The Effects of Anxiety on Social Competence and Behavioural Adjustment in Preschoolers With Developmental Language Disorder

This study compared the social competence and emotional-behavioural adjustment of children aged 36-72 months with developmental language disorder (DLD) with those of typically developing peers (TD) and examined the relationship between anxiety disorders and these domains in the DLD group. The sample consisted of 229 children (92 DLD, 137 TD). Data were collected using the Social Competence and Behaviour Evaluation Scale-30 and the Preschool Anxiety Scale. Children with DLD exhibited lower social competence and higher anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression scores than their TD peers. In the DLD group, generalized anxiety and specific fears were negatively associated with social competence and positively associated with anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression. Social anxiety was negatively associated with social competence and positively associated with anxiety-withdrawal. Separation anxiety was positively associated with anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression. Regression analyses showed that social anxiety predicted anxiety-withdrawal, and generalized anxiety predicted anger-aggression. Moderation analysis determined that language development levels moderated the relationship between generalized anxiety and anger-aggression in children with DLD, such that generalized anxiety positively predicted anger-aggression, but this effect became weaker as language development levels increased. Children with DLD exhibit social-emotional and behavioural adjustment difficulties, with which anxiety symptoms are significantly associated. Intervention programs should consider anxiety symptoms when supporting the development of social and behavioural skills in children with DLD.