Social Cognition Module: Understanding Its Effect on Children with Disruptive Behavior

Background: Disruptive behavior is widely recognized as one of the most prevalent and persistent childhood maladjustment issues. Children exhibiting such behaviors often show biases in social cognitive processes, particularly in social information processing. Research has indicated a strong link between social maladjustments and impaired or biased social cognition. Therefore, applying social cognitive theory as a framework for predicting aggressive behaviors in children is essential when designing and implementing interventions to manage aggression effectively. Methods: This study was an attempt to develop the Social Cognition Module (SCM) and to understand the effect of the SCM and Parent Management Training (PMT) among children with disruptive behaviors. A parallel two-arm-randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effect of (SCM and PMT) versus PMT alone in children with disruptive behavior. Two groups—with 35 children each and their mothers—were included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. They completed validated psychometric scales: Reading Mind in Eyes Test, Empathy Quotient Scale, and Child Behavior Checklist. This study allows for the comparison of new treatment with treatment as usual. The quantitative outcome measure was used to evaluate the changes in empathy, theory of mind, and disruptive behaviors in pre-post and follow-up periods of the intervention. Two groups repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used within and between the groups. Results: The results showed that both groups did show significant improvement in social cognition and reduction in disruptive behavior. There is an interaction effect in the theory of mind, empathy, and disruptive behavior, indicating that the experimental group outperformed the control group. While the control group showed some improvement, the experimental group demonstrated a significantly greater positive change. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of incorporating social cognition interventions when treating children with disruptive behaviors.