Many studies in recent years have shown that adolescents with Learning Disabilities (LD) have more difficulties than typically developing adolescents in acquiring emotional independence from their family, in making friends and in forming peer networks. As consequence they experience higher levels of loneliness associated to the separation/individuation process than their typically developing peers. The present study aims to investigate the emotional autonomy from parents of adolescents with LD, the quality of their social relationships and their associations with loneliness/aloneness. The participants are 371 typically developing adolescents (TD-group) and 40 adolescents with Learning Difficulties (LD-group) aged between 11 and 19 years. The assessments administered to each participant were the Emotional Autonomy Scale (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986), the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (Marcoen, Goossens & Caes, 1987) and the Assessment of Interpersonal Relations (Bracken, 1993). The data showed that adolescents with LD display lower emotional autonomy than do their typically developing peers [F(1,47)= 4.72; p= .035; η2= .09] and that separation is associated with parent-related loneliness for both the groups [r(365) = .41, p < .05; r(39) = .39, p < .05] but for LD-group only to peer-related loneliness [r(39) = .39; p <.05] and to affinity to aloneness [r(39) = .61, p <.05]. In addition peer-related loneliness is related to adolescents’ social well-being [r(39) = .41; p <.05]. The findings could have important implications for the implementation of intervention programs focused on individual and family social and emotional competences.
Emotional autonomy, social relationships and loneliness/aloneness in adolescents with Learning Disabilities
Majorano, Marinella;
2015-01-01
Abstract
Many studies in recent years have shown that adolescents with Learning Disabilities (LD) have more difficulties than typically developing adolescents in acquiring emotional independence from their family, in making friends and in forming peer networks. As consequence they experience higher levels of loneliness associated to the separation/individuation process than their typically developing peers. The present study aims to investigate the emotional autonomy from parents of adolescents with LD, the quality of their social relationships and their associations with loneliness/aloneness. The participants are 371 typically developing adolescents (TD-group) and 40 adolescents with Learning Difficulties (LD-group) aged between 11 and 19 years. The assessments administered to each participant were the Emotional Autonomy Scale (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986), the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (Marcoen, Goossens & Caes, 1987) and the Assessment of Interpersonal Relations (Bracken, 1993). The data showed that adolescents with LD display lower emotional autonomy than do their typically developing peers [F(1,47)= 4.72; p= .035; η2= .09] and that separation is associated with parent-related loneliness for both the groups [r(365) = .41, p < .05; r(39) = .39, p < .05] but for LD-group only to peer-related loneliness [r(39) = .39; p <.05] and to affinity to aloneness [r(39) = .61, p <.05]. In addition peer-related loneliness is related to adolescents’ social well-being [r(39) = .41; p <.05]. The findings could have important implications for the implementation of intervention programs focused on individual and family social and emotional competences.
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