The role of social cognition and prosocial behaviour in relation to the socio-emotional functioning of primary aged children with specific language impairment

•Significant group differences were found for all social cognition tasks.•The SLI group was rated significantly higher by teachers on all the SDQ subscales.•Social cognition and prosocial behaviour predicted behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

Background and aimsChildren with language impairments often experience difficulties with their socio-emotional functioning and poorly developed prosocial behaviour. However, the nature of the association between language impairment and difficulties with socio-emotional functioning remains unclear. The social cognition skills of a group of primary-aged children (6–11 years old) with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) were examined in relation to their teachers’ ratings of socio-emotional functioning.SampleForty-two children with SLI were individually matched with 42 children for chronological age and non-verbal cognitive ability, and 42 children for receptive language ability. The children all attended mainstream primary schools or one Language Unit.MethodsFour aspects of social cognition were directly assessed: emotion identification, emotion labelling, inferring the causes of emotions, and knowledge of conflict resolution strategies. The children's socio-emotional functioning was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), a standardised measure, completed by their teachers. Associations between children's performance on tasks of social cognition and children's socio-emotional functioning were explored.ResultsSignificant group differences were found for all social cognition tasks. The SLI group was rated to experience significantly more problems with socio-emotional functioning by their teachers than both control groups, indicating problems with all aspects of socio-emotional functioning. Social cognition and prosocial behaviour, but not language ability, predicted teacher-rated behavioural, emotional and social difficulties for the SLI group.ConclusionThe results challenge current understanding of socio-emotional functioning in children with SLI by pointing to the crucial role of social cognition and prosocial behaviour. Factors other than expressive and receptive language play a role in the socio-emotional functioning of children with SLI.