Volume 41, Number 3, 341-351, DOI: 10.1007/s10803-010-1060-5

Honing in on the Social Phenotype in Williams Syndrome Using Multiple Measures and Multiple Raters

Bonita P. Klein-Tasman, Kirsten T. Li-Barber and Erin T. Magargee

View Related Documents

Abstract

The behavioral phenotype of Williams syndrome (WS) is characterized by difficulties with establishment and maintenance of friendships despite high levels of interest in social interaction. Here, parents and teachers rated 84 children with WS ages 4–16 years using two commonly-used measures assessing aspects of social functioning: the Social Skills Rating System and the Social Responsiveness Scale. Mean prosocial functioning fell in the low average to average range, whereas social reciprocity was perceived to be an area of significant difficulty for many children. Concordance between parent and teacher ratings was high. Patterns of social functioning are discussed. Findings highlight the importance of parsing the construct of social skills to gain a nuanced understanding of the social phenotype in WS.

Keywords  Williams syndrome – Social functioning – SRS – SSRS

Fulltext Preview

Image of the first page of the fulltext document