Research Questions:
1. Do children with dyslexia have more social, emotional and behavioural
problems compared to their peers?
2. Do global self-esteem, academic performance, non-verbal cognitive
ability, classroom climate, school belonging, and social support predict
social, emotional and behavioural outcomes of children with dyslexia?
Method: Sequential explanatory mixed methods design consisting
of two cross-sectional phases: (1) quantitative surveys to all participants,
parents and teachers; (2) qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight
children with the highest and lowest anxiety/depression scores.
Analysis: 2x2 (Gender x Group) Multivariate Analyses of Variance
(MANOVAs); Multiple Regression; Path Analysis; Thematic Analysis.
3. What risk and protective factors differentiate the experiences of
children with better social-emotional outcomes from those with poorer
outcomes?
Sample:
99 Primary 3 children with dyslexia and 99 average-achieving peers from
13 primary schools in Singapore. 68% were males and 3% were females.
Participant mean age was 8 years 9 months old.
Qualitative Findings:
Children with better psychosocial outcomes described having more
friendships, more social support from parents, and better relationships
with teachers. They were more able to compartmentalise their reading
difficulty and recognise their strengths in other areas. These children
viewed their difficulty as being temporary rather than permanent. All eight
children interviewed lacked awareness about dyslexia.
Quantitative Findings:
(1) Children with dyslexia
self-reported significantly
higher levels of panic and
depression.
(2) Children with dyslexia
self-reported significantly lower
levels of self-concept in the
following areas.
(3) Parents and teachers of
children with dyslexia
reported significantly higher
levels of social, emotional
and behavioural difficulties.
(4) Lower academic performance predicted
higher panic levels.
Academic performance
β=-.36*
Panic
(5) Higher levels of social support and school
belonging predicts higher self-esteem, which in turn
predicts lower depression levels.
Social Support
School Belonging
Classroom climate
β=.22*
β=.23*
Self- β=‐.25*
Depression
Esteem
β=.07
*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001