International Journal of Developmental Science xx (20xx) x–xx DOI 10.3233/DEV-1312113 IOS Press
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Internalising Problems and the Effects of Peer Ostracism on Children’s Primary Needs
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David J. Hawesa,∗ , Lisa Zadroa , Rose Iannuzzellia , Alexandra Godwina , Georgia MacNevina , Mark R. Daddsb , Brendan Griffithsa and Rick Richardsonb
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Keywords Ostracism, children, internalising problems, primary needs, Cyberball
Extensive research in adults has shown that the aversive experience of ostracism threatens four ‘primary human needs’: belongingness, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence (see Williams, 2007). More recently, ostracism has been shown to impact on the same primary needs in children (e.g., Abrams et al., 2011; Hawes et al., 2012). Importantly, these needs overlap markedly with domains that are commonly disturbed in individuals with internalising problems such as anxiety and depression. Such individuals, for example, often exhibit an external locus of control, low self-esteem, and negative self-schemas associated with a sense of worthlessness and expectations of social rejection (Brewin, 1996). Whereas anxiety and depression may arise from a range of risk factors, it is thought that the impact of chronic ostracism on these domains may represent one causal pathway (Williams, 2007). However we are aware of no child research to date that
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has examined the relation between ostracism and internalising problems, nor how this association may vary under different social conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the association between internalising problems and primary needs in childhood, and to test whether this association is moderated by inclusionary status. Based on findings that adults with social anxiety exhibit a heightened threat to primary needs (Oaten, Jones, Williams, & Zadro, 2008; Zadro, Boland, & Richardson, 2006), we hypothesised first that children with internalising problems would exhibit greater threat to primary needs than healthy children. Existing literature on psychopathology and social processes provides indirect support for two competing processes through which experiences of ostracism may moderate the association between internalising problems and threat to primary needs. First, if the baseline threat to primary needs maintained by children with internalising problems is consistently greater than that of healthy children – as they appear to be in adults (Oaten et al., 2008; Zadro et al., 2006) – it is possible
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Abstract The aim of this study was to examine associations between ostracism, internalising problems, and threat to primary needs (belonging, control, selfesteem, meaningful existence) in children (N = 165, M age = 9 years). Ostracism was simulated experimentally using the Cyberball paradigm—a computer-based ball-throwing game—and threats to primary needs were indexed using a modified version of the primary needs questionnaire (PNQ-C; Hawes et al., 2012). Overall, children with greater internalising problems reported greater need-threat following Cyberball. Importantly however, in the domain of ‘belonging’, the relationship between internalising problems and need-threat was moderated by inclusionary status. Specifically, children with high levels of internalising problems exhibited greater need-threat than children low in internalising problems when included by peers; yet following ostracism, children with high internalising problems were no longer distinguishable from those with low internalising problems in terms of threat to belonging.
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of Psychology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
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∗ Address
for correspondence David Hawes, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. E-mail:
[email protected].
ISSN 2192-001X/13/$27.50 © 2013 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved
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Method
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Participants and Design
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Materials & Procedure
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Internalising Problems
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Participants reported on the Emotional Symptoms subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), which: a) indexes core features of childhood anxiety and depression; and b) has shown to be a valid measure of such internalising problems in Australian children (Hawes & Dadds, 2004). The internal consistency of the subscale was good (␣ = 0.64) and the distribution of scores was representative of Australian population norms for the subscale
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Ostracism was induced via Cyberball (Williams et al., 2000), a triadic Internet ball-toss game whereby participants are included (thrown the ball one third of the time) or ostracized (thrown the ball once at the start of the game then never again) by two other players (who are actually computer generated). Cyberball was modified for the child sample (i.e., shortened to 30 trials and the other ‘players’ were represented by photos of children matched for age and sex to the participant; see Hawes et al., 2012). Threat to Primary Needs
Children’s primary need-threat was assessed with a modified version of the adult primary needs questionnaire (PNQ-C) that has been used in previous research examining ostracism with children of this age group (i.e. 8–12 years; for reliability information about the scale, see Hawes et al., 2012). In this 8-item scale, each of the four primary needs are represented by two items: belonging (I felt unwanted and I felt like I was part of the group; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.764), meaningful existence (I felt invisible and I felt like no-one would notice if I left the game; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.646), self-esteem (I felt good about myself and I felt liked; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.768) and control (I felt powerful and I felt in charge; Cronbach’s alpha = 0.534). Each item was rated from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The items were summed to create a total score for each primary need, with a lower score signifying greater need-threat. Participants reported on these items immediately following Cyberball.
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One hundred and sixty five children between the ages of 7 and 12 years (52% female; M age = 9 years, 10 months; SD = 1.07), recruited from seven Australian Catholic, middleclass primary schools were randomly assigned to either an inclusion or ostracism condition. This random assignment was conducted by the experimenter generating a list of alternating experimental conditions which were then assigned, in order, prior to the participants’ entry into the laboratory space.
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(approximately 20% of our sample scoring above the cut-off corresponding to the 80th percentile for scores in Australian youth; Mellor, 2005).
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that the difference between the primary needs of internalising and healthy children may become less apparent following experiences of ostracism, when the primary needs of healthy children are also threatened. Based on this, the second hypothesis was that the association between internalising problems and primary needs would be stronger amongst children who are included rather than ostracized. Alternatively, there is much evidence to suggest that psychopathology aggravates responses to challenging social situations among both children and adults (Coyne & Downey, 1991; Keltner & Kring, 1998). It is therefore reasonable to predict that when ostracized, children with internalising problems will experience a greater threat to their primary needs than healthy children, with the primary needs of children with internalising problems and healthy/internalising children resembling each other more closely under inclusive social conditions. As such, the third hypothesis was that the association between internalising problems and primary needs would be stronger among children who are ostracized rather than included.
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Results Participants assigned to the inclusion versus ostracism conditions of Cyberball did not significantly differ from each other in terms of age, sex, or level of internalising problems (all t-tests n.s.). Age correlated negatively with levels of internalising problems (r = −0.20, p < 0.01), whereas boys and girls did not differ in terms of age or level of internalising problems. Predictors of children’s primary need-threat were tested across four linear regression models – one for each primary International Journal of Developmental Science 1/2013, 1–5
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D.J. Hawes et al. / Ostracism and Internalising Problems Table 1 Regression Coefficients and Standard Errors (in Parentheses) for the Four Models (Belonging, Self-Esteem, Control, Meaningful Existence) Predictor variable
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Age Sex Inclusionary status Internalising problems Inclusionary status x Internalising Problems
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Control
−0.21 (1.27)** −0.04 (0.26) −0.52 (0.27)** −0.25 (0.06)** −0.41 (0.12)*
−0.25 (1.37)** 0.00 (0.29) −0.49 (0.29)** −0.13 (0.07)* –
−0.23 (0.13)* 0.03 (0.28) −0.27 (0.27)** −0.00 (0.06) –
Note: All parameter estimates are standardized betas. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. 14.00
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Figure 1. Interaction between internalising problems and inclusionary status in predicting belongingness. Regression lines are plotted for internalising problems at low (−1 SD), medium (mean), and high (+1 SD) levels, controlling for child age and sex. Lower scores reflect greater threat to belonging.
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need (which was the dependent variable in each model). In each model, independent variables (IV) of age, sex, internalising problems and Cyberball condition (included/ostracized) were introduced in Block 1. The two-way interaction term (internalising problems × Cyberball condition) was then entered in Block 2 of each model. As reported in Table 1, inclusionary status was associated with a main effect on each of the primary needs, with ostracised children reporting significantly greater need-threat. At the same time, those with higher levels of internalising problems reported significantly greater threat to all primary needs, except for ‘control’. The two-way interaction term was significant only for belonging, such that the association between internalising problems and threat to belongingness was found to significantly differ as a function of Cyberball condition (see Fig. 1). Specifically, increased levels of internalising problems were associated with lower levels of belonging (i.e. greater threats to belongingness) among children following inclusion (B = −0.37, SE = 0.08, p < 0.01), but not among children following ostracism (B = −0.11, SE = 0.09, p = 0.22).
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Consistent with previous research (e.g., Hawes et al., 2012), children exposed to ostracism reported significantly greater threat to primary needs than included children. Internalising problems were also found to predict need-threat, except control, irrespective of whether participants were included or ostracized, supporting the first hypothesis. Consistent with adult findings (Oaten et al., 2008; Zadro et al., 2006), this suggests that the primary needs of children with internalising problems are generally maintained at lower, or more threatened, levels than those of healthy children. There was also support for the second hypothesis— that the association between internalising problems and primary needs would be stronger among children who are included rather than ostracized. The findings did not support, however, the third hypothesis that the primary needs of children with internalising problems would diverge more from healthy children in social contexts of ostracism. Given that psychopathology is often found to aggravate responses to challenging social situations (Coyne & Downey, 1991; Keltner & Kring, 1998), this may seem counterintuitive. However, there is compelling evidence that ostracism is indeed a unique form of social conflict, the impact of which is more severe than that of verbal assault (Zadro, Williams, & Richardson, 2005). The current findings suggest that ostracism is so aversive that the presence of internalising problems may not aggravate threatened feelings of belongingness over and above the act of being excluded and ignored. This is in line with ostracism theory which states that the immediate pain of ostracism is unmitigated by situational or individual difference factors (Williams, 2007; 2009). Internalising problems were associated with a threat to belonging, but only in the social inclusion condition. The finding that no other primary need was threatened in these children is noteworthy, given previous research to suggest that a lack of belongingness/connectedness may be more closely related to internalising in adults than social support or self-esteem (Hagerty & Williams,
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−0.10 (0.15) −0.10 (0.32) −0.53 (0.32)** −0.23 (0.07)** –
Discussion
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Abrams, D., Weick, M., Thomas, D., Colbe, H., & Franklin, K. M. (2011). On-line ostracism affects children differently from adolescents and adults. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 29, 110-123. Brewin, C. R. (1996). Theoretical foundations of cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depression. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 33-57. Coyne, J. C., & Downey, G. (1991). Social factors and psychopathology: Stress, social support, and coping processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 401-425. Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581-586. Hagerty, B., & Williams, R. (1999). The effects of sense of belonging, social support, conflict, and loneliness on depression. Nursing Research, 48, 215-219. Hawes, D. J., Zadro, L., Fink, E., Richardson, R., O’Moore, K., Griffiths, B., Dadds, M. R., & Williams, K. D. (2012). The effects of peer ostracism on children’s cognitive processes. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9, 599-613. Hawes, D. J., & Dadds, M. R. (2004). Australian data and psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 644-651. Keltner, D., & Kring, A. M. (1998). Emotion, social function, and psychopathology. Review of General Psychology, 2, 320-342. Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (1998). The relationship between social connectedness and anxiety, self- esteem, and social identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 338-345. Mellor, D. (2005). Normative data for the strengths and difficulties questionnaire in Australia. Australian Psychologist, 40, 215-222. Oaten, M., Jones, A., Williams, K. D., & Zadro, L. (2008). The effects of ostracism on self- regulation in the socially anxious. Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology, 27, 471-504. Shochet, I. M., Dadds, M. R., Ham, D., & Montague, R. (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 170179. Williams, K. D. (2007). Ostracism. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 425-452. Williams, K. D. (2009). Ostracism: A temporal need-threat model. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 41, (pp. 279-314). NY: Academic Press. Williams, K. D., Cheung, C. K. T., & Choi, W. (2000). Cyberostracism: Effects of being ignored over the internet. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 748-762. Zadro, L., Boland, C., & Richardson, R. (2006). How long does it last? The persistence of the effects of ostracism in the socially anxious. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 692-697. Zadro, L., Williams, K. D., & Richardson, R. (2005). Riding the “O” train: Comparing the effects of ostracism and verbal dispute on targets and sources. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 8, 125-143.
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actions between childhood ostracism and internalising problems.
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1999; Lee & Robbins, 1998), and predicts the development of internalising problems in children and adolescents (Shochet et al., 2006). We would therefore propose an interpretation of the results whereby the cognitions elicited by ostracism in healthy children include those that are something of a marker for internalising problems. As such, it seems possible that this cognitive response may function as a mechanism through which experiences of ostracism may contribute to the development of internalising problems in childhood. Future research is needed to test this hypothesis. These findings suggest important implications for social and emotional development across middle childhood. In particular, they show that ostracism in this period is capable of eliciting cognitions that are characteristic of internalising problems. As such, our findings appear consistent with adult literature to suggest that ostracism is a risk factor for the development of anxiety and depression (Williams, 2007). Additionally, it is reasonable to assume that these cognitions may confer this risk through transactional dynamics wherein the low sense of belongingness experienced by an ostracised child leads that child to avoid social contexts that may provide critical opportunities to develop adaptive social and emotional capabilities. The current findings should be interpreted within the context of a number of study limitations. First, internalising problems were measured using youth self-report only. Future research should incorporate reports of such symptoms from multiple informants, such as parents and teachers, as well as multiple methods (e.g., both checklists and diagnostic interviews). Second, the study did not differentiate between different forms of internalising problems (e.g., anxiety versus depression; specific anxiety disorders) which may potentially be differentially associated with the other variables examined here. The use of clinic-referred samples in future research may better allow for tests related to such subgroups of children. Finally, as the design of the current study was cross-sectional only, it was not possible for us to examine how experiences of ostracism, internalising problems, and primary needs may interact or influence one another over time. In conclusion, we found that following experiences of ostracism, the primary needs of healthy children more closely resemble those of children with internalising problems, albeit specifically with respect to threat to belongingness. The current findings add to growing evidence regarding the potential for peer ostracism to disrupt child development, and point to the importance of belongingness in understanding inter-
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David J. Hawes is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. His research focuses on developmental, family, and peer processes associated with the emergence and maintenance of childhood psychopathology, and the translation of these processes into intervention practices. Lisa Zadro is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Her research focuses on the nature and consequences (psychological, behavioural and physiological) of ostracism across the lifespan. Rose Iannuzzelli is an Applied Behavioural Therapist and Researcher in the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Her research interests include ostracism, attraction and interpersonal relations, and clinical areas such as early childhood Autism. Alexandra Godwin is a Researcher at the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Her research interests include: ostracism with an emphasis on the standardization of experimental paradigms implemented in social psychological research. Georgia MacNevin is a Researcher at the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Her research interests include: ostracism, interethnic conflict, and dehumanisation.
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Mark Dadds is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, and a Principal Research Fellow for the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia. He has conducted extensive research in areas including learning and psychopathology, anxiety and aggression, family processes and therapy, and early intervention and prevention in mental health. Brendan Griffiths was a Researcher at the School of Psychology, University of Sydney while conducting this research project and is currently a Senior Manager, People and Culture with Insurance Australia Group. His research interests are ostracism across the lifespan. Rick Richardson is a Professor in the School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales. His primary research interest in the area of behavioural neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on learning and memory in the developing rat. He is also interested in research on ostracism, particularly from the developmental and clinical perspectives.
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