, classifi-
cation of three pictures, categorial analysis and practical
Table 1 Mean scores and standard deviation of chronological ageand developmental age in months
Groups ID (n = 45) TD (n = 45)
M (SD) M (SD)
Chronological age 110.02 (21.98) 54.41 (11.28)
Developmental age 56.41 (10.99) 56.50 (13.2)
Verbal developmental age 56.95 (12.71) 56.15 (13.16)
Non-verbal developmental age 55.41 (12.57) 56.9 (15.24)
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing
children, n number of children, M mean, SD standard deviation
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adaptation). Their applicability to ID participants has been
confirmed (Tourrette 2006).
ToM-Emotion Tasks (Nader-Grosbois
and Thirion-Marissiaux 2011)
In order to assess ToM in typical and atypical children, an
adapted measure of the understanding of causes and of consequences of the four basic emotions using pictures was
developed and validated. A preliminary task of facial
emotional expression recognition of four basic emotions
(joy, sadness, anger and fear) was presented; correct rec-
ognition was a necessary condition before administer two
ToM-emotion tasks. Adapted from the tasks proposed by
Quintal (2001), it consists of: Causes of emotions task (the
child has to understand the emotion felt by the character of
a story according to the situation with which this last one is
confronted) and Consequences of emotions task (according
the emotion felt by the character of a story, the child has to
predict the behaviour of this last one). The Causes of emotions task included four similar beginnings of scripts
illustrated by two pictures. The end of each script requires
a choice from among four emotions: joy, sadness, anger
and fear (illustrated by pictures). For each script, the
examiner/researcher told the script and the child was asked
to make an emotion attribution to the main character by
pointing to the most appropriate of four facial emotional
expressions. Finally, the examiner/researcher asked to
justify his or her answer. The consequences of emotions
task included four scripts (illustrated by two pictures)
corresponding to four situations in which the character felt
joy, sadness, anger or fear. The end of each script requires
a choice among three types of character’s behaviour
(illustrated by three pictures): adjusted social behaviour,
maladjusted social behaviour, or neutral behaviour. For
each script, the examiner/researcher told the script and the
child was asked to make a choice among the three pictures.
Finally, the examiner/researcher asked to justify his or her
answer. The response to each emotional script was scored
between 0 and 1.5 point according to the participant’s
justification. For each task, the maximal score was 6 points
and the both ToM-emotion tasks were scored from a total
of 12 points.
These ToM tasks have been validated, by Nader-
Grosbois and Thirion-Marissiaux (2011), from data col-
lected in 40 TD children and 40 ID children or adolescents,
matched for developmental age. On the basis of the
decoding of 80 videos illustrating the administration of
ToM tasks, an estimate of inter-observer reliability was
carried out by two independent observers. Concerning the
Causes of emotions task and Consequences of emotions
task, the validation results were similar for the two tasks in
the TD group: inter-observer reliability was 98 %, Cohen’s
kappa was on average .92 and Pearson’s inter-observer
correlation coefficient was .96. In ID children, inter-
observer reliability was 96 and 95 % for the two tasks
respectively, Cohen’s kappa was on average .90 and .89,
and Pearson’s inter-observer correlation coefficient was .94
and .93. Test–retest validation (with an interval of
2 months) of the two tasks was excellent in the two groups.
The Social Solving Task (RES, Barisnikov et al. 2004)
Recently, Barisnikov and Hippolyte (2011) validated ‘‘the
socio-cognitive battery’’ assessing socio-cognitive, emo-
tional and relational skills of mild to moderate ID people,
including the RES. It allows an estimation of the capacity
of ID people to judge whether or not other people’s social
behaviour is appropriate, and to determine the extent to
which their judgment is based on the knowledge of con-
ventional and\or moral rules. The 14 items, illustrated by
14 pictures, consist of appropriate versus inappropriate
social behaviour displayed by a character in social situa-tions taken from everyday life. Three questions are pro-
posed. The first question assesses the judgment of adequate
or inadequate social behaviour: ‘‘What happens in this
picture? What do you think? Is he/she doing something that
is good or that is not good ?’’ (Maximum score = 2). The
second question assesses the identification of the target
behaviour of the situation: ‘‘Can you show me what is
good/not good in this picture?’’ (Maximum score = 1).
The third question estimates the level of justification, in
reference to social rules, connected to the judgment: ‘‘Why
it is the good/not good?’’ (Maximum score = 7). The
maximum score for three questions in 14 items is 140.
Dyadic Game of Socio-Emotional Problem-Solving
(Baurain and Nader-Grosbois 2007 )
This game aims to put the children into several problem-
solving situations in different interactive contexts in order
to observe and analyze their socio-emotional behaviour
directly. The purpose of the game is to resolve several
problems in order to reach the end of the course, and the
child plays in various possible interactive climates: neutral
(the child plays only with an adult), competitive, and
cooperative (the child plays with another child-partner).
Two aspects are estimated: (1) variation of SER depending
on the interactive contexts elicited by the design by
applying the ‘‘coding grid of SER by sequences’’ by
viewing videos illustrating children playing in the game
(Baurain and Nader-Grosbois 2011b); (2) performance in
SEPS. In every context, SEPS corresponds to identifying
the character’s emotion among four basic emotions (joy,
sadness, anger and fear), to differentiate the inappropriate
social behaviour versus the appropriate social behaviour, in
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choosing among several possibilities illustrated by pictures.
The design is intended to elicit positive and negative
emotions in children during these distinct sequences of
game: notably frustration when they fail or when their
partner succeeds, and joy when they succeed or when they
progress more than their partner in the game; it creates a
situation where the children need to regulate their emo-
tions, their emotional expressions and their socio-emo-tional behaviours. These behaviours could be managed in
different ways by the children depending on the context
and the sequence, and could be more or less adjusted
depending on these situational aspects. This interactive
game, played in a quiet place at school, was filmed by a
camera placed in front of the child, to make it easier to
record responses and to fill in the grid of SER.
For 13 SEPS, we obtain scores of nine situations-prob-
lems and of four critical stories for each of contexts, as well
as global scores. For four critical stories relative to the
basic emotions, we attribute 1 point per recognized emo-
tion. For the nine situations/problems, we attribute 3 pointsper situation/problem (1 point if the child recognizes what
is socially acceptable or not in the behaviour of one or
several protagonist(s); 1 point if the child is capable of
justifying what he or she considers acceptable or not; 1
point if the child is capable of choosing the socially
acceptable behaviour according to the situation). The order
of these nine situations/problems and the possible solution
(illustrated by acceptable social behaviour) vary in order to
limit the inter-contexts learning biases. For 13 SEPS, the
maximum score per context is 31 points and 93 points for
all the three contexts. It is possible to attribute .5 if the
examiner/researcher helps the target-child.
Coding Grid of Socio-Emotional Regulation by Sequences
(Baurain and Nader-Grosbois 2011b)
In our study, we have focused on the manner in which
children regulate emotional expressions, responses and
social behaviours in dyadic interactions, when they are
confronted to sequences of a game inducing positive versus
negative emotions in distinct contexts.
This grid was created firstly with reference to behav-
ioural categories in questionnaires completed by parents or
teachers, such as the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC,
Shields and Cicchetti 1997), the Emotional Regulation
Rating Scale (ERRS, Carlson and Wang 2007), and the
Emotion Regulation Subscale of the Social Competence
Scale (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group
1999) and in direct measurements in observational contexts
(Adams Dillon 2009; Cole et al. 2008; Dennis 2006;
Dennis and Kelemen 2009; Eisenberg et al. 2001; Fabes
et al. 1999; Feng et al. 2008; Flem et al. 1998; Galyer and
Evans 2001; Hill et al. 2006; Kalpidou et al. 2004; Lindsey
and Colwell 2003; Rothbart and Bates 1998). The grid
(‘‘Appendix 1’’) allows assessing, through verbal and non
verbal behaviour, the variability of SER depending on three
interactive contexts and on three temporal sequences (three
challenges per sequence). It includes 26 items divided into
four categories: Emotional Expressions and Emotional
Adaptation; Behaviour towards Social Rules (listen and
follow adult’s instructions, wait ones turn); Social Behav-iour (pro-social, empathic behaviour and behaviour
towards the task such as self-effort or self-control); and
Awareness and Evocation of Emotion. There are three
distinct contexts: the target-child plays with an adult-
partner in neutral context, and with a child-partner in
competitive and cooperative contexts. The scoring of 22
items in the first three categories corresponds to the fre-
quency of behaviour. ‘‘Appendix 2’’ presents the scoring
and the minimum and maximum scores considered in the
grid. The category Awareness and Evocation of Emotion is
scored dichotomously, yes or no. Validation phases and
statistical analyses were performed in order to verify theconcordance between judges, the internal structure, the
consistency of the grid, and the relevance of assessing
performances in SEPS in the interactive game. Cohen’s
kappa, the intra-class correlation coefficient, factorial
analysis, Cronbach’s alpha and inter-judge comparisons
were all used in order to validate and improve this coding
grid (Baurain and Nader-Grosbois 2011b).
Procedure
In two or three individual sessions (each lasting 45 min), we
administered EDEI-R, ToM emotion tasks and RES. In
dyadic sessions, we organized the Dyadic Game of Socio-
Emotional Problem-Solving, in three types of interactive
dyadic context: neutral with the examiner, competitive and
cooperative with a peer in the presence of the examiner lasted
15 min. The examiner began the first dyadic session in the
neutral context, then randomly proposed two other dyadic
sessions (competitive or cooperative contexts). These indi-
vidual and dyadic sessions took place in a quiet room at
school and were filmed by a camera placed in front of the
child. The examiner completed the Coding Grid of Socio-
Emotional Regulation by Sequences by analysing the
recorded videos for each target child and each game context.
The examiner had been trained to identify verbal and non-
verbal cues of emotional expression and the socio-emotional
and emotion regulation behaviours described in the grid and
had previous experience of organizing the game.
The procedure used for analysis was as follows. In order
to compare mean scores in SIP (specifically in ToM, RES,
SEPS) and in components of SER (Emotional Expression,
Social Behaviour, Behaviour toward Social Rules) between
the two groups, we applied independent samples t test
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analyses. The links between these SIP and SER variables
were examined by means of correlational and Chi-square
analyses in order to compare structural relation patterns
between the two groups and to test the ‘‘structural
hypothesis of difference’’ in ID children compared with
DA-matched TD children. Moreover, multiple comparisons
(Bonferroni) of DA subgroups and Spearman’s coefficients
of correlations between children’s DA and SIP and SERvariables were conducted, in order to assess the impact of
DA on these processes. Hierarchical cluster case analyses
(by means of the Ward method and Euclidian distance)
were also applied, using, firstly, scores in ToM and in each
category of SER, and secondly, scores in RES and in each
category of SER, in order to examine whether there were
distinct patterns of links between SIP and SER variables in
identified subgroups.
Results
Participant’s Characteristics
The Table 1 presents average scores and standard devia-
tions for participants’ characteristics. The DA did not differ
between both groups, in spite of a higher mean CA in the
ID group than in the TD group.
Inter- and Intra-Group Variability of SIP
Inter- and Intra-Group Variability of ToM-Emotions
As seen in Table 2, independent samples t test analyzes
showed no significant difference between both groups of
the total of ToM, of the understanding of causes and of
consequences of emotions.
High significant correlations were obtained between TD
children’s CA and abilities in ToM, and specifically for the
understanding of consequences of emotions. In the ID
group, no significant correlation was obtained between
children’s CA and ToM abilities, except a low significant
positive link with the understanding of consequences of emotions (see Table 3).
For both groups, positive significant correlations were
obtained between children’s DA and abilities in ToM,
except specifically for the understanding of causes of
emotions in the TD group (see Table 4). Multiple com-
parisons (Bonferroni) were performed to test the extent to
which the children’s DA could influence the ToM (see
Table 5). For both groups, there were significant differ-
ences in favour of the higher DA subgroups for total ToM
emotions and the understanding of consequences of
emotions.
Inter- and Intra-Group Variability of SEPS
Independent sample t test analyses performed on the scores
in RES and in the 13 SEPS during the game in both groups
showed no significant difference, except only a higher
mean score in competitive context in ID group than in TD
group (see Table 2).
Contrary to the TD group, in the ID group, no significant
correlation was obtained between children’s CA and scores
in RES and in the 13 SEPS in all contexts respectively (see
Table 3).
For both groups, high to moderate significant correla-
tions ( p\ .001; p\ .05) were obtained between children’s
Table 2 Independent samples
t test analyzes for children’s
abilities in ToM, SEPS and SER
ID children with intellectual
disability, TD typically
developing children, n number
of children; t (df ) t student,
M means scores, SD standard
deviation, ToM theory of mind-
emotion, SEPS socio-emotional
problem-solving, RES social
resolution task, SER socio-
emotional regulation
* p\ .05
Groups ID (n = 45) t (df ) TD (n = 45)
M (SD) M (SD)
ToM
Causes of emotions (max.6) 3.85 (1.48) t (88) = .65 4.04 (1.23)
Consequences of emotions (max.6) 4.01 (1.62) t (88) = -.51 3.82 (1.86)
Total ToM (max.12) 7.86 (2.42) t (88) = .00 7.86 (2.57)
SEPS
RES 55.51 (21.56) t (88) = -1.17 50.58 (17.4)
13 SEPS
Total 13 SEPS 47.81 (8.41) t (74.41) = .58 46.83 (6.44)
In neutral context 25.2 (4.79) t (79.77) = -.86 25.98 (3.49)
In competitive context 10.06 (2.18) t (80) = 2.36* 8.96 (2.02)
In cooperative context 12.47 (2.6) t (85) = 1.07 11.9 (2.35)
SER
Emotional expressions 20.8 (9.37) t (79) = -.61 19.22 (13.38)
Behavior towards social rules 126.37 (12.86) t (79) = -.31 125.5 (12.37)
Social behavior 64.5 (9.2) t (79) = 2.15* 70.45 (15.09)
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DA and scores in SEPS (including RES and 13 SEPS)
(Table 4). Multiple comparisons (Bonferroni) were per-
formed to test the extent to which the children’s DA could
influence the scores in RES and in 13 SEPS (see Table 5).
For both groups, there were significant differences in
favour of the higher DA subgroups in the performances in
RES and the 13 SEPS [for each context in the ID group and
for two contexts, neutral and competitive, in the TD
group].
Inter-, Intra-Group and Inter-Situational Variability
of SER
We have detailed specific results on SER in a previousstudy (Baurain and Nader-Grosbois 2012). The inter-group
comparison of mean scores of frequency of socio-emo-
tional behaviours in each category of SER indicated only a
significant difference of Social Behaviour that was less
frequent in the ID group than in the TD group (Table 2).
In the ID group, no significant correlation was obtained
between the children’s CA and each category of SER,
contrary to the TD group (for Emotional Expressions and
Behaviour towards Social Rules, as seen in Table 3).
Positive significant correlations were obtained between
TD children’s DA and Emotional Expressions. In ID
children, no significant correlation was obtained betweentheir DA and each category of SER (Table 4). Multiple
comparisons (Bonferroni) were performed to test the extent
to which the children’s DA could influence the SER (see
Table 5). There were significant differences between
DA-subgroups for Behaviour towards Social Rules in both
groups, and for Emotional Expressions only in the TD
group.
Links Between SIP and SER
Specifically, Spearman’s coefficients of correlation (r s)
were calculated between in one hand the abilities in ToM
(total, understanding of causes and of consequences of
emotions), in RES, in 13 SEPS and in the other hand each
category of SER in each context in each group (see
Table 6); and secondly, Kendall’s partial rank correlation
coefficients (s) were also applied between the same vari-
ables, by controlling the DA. Third, Chi-Squares were
applied in order to assess the association between these
abilities in SIP and the adaptation of expressed emotions
(joy, sadness, frustration and anger) in both groups (see
Table 7).
ToM and SER
As seen in Table 6, in the ID group, significant positive
correlations were obtained between their abilities in ToM,
and specifically for the understanding of causes of emo-
tions, and their Behaviour towards Social Rules. In the TD
group, high significant correlations were obtained between
the abilities in ToM and the Behaviour towards Social
Rules; significant positive correlations were also obtained
between the abilities in ToM, specifically in the
Table 3 Spearman’s correlations between children’ CA and ToM,
SEPS, SER scores
ID group
(n = 45)
TD group
(n = 45)
rs
ToM
Causes of emotions .12 .23
Consequences of emotions .31* .59**
Total ToM-emotion .28 .53**
SEPS
RES .09 .82**
13 SEPS .02 .64**
SER
Emotional expressions .17 .54**
Behaviour towards social rules .12 .4*
Social behaviour -.11 .24
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing
children, n number of children, rs Correlation of Spearman, ToM
theory of mind-emotion, SEPS socio-emotional problem-solving, RES social resolution task, SER socio-emotional regulation
** p\ .001 * p\ .05
Table 4 Spearman’s correlations between children’ DA and ToM,
SEPS, SER scores
ID group
(n = 45)
TD group
(n = 45)
rs
ToM
Causes of emotions .41* .09
Consequences of emotions .52* .44*
Total ToM-emotion .55* .36*
SEPS
RES .63** .79**
13 SEPS .42* .74**
SER
Emotional expressions .11 .45*
Behaviour towards social rules .06 .26
Social behaviour .01 .31
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing
children, n number of children, r s Correlation of Spearman, ToM
theory of mind-emotion, SEPS socio-emotional problem-solving, RES
social resolution task, SER socio-emotional regulation
** p\ .001 * p\ .05
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understanding of consequences of emotions and the Emo-
tional Expressions.
In addition, in the ID group, partial significant positive
correlations ( p\ .05) were obtained between the under-
standing of causes of emotions and the Behaviour towards
Social Rules, by controlling the DA (s = .33, in neutral
context; s = .38, in cooperative context). In the TD group,
partial significant positive correlations ( p\ .05) were
obtained between the total ToM and the Behaviour towards
Social Rules (s = .34, in competitive context; s = .37, in
cooperative context), between the understanding of causes
of emotions and the Social Behaviour (s = .35, in coop-
erative context) respectively, and between the under-
standing of consequences of emotions and the Behaviour
towards Social Rules (s = .36, in cooperative context), by
controlling the DA.
Chi-Squares assessing the association between ToM
(total emotion, causes and consequences of emotions) and
the adaptation of expressed emotions (joy, sadness, frus-
tration and anger) in both groups, were not significant
(Table 7).
SEPS and SER
As seen in Table 6, significant positive correlations were
obtained in the ID group between the RES and the
Behaviour towards Social Rules, and in the TD group
between the RES and the Emotional Expressions and the
Behaviour towards Social Rules.
For both groups, were obtained high significant corre-
lations between the 13 SEPS and the Behaviour towards
Social Rules and some moderate significant positive cor-
relations between the 13 SEPS and the Social Behaviour .
Only in the ID group, partial significant positive corre-lations ( p\ .05) were obtained between abilities in RES
and the Behaviour towards Social Rules (s = .35, in neu-
tral context; s = .42, in cooperative context), the Social
Behaviour (s = .32, in neutral context) by controlling the
DA.
In the ID group, partial significant positive correlations
( p\ .05) were obtained between in one hand the abilities
in 13 SEPS and in the other hand, the Emotional Expres-
sions (s = .31, in neutral context); the Behaviour towards
Table 5 Mean scores and standard deviation in ToM tasks, SEPS and SER according to children’s DA
ID group (n = 45) TD group (n = 45)
M (SD) M (SD)
3–4 years 4–5 years 5–6 years F (2) 3–4 years 4–5 years 5–6 years F (2)
ToM
Causes of emotions
3.2 (1.79) 3.86 (1.2) 4.5 (1.16) 3.16 3.6 (1.5) 4.23 (1.05) 4.3 (1.08) 1.49
Consequences of
emotions
2.6 (1.56) 4.26 (1.29) 5.16 (.72) 16.47** 2.46 (1.55) 3.9 (1.86) 5.1 (1.12) 10.95**
Total ToM
emotions
5.8 (2.49) 8.13 (1.56) 9.66 (1.29) 16.53** 6.06 (2.45) 8.13 (2.48) 9.4 (1.57) 8.66**
SEPS
RES 36.8 (15.77) 61.05 (18.13) 68.67 (17.01) 14.37** 34.6 (8.66) 49.86 (11.65) 68.43 (11.1) 37.55**
13 SEPS
Total 13 SEPS 40.84 (7.62) 48.8 (6.85) 53 (6.11) 11.14** 42.5 (4.6) 47.18 (6.46) 51.91 (4.55) 11.01**
Neutral context 20.96 (4.9) 26.56 (3.06) 28.06 (2.96) 14.93** 23.36 (3.15) 26.04 (2.55) 28.96 (1.85) 15.97**
Competitive
context
9 (2.34) 9.8 (2.27) 11.2 (1.4) 4.26* 8 (1.51) 8.65 (2.37) 10.38 (1.38) 6.41*
Cooperative
context
10.9 (2.37) 12.8 (2.48) 13.73 (2.22) 5.6* 11.2 (2.22) 11.08 (2.32) 12.75 (2.41) 1.63
SER
Emotional
expressions
18.46 (6.66) 24 .69 (8.1) 19.36 (11.78) 1.75 10.67 (8.98 ) 23 (10.31) 25.62 (15.5 ) 6.42*
Behaviour
towards social
rules
120.15 (8.28) 126.7 (10.65) 132.47 (5.01) 2.96* 119.53 (13.13) 130.17 (6.69) 128.08 (13.47) 3.2*
Social behaviour 61.54 (9.64) 67.23 (9.01) 64.67 (8.77) 1.26 66.27 (12.44) 73.33 (22.57) 72.62 (7.54) .92
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing children, n number of children, M mean, SD standard deviation, ToM theory of
mind-emotion, SEPS socio-emotional problem-solving, RES social resolution task, SER socio-emotional regulation
** p\ .001; * p\ .05
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Social Rules (s = .40, in neutral context; s = .35, in
competitive context; s = .48, in cooperative context); the
Social Behaviour (s = .42, in neutral context), by con-
trolling the DA. In the TD group, a partial significant
positive correlation ( p\ .05) was obtained between the 13
SEPS and the Behaviour towards Social Rules (s = .46, in
cooperative context).
Chi-Squares, calculated to estimate the association
between the SEPS (RES and 13 SEPS) and the adaptation
of expressed emotions (joy, sadness, frustration and anger)
in both groups, were not significant (Table 7).
Links Between SIP and SER by Subgroups
We made an agglomerative hierarchical analysis by cluster
of cases, using the Ward method and Euclidian distance, in
order to identify subgroups of children that could present
distinct patterns of links between ToM and SER. The
Table 6 Spearman’s correlations between the categories of SER (in each context) and ToM, and SEPS scores
SER Emotional expressions Behaviour towards social rules Social behaviour
Contexts NC CompC CoopC AC NC CompC CoopC AC NC CompC CoopC AC
ID children (n = 45)
ToM-emotion tasks
Total ToM-emotion .01 .05 -.05 .1 .41* .16 .46** .35* .34* .18 .13 .26
Causes of emotions .02 .13 .05 .1 .36* .18 .51** .32* .32* .13 .17 .27
Consequences of emotions .01 .01 -.17 .07 .23 .08 .23 .21 .18 .11 .13 .12
SEPS
RES -.21 .12 -.13 -.05 .58** .27 .47** .49** .42* .01 .03 .15
13 SEPS -.21 .04 .05 -.06 .51** .32* .54** .54** .35* .12 .2 .31*
TD children (n = 45)
ToM-emotion tasks
Total ToM-emotion .37* .25 .07 .29 .43* .48** .49** .58** .04 .08 .26 .21
Causes of emotions .16 .08 -.09 .11 .06 .26 .28 .57** -.12 .01 .40* .21
Consequences of emotions .41* .33* .18 .37* .48** .44* .46* .57** .14 .11 .16 .17
SEPS
RES .23 .45* .27 .38* .54** .36* .26 .44* .22 .07 .05 .1113 SEPS .08 .26 .21 .23 .52** .26 .45* .51** .06 .26 .34* .35*
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing children, n number of children, NC neutral context, CompC competitive context,
CoopC cooperative context, AC all contexts, ToM theory of mind-emotion, SEPS socio-emotional problem-solving, RES social resolution task,
SER socio-emotional regulation
** p\ .001 * p\ .05
Table 7 Chi-Squares values between total ToM task, RES, 13 SEPS and the adaptation of expressed emotions in ID and TD groups
ID group (n = 45) TD group (n = 45)
A NA v2 A NA v
2
Low ToM (Mdn\8) 11 7 14 4High ToM (Mdn[8) 20 7 19 8
.84 .3
Low RES (Mdn\ 51) 11 9 18 6
High RES (Mdn[51) 20 5 14 5
3.2 .01
Low 13 SEPS (Mdn\49) 13 7 17 4
High 13 SEPS (Mdn[ 49) 16 5 10 7
.62 2.23
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing children, n number of children, ToM theory of mind-emotion, RES social
resolution task, SEPS socio-emotional problem-solving, A emotional expressions adapted, NA emotional expressions not adapted (concerns all
emotions not adapted during all the duration of game—in three contexts), Mdn median, v2 Chi-square test
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Table 8 presents the mean scores and standard deviation of
DA, ToM and SER for every subgroup in ID and TDgroups. In the ID group, three clusters were distinguished:
(1) ‘‘high ToM and high SER in each category’’; (2)
‘‘moderate ToM and low Emotional Expressions, moderate
Behaviour towards Social Rules and Social Behaviour ’’;
and (3) ‘‘low ToM and low Behaviour towards Social
Rules, moderate Emotional Expressions and Social
Behaviour ’’. In the TD group, three clusters were identi-
fied: (1) ‘‘high ToM and high SER’’; (2) ‘‘high ToM and
low Emotional Expressions, high Behaviour towards Social
Rules and Social Behaviour ’’; and (3) ‘‘low ToM and low
Emotional Expressions and Behaviour towards Social
Rules, moderate Social Behaviour ’’. In both groups, each
subgroup presented a distinct mean DA.
We applied similar case cluster analysis in order to
identify subgroups of children that could present distinct
patterns of links between RES and SER. Table 9 shows the
mean scores and standard deviation of DA, RES and SER
for every subgroup in the ID and TD groups. In the ID
group, two clusters were distinguished: (1) ‘‘low RES and
low SER’’ and (2) ‘‘high RES and high SER’’. Similarly, in
the TD group, two clusters were identified: (1) ‘‘low RES
and low SER’’ and (2) ‘‘high RES and high SER’’. In both
groups, each subgroup presented a distinct mean DA.Finally, ‘‘Appendix 3’’ presents a clinical vignette of the
profile of SIP and SER in an ID child who was included in
subgroup 2 in the results of both the cluster case analyses
presented previously (Tables 8, 9). It illustrates an indi-
vidual dynamic between these processes.
Discussion
Thepreliminary resultsshowed the abilities in SIP, including
ToM and SEPS, and abilities in SER did not differ between
DA-matched ID and TD children, supporting the hypothesis
of developmental delay of these processes in ID children (as
also observed by Thirion-Marissiaux and Nader-Grosbois
2008b, c, about their ToM-emotion); except a specific deficit
for the Social Behaviour of SER in ID group, supporting the
hypothesis of difference.
Concerning the impact of DA, in both groups, several
behavioural categories of SER and the SIP varied
depending on their DA. When the children’s DA increased,
all these socio-emotional skills improved in symbolic
Table 8 Mean scores and standard deviation of DA, ToM tasks and SER for every subgroup in ID and TD groups
ID TD
M (SD) M (SD)
Clusters Subgroup 1
(n = 24)
Subgroup 2
(n = 12)
Subgroup 3
(n = 4)
Subgroup 1
(n = 14)
Subgroup 2
(n = 16)
Subgroup 3
(n = 8)
DA 58.47 (10.6) 56.5 (12.5) 48.19 (9.57) 60 (11.25) 57.41 (16.36) 44.4 (4.11)
ToM 8.48 (2.41) 7.7 (2.07) 5.25 (1.55) 8.57 (2.64) 8.5 (2.18) 5.5 (2.1)
SER
Emotional expressions 25.21 (7.8) 10.67 (4.12) 24.75 (4.57) 28 (5.21) 12.75 (5.7) 8 (5.53)
Behavior towards
to social rules
132 (3.7) 126.5 (7.26) 93.25 (13.22) 129.14 (6.66) 132.56 (2.2) 109.5 (9.45)
Social behavior 68.3 (8.41) 58.17 (3.18) 63.25 (14.9) 75.93 (11.63) 66.75 (8.5) 61.38 (10.44)
ID children with intellectual disability, TD typically developing children, M means scores, SD standard deviation, n number of children, D A
developmental age, ToM theory of mind, SER socio-emotional regulation
Table 9 Mean scores and
standard deviation of DA, RES
and SER for every subgroup in
ID and TD groups
ID children with intellectual
disability, TD typically
developing children, M means
scores, SD standard deviation,
n number of children, DA
developmental age, RES social
resolution task, SER socio-
emotional regulation
ID group
M (SD)
TD group
M (SD)
Clusters Subgroup 1(n = 17)
Subgroup 2(n = 23)
Subgroup 1(n = 25)
Subgroup 2(n = 13)
DA 49.22 (9.14) 62.48 (9.26) 47.23 (6.85) 70.63 (8.5)
RES 34.24 (7.24) 71.3 (11.04) 38.56 (9.58) 69.38 (8.4)
SER
Emotional expressions 1 8.47 (6.9) 22.52 (10.64) 15.32 (10.77) 24.92 (15.99)
Behavior toward to
social rules
120.24 (16.75) 131.13 (6.52) 123.24 (11.88) 129.69 (13.58)
Social behavior 62.18 (8.49) 66.7 (9.26) 66.12 (12.42) 73.15 (6.98)
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period of development as showed by other studies, notably
of the ToM, (Kasari and Sigman 1996; Thirion-Marissiaux
and Nader-Grosbois 2008b); of the SER (Baurain and
Nader-Grosbois 2012) in TD and ID groups.
Concerning the impact of CA on abilities in SIP, it
appeared in the TD group (as suggested by Nader-Grosbois
2011b). In the ID group, except only a very limited impact
on their understanding of consequences of emotions, theirCA had no impact on total ToM-emotions, the under-
standing of causes of emotions, abilities in SEPS and SER.
These results tallied overall with the observations made by
other authors underlining no impact of the length of life
experience on ID children’s skills in ToM-emotions and
ToM-beliefs (Garitte 2003; Thirion-Marissiaux and Nader-
Grosbois 2008b).
Our main objective was to test the link between SIP,
including ToM and SEPS (RES and 13 SEPS), and SER in
ID and TD groups and to examine between-groups simi-
larities versus differences in relational structural patterns
between these abilities, in order to test delay or differencestructural hypotheses.
This study supported the hypothesis of partial
‘‘bi-directional’’ links: some specific abilities in SIP and
some categories of socio-emotional behaviour in SER
(particularly Behaviour towards Social Rules) appeared as
interrelated skills.
In addition, although some similarities between groups
in these specific relational patterns supporting similar
structural patterns postulated in the ‘‘delay hypothesis’’ in
ID group, there were also some dissimilar structural pat-
terns postulated in the ‘‘difference hypothesis’’ in ID group,
in comparison with TD group, matched on their DA. In
other words, the links between several abilities of the SIP
and of the SER varied in intensity depending on the group
and sometimes, there are significant in one group and not in
the other.
More specifically, in both groups, the results of correla-
tional analyses showed that when their ToM improved, their
Behaviour towards Social Rules of the SER increased, and
inversely. The ID and TD children who better understand
causes or consequences of emotions, listen and follow the
instructions given by the adult, are patient for waiting their
turn and moderate their externalized behaviour, and vice
versa. These similar relational patterns in both groups
(matched on the DA) supporting the similar structure in the
delay hypothesis, could be explained by similar progression
of their skills in ToM (as reported by Thirion-Marissiaux and
Nader-Grosbois 2008a, b, c) and in Behaviour towards
Social Rules of the SER (as emphasized by Baurain and
Nader-Grosbois 2012). In addition, only in TD children, the
understanding of consequences of emotions and the Emo-
tional Expressions of the SER were positively linked; it
emphasized a structural difference between groups.
Significant correlational patterns between abilities in
ToM (understanding of causes or of consequences) and
specific categories of SER (usually Behaviour towards
Social Rules) varied according to the type of contexts
(cooperative, competitive with peers, neutral with an adult)
in which children of both groups interact. In both groups,
their ToM abilities were positively linked with this cate-
gory of SER displayed particularly in neutral and cooper-ative context (and more rarely in competitive contexts).
Moreover, their understanding of causes of emotions was
positively linked with their Social Behaviour (in neutral
context in ID group, in cooperative context in TD group).
Dissimilarity appeared only in ID group: their ToM was
positively linked with their Social Behaviour in neutral
context; and only in TD group, their ToM and particularly
their understanding of consequences of emotions were
positively linked to their Emotional Expressions in neutral
context or in competitive context).
However, when we controlled the DA, variations
between both groups were more observed; supporting the‘‘difference structure hypothesis’’ in ID group. Indeed, in
ID children, their understanding of causes of emotions and
the Behaviour towards Social Rules were positively linked.
And in TD children their ToM (except their understanding
of causes of emotions) and the Behaviour towards Social
Rules were positively linked. By controlling the DA, our
results also highlighted no significant link between ToM
and two processes of SER, Social Behaviour and Emo-
tional Expressions. That partially tallies with the results of
Lindsey and Colwell (2003), not observing the connection
between TD children’s emotion understanding (including
recognition of facial expressions and emotion situation
knowledge) and their ER (assessed by the mothers who
completed a questionnaire). These results lead us to inter-
pret them as partial ‘‘bi-directional’’ links between the
ToM and the Behaviour towards Social Rules. Neverthe-
less, only in TD group, their understanding of causes of
emotions and the Social Behaviour (in cooperative context,
with peers) were positively linked. The TD children who
better understood the causes of emotions, displayed fre-
quently social behaviours while playing (such as social
extravert, empathic, attentive behaviours towards the
partner) and behaviours towards the task (perseverance and
self-control), and inversely. Other studies reported positive
links between the emotion understanding and social
behaviour in TD preschoolers: those who understand
emotions are better equipped to behave empathically
(Hughes and Leekam 2004) or prosocially and to engage
themselves in sustained cooperative play with peers
(Hubbard and Cole 1994). However, this link was not
significant in the ID children in this study.
A small number of positive correlations were significant
between abilities in RES and categories of SER considered
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Appendix 1
See Table 10.
Table 10 Coding grid of socio-emotional regulation by sequences
Interactive game/Dyad: child–adult
Socio-emotional regulation V NV
S1 S2 S3 S1 S2 S3
Category 1: Emotional expressions felt by the child while playing and adaptation of the emotion
Emotional expressions
The child expresses joy
The child expresses sadness
The child expresses frustration/disappointment
The child expresses anger
The child expresses fear
The child expresses anxiety
Emotional expressions adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘joy’’) is adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘sadness’’) is adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘frustration’’) is adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘anger’’) is adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘fear’’) is adapted to created situations
The emotion expressed (‘‘anxiety’’) is adapted to created situations
Category 2: The child’s behaviour towards social rules
The child listens to the instructions
The child follows the instructions
The child is patient (he/she waits his turn)
The child displays listening behaviour (in general)
The child moderates his or her externalized behaviour
Category 3: The child’s social behaviour while playingPro social behaviour
The child displays socio-extravert behaviour (socio-communicative behaviour, he or she participates in the
interaction)
The child displays empathy behaviour
The child displays attentive behaviour
Behaviour towards the task
The child perseveres to reach his or her goals (he or she maintains his or her motivation, self-effort)
The child controls difficulty (self-control)
Category 4: Awareness and evocation of emotion at the end of game
The child is aware of having felt joy and evokes it
The child is aware of having felt sadness and evokes it
The child is aware of having felt anger and evokes itThe child is aware of having felt fear and evokes it
?: very frequent scored 3; /: moderately frequent scored 2; -: infrequent scored 1, 0: non-existent scored 0; V verbal, NV non-verbal, S
sequences (S1, sequence 1 = socio-emotional problem-solving 1, 2, 3; S2, sequence 2 = socio-emotional problem-solving 4, 5, 6; S3, sequence
3 = socio-emotional problem-solving 7, 8, 9)
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Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Clinical Vignette: The Case of Jessica
Jessica is 7 years and 7 months old and comes from a
French-speaking Belgian special school. The aetiology of
her intellectual disabilities corresponds to non-specific
retardation due to environmental under-stimulation (See
Table 11).Jessica presents a mild intellectual disability, as indicated
by levels of verbal and non-verbal intellectual efficiency.1
Although her verbal and non-verbal developmental age are
nearly the same, Jessica presents a lower level of verbal
intellectual efficiency than of non-verbal intellectual effi-
ciency. Moreover, her cognitive profile is heterogeneous in
terms of developmental age obtained in distinct scales. Her
strengths correspond to abilities in vocabulary and in clas-
sification of pictures, while her weaknesses are situated
particularly in abilities in ‘‘practical adaptation’’, because
she has difficulties in mobilizing her reasoning and logical
thinking (See Table 12).In terms of the components of social information pro-
cessing, Jessica displays very good performances in ToM
and in social problem-solving (in RES and in 13 SEPS).
More specifically, with regard to her abilities in ToM,
Jessica understands the consequences of emotions better
than the causes of emotions: in other words, she finds it
easier to understand well-adjusted behaviour according to
the emotion felt by the character in the stories than the type
of emotions that the character might feel according to the
Scoring of the coding grid of socio-emotional regulation by sequences
Observation of 22 items
Code Scores
? Very frequent 3
/ Moderately frequent 2
– Infrequent 1
0 Non-existent 0
Minimum and maximum scores in the coding grid of socio-emotional regulation by sequences
Contexts of interactive game
Dyads Child–adult Child–child Child–child Total cross-
cat. %Contexts Neutral Competitive Cooperative
Socio-emotional regulation Minimum
score
Maximum
score
Minimum
score
Maximum
score
Minimum
score
Maximum
score
Category 1
Emotional expressions/adaptation 0 216 0 216 0 216 648
Category 2
Child’s behaviour towards social rules 0 90 0 90 0 90 270
Category 3
Child’s social behaviour 0 90 0 90 0 90 270
Total cross-contexts 396 396 396
Total coding grid 1188
%
Cross-cat. cross-categories
1 These levels of intellectual efficiency express the position of the
subject considered in the distribution of the children of the same age,
returned by convention to an average = 100 and in a standard
deviation = 1500 (Perron-Borelli 1996, p. 88).
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situation. Her difficulties particularly concern the causes of
fear and of anger. With regard to her performances in
social problem-solving in RES, Jessica finds it easier to
identify and justify appropriate social behaviours than
inappropriate social behaviours in illustrated social
situations.
In terms of her skills in socio-emotional regulation,
Jessica displays very frequent behaviours which takeaccount of social rules, whatever the context (she ‘‘listens/
follows to the instructions’’; ‘‘is patient’’; ‘‘displays lis-
tening behaviour’’; and ‘‘moderates her externalized
behaviour’’). However, she does not express her emotions
very much (specifically in competitive neutral contexts)
and she displays moderately social behaviours whatever
the context (displaying ‘‘some socio-extravert behaviour’’,
‘‘empathy behaviour’’ and ‘‘attentive behaviour’’, ‘‘perse-
vering to reach her goals’’ and ‘‘controlling difficulty’’).
Jessica expresses her emotions and social behaviour in non-
verbal ways; this could be because her non-verbal skills in
cognitive development are better than her verbal skills.We suggest that Jessica has good abilities in social
information processing, which particularly helps her to
behave in accordance with social rules (such as following
or listening to instructions) during interactions with adults
and peers, but does not help her to express her emotions
according to the social climate. Either Jessica has diffi-
culties in expressing her emotions, or she is developing the
ability to dissimulate her emotions. This could be explored
in her daily life.
This profile shows that a child with intellectual disability
who is able to process social information may present
variability in socio-emotional regulation (in emotional
expression, social behaviour and behaviour with respect to
social rules), and emphasizes the clinical interest of
assessing these processes in order to define individualized
intervention objectives.
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Instruments Jessica’
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Cooperative context 45
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