Thaindian News

Washington, January 21 (ANI): Scientists have identified three key factors in a child’s behaviour that can lead to social rejection.

According to experts at Rush University Medical Center, a child who experiences social rejection is more likely to suffer from academic failure, drop out of school, experience depression or anxiety, and experiment with drugs.

Principal investigator Dr. Clark McKown, associate executive director and research director at the Rush Neurobehavioral Center, said: “Children’s ability to develop positive peer relationships is critical to their well-being. Compared to children who are accepted by their peers, socially rejected children are at substantially elevated risk for later adjustment troubles.”

Researchers observed that some children found it hard to pick up non-verbal or social cues in social interaction.

McKown explained: “They simply don’t notice the way someone’s shoulders slump with disappointment, or hear the change in someone’s voice when they are excited, or take in whether a person’s face shows anger or sadness.”

Boffins also found that failing to recognise the meaning and respond appropriately to the cues was another factor followed by the ability to reason about social problems.

McKown said: “Some children may notice social cues and understand what is happening, but are unable to do the social problem solving to behave appropriately.”

The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. (ANI)