Mental health problems of deaf Dutch children as indicated by parents' responses to the child behavior checklist

Emotional/behavioral problems of 238 deaf Dutch children ages 4-18 years were studied. Parental reports indicated that 41% had emotional/behavioral problems, a rate nearly 2.6 times higher than the 16% reported by parents of a Dutch normative sample. Mental health problems seemed most prevalent in families with poor parent-child communication. Deaf children ages 12-18 showed more problems with anxiety and depression and more social problems than those ages 4-11. Deaf children with relatively low intelligence showed more social problems, thought problems, and attention problems than those with relatively high intelligence. The authors stress the need to get information on deaf children's mental health functioning not just from parents but from other informants such as teachers and the children themselves. An expansion assessment of deaf children, and of special services and treatments for deaf children and adolescents with emotional/behavioral problems, is recommended.     

The Influence of Rurality and Parental Affect on Kindergarten Children's Social and Behavioral Functioning

Research Findings: Children's early academic achievement is supported by positive social and behavioral skills, and difficulties with these skills frequently gives way to underachievement. Social and behavioral problems often arise as a product of parent–child interactional patterns and environmental influences. Few studies have examined the role of a salient aspect of children's environments, community locale, in the relationship between parenting practices and child outcomes. Using a large, nationally representative sample, we examined whether preschool parenting practices and children's social-behavioral skills in kindergarten were related to geographic setting (rural vs. city, suburban, and town). Results indicated that rural children experienced greater difficulties with parent-reported externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, rural parents displayed less emotional support than parents in other settings. Preschool parenting behaviors were associated with social skills and behavior problems in kindergarten, as reported by both parents and teachers. Parents' emotional supportiveness was found to account for the relationship between geographic setting and parent-reported children's social skills, such that rural parents who provided less emotional support had children with lower social skills in kindergarten. Practice or Policy: Findings of this research indicate that rural children may face particular risk for behavioral issues and highlight the need for increased behavioral supports in rural communities. Moreover, our results suggest that interventions designed to promote parents' support of children's emotions may have particular utility for rural families.     

Variables influencing teachers' decisions to refer children for school psychological assessment services

The present study examined the variables influencing a teacher's decision to refer children suspected of having developmental or behavioral problems. Results indicated that younger children were not referred at a disproportionate rate for school psychological services as compared to their older classmates as suggested by earlier research, height and weight acted as moderator variables with respect to teacher referral patterns, African American children were referred at a disproportionate rate for developmental handicap services than were Caucasian children, and males were referred more than females for behavioral problems. These findings are discussed in terms of attribution and expectancy theories. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Longitudinal research on the behavioral characteristics of children with learning disabilities

This paper summarizes a program of research on the behavioral characteristics of children with learning disabilities (LD) compared to average achievers. Longitudinal studies over a 3-year period beginning in the first and second grades showed that children with LD, as a heterogeneous group, displayed a persistent pattern of maladaptive classroom behavior that distinguished them from average achieving peers and that was associated with continued underachievement over time. Subsequently, children with LD in the longitudinal sample were clustered into seven different subtypes that represented attention problems, conduct and classroom management problems, withdrawn-dependent behavior, and normal behavior. Although no differences in achievement were found initially between behavioral subtypes, children in the attention and conduct problem subtypes had poorer academic outcomes 3 years later compared to those in the withdrawn subtype and those who had no significant behavior problems. The collective findings from this research are discussed in terms of the developmental relationship between learning disabilities, attention disorders, and social/emotional problems, and implications are drawn for a greater focus on behavioral interventions in special education and prevention efforts in the early grades.     

Vocabulary Development and Trajectories of Behavioral and Emotional Difficulties Via Academic Ability and Peer Problems

This study investigates associations between trajectories of children's vocabulary development and subsequent behavioral and emotional difficulties via two potential mediating mechanisms; literacy and peer problems. Nationally representative data from 4,983 Australian children were used to examine trajectories of receptive vocabulary (4–5, 6–7, and 8–9 years) and hyperactivity-inattention, conduct problems and emotional symptoms (8–9, 10–11, 12–13, 14–15 years), and literacy and peer problems (8–9 years). Lower growth in vocabulary was related to trajectories of hyperactivity-inattention, conduct problems, and emotional symptoms. Literacy was a key mediator explaining these associations. Results were consistent for children below the 50th percentile for vocabulary at 4–5 years compared to the full sample. These findings suggest that early literacy-based interventions may alleviate declining academic, emotional and behavioral functioning in adolescence.     

Developmental Links between Teacher-Child Closeness and Disobedience for Boys Placed in Special Education

The aim of this study was to examine developmental links between disobedience and teacher-child closeness in a sample of boys with psychiatric disorders (i.e., emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)) and special educational needs who are placed in special education. More specifically, this study examined whether developmental links were different between boys with EBD (n = 150) versus boys with ASD (n = 122). Developmental links between disobedience and teacher-child closeness were investigated by incorporating a multi-informant perspective using teacher, child, and peer ratings and analyzed using autoregressive cross-lagged models across three waves within one school year. Results showed that in general, developmental links between teacher-child closeness and disobedience were stronger for boys with EBD than for boys with ASD. Specifically, boys with EBD experiencing less teacher-child closeness showed more disobedience, which in turn negatively affected their relationship development according to teacher ratings. Surprisingly, for boys with ASD, higher levels of disobedience predicted higher levels of teacher-rated teacher-child closeness during the school year. Our results offer more insight into the differential impact of teacher-child closeness on the behavioral problems for children with EBD and ASD.     

Professional roles and responsibilities in meeting the needs of children with speech,language and communication needs: joint working between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists

There is a large population of children with speech, language and communication needs who have additional special educational needs (SEN). Whilst professional collaboration between education and health professionals is recommended to ensure an integrated delivery of statutory services for this population of children, formal frameworks should be developed for the exchange of information during identification and assessment of needs and planning of intervention strategies. In this study an audit was carried out to examine practical and conceptual issues which might arise in a piloted communication system between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. Whilst it was found that 62.8% of newly referred children with SEN had some history of co‐existing communication and education needs, it was shown that duplication of work exists and communication is onerous. It was also shown that schools were not fully informed about children’s needs. Joint commissioning of services is required to facilitate individual practitioners in collaborating to serve the needs of these children.     

Why do teachers refer pupils for special education? An analysis of referral records

Abstract

We studied the referral for special education records of children and youth to identify the problems for which referrers said pupils needed help. Coders examined 382 forms used by two school systems and recorded demographic information and referrers' statements describing individual pupils' difficulties. We found that (a) 69% of the referrals were for boys, (b) regular classroom teachers alone initiated 74% of the referrals and contributed to another 5%, and (c) over two‐thirds of students referred were in earlier grade levels, particularly kindergarten (16%), first (26%), second (15%), or third grade (11%). Problems most likely to be described on referral forms were general academic problems (found on 35% of referrals), reading problems (31%), and attention problems (23%) other problems such as fearfulness (2%), visual‐perceptual difficulties (1%), and depression (1%) were rarely included. Factor analysis of the referral reasons revealed five common types of referrals, some of which interacted with gender and level of students. The factors described problems in written language, externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, overactivity, and sensory problems. The results of this study should help focus preservice and inservice preparation of teachers in addressing problems that are likely to cause pupils to be referred. In addition, combined with other findings, the results indicate regular education teachers' level of tolerance for pupils' problems.     

Prevalence,School Progress and Referral of Mildly Retarded Children in Regular Classes

This study sought to determine the prevalence of mildly retarded children in a sample of 312 primary school classes (N (pupils) = 8,967). Schools were chosen at random from each of the eight Psychological Service districts of metropolitan Auckland; all Grade 2‐5 classes in the sample schools were included in the investigation. Eighty percent of the teachers surveyed believed they had one or more mildly retarded children in their classes, yielding an overall prevalence rate of 8.04 percent (N = 721). Approximately one‐third of the children designated as mildly retarded were considered by their teachers to be not coping academically as well as socially, but of these 75 percent had not been referred for special educational consideration. Comparisons among the eight districts revealed that prevalence/referral rates and characteristics of identified/referred children did not differ significantly across districts. Results are discussed in terms of their policy implications for the identification and referral of mildly retarded children in need of special educational services.     

A Longitudinal Study of High‐Risk Children: Educational Outcomes

DATA FROM the Mother‐Child Project, a longitudinal study of high‐risk children, indicated that the percentage of children referred for school‐based problems was approximately 40% in grades one, two and three. Basically all of the children who were referred were receiving some form of educational services. Similarly, the majority of children achieving below the 25th percentile on a standardized achievement test were receiving special educational services. The reasons some of the low‐achieving students were not receiving services were higher social adjustment, better work habits and a past educational history of success as compared to those low‐achieving students who were receiving services. Greater differences between served and unserved groups were found on historical rather than current measures, which suggests that the chronicity of educational problems had a major impact in determining which students received services. The results suggest that across the large number of schools serving high‐risk children in our sample, excellent decisions were made in terms of who received special educational assistance. There did not appear to be any bias in the referral process or in making the decision of whom to serve. This finding contradicts the results of other investigators in this area. The results from the current investigation indicate that a high proportion of high‐risk children were having difficulty in school. We were encouraged to find, however, that the high‐risk students in need of special assistance were being served.     

Factors associated with mental health services referrals for children investigated by child welfare

Although child welfare caseworkers are responsible for facilitating mental health services access for maltreated children, little is known about caseworkers’ decisions to refer children to services. We aimed to identify factors associated with caseworker referral of children to mental health services after a maltreatment investigation. We analyzed data from 1956 children 2–17 years old from the Second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. We examined associations of children’s predisposing, enabling, and need-related factors and caseworkers’ work environment characteristics with referral to mental health services. Caseworkers referred 21.0% of children to mental health services. In multivariable analyses controlling for potential covariates, factors associated with increased odds of caseworker referral included: older child age; child sexual abuse (versus neglect); child out-of-home placement; caregiver mental health problems; prior maltreatment reports; clinically significant child behavioral problems; and child welfare agency collaborative ties with mental health providers (all p < .05). Factors associated with decreased odds of caseworker referral included child Black race (versus White race) and lack of insurance (versus Private insurance) (all p < .05). In summary, children’s need for mental health services was positively associated with caseworker referral to services but certain predisposing and enabling factors and caseworker work environment characteristics also correlated with services referral. Interventions to reduce disparities in services referral by race and insurance type are critically needed. These may include child welfare agency implementation of policies for mental health screening, assessment, and services referral based on clinical need and establishment of child welfare-mental health agency collaborative ties.     

Meeting the needs of children with specific speech and language difficulties

Clinical and diagnostic approaches to special educational needs do not translate easily into educational models. In some cases, these approaches can serve to limit understanding of children's wider needs. Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) are a case in point. Clear criteria exist for identification, but identification mechanisms may not relate to the child's wider educational needs. This paper addresses the ways that children with SSLD present in mainstream educational settings. The study aimed to identify all Year 3 children with SSLD in two English local education authorities. One hundred and thirty-three children (95 boys and 37 girls were identified). Sixty-five per cent of the children were in mainstream schools, 14.3 per cent in mainstream schools with designated units and the remainder in special schools. Half were at stage 5 of the Code of Practice, with most of the remaining participants at stage 3. Children experienced a wide range of difficulties, in addition to their primary speech and language problems. Patterns of difficulties varied across children, and associations existed between particular forms of language problems and learning and relationship problems. Professionals (teachers, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists) varied in their understanding of the children's needs. The data highlight the range and diversity of the needs of children with specific speech and language difficulties and the need for a multi-professional approach to these children. It is argued that ‘best practice’ for these children must consider the impact of speech and language problems on children's access to the curriculum and their social and behavioural needs. Narrow diagnostic models do not provide the appropriate information to inform educational practice and support inclusive policies.     

Child and partner abuse: self-reported prevalence and attitudes in the north of Portugal

OBJECTIVES: To determine the self-reported prevalence of child and partner physical and emotional abuse in the north of Portugal and to investigate attitudes about these forms of family violence. METHODS: Data were collected by questionnaire from a representative sample of parents in two-parent families with children under the age of 18 years. A total of 2,391 parents participated (1,057 males), aged 20-67 years. Four questionnaires were used, one behavioral and one attitudinal, for each of the forms of abuse: child and partner. RESULTS: At least one act of emotional or physical abuse towards a child during the previous year was reported by 25.9% of participants (12.3% reported physically abusive and 22.4% emotionally abusive acts). Abuse of a partner was reported by 26.2% of participants; at least one act of physical abuse during the previous year was reported by 12% and of emotional abuse by 23.7%. The attitudinal data, however, showed general disapproval of the use of violence, both for disciplining children and within marital relationships. The degree of self-reported support for physical punishment was higher in participants who reported using abusive behavior. Females more commonly reported acts of child abuse, and males reported acts of partner abuse. Both forms of self-reported abuse showed an association with low educational and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in Portugal to analyze family violence through self-report using a representative sample. The findings indicate that child and partner abuse constitute a significant problem in the region of northern Portugal. The discrepancy between the self-reported behavioral and attitudinal data may reflect conflicts in Portuguese society, which is undergoing substantial cultural changes.     

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE

Students living in foster care are at risk for experiencing many challenges in school, spanning domains of social–emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. They are twice as likely to be absent from school and to have received and out‐of‐school suspension and up to three and a half times more likely to receive special education services. Therefore, it is important for schools to recognize and respond to the unique needs of students in foster care to provide the necessary resources for school success. When working with students in foster care, school psychologists should be equipped to support the success of these students by determining what the needs of students in foster care are, and how to meet identified needs. The current paper will discuss the education‐related vulnerabilities and presenting problems for children in foster care and outline social–emotional, behavioral, and academic supports that school psychologists can offer.     

Children referred for possible sexual abuse: medical findings in 2384 children

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare rates of positive medical findings in a 5-year prospective study of 2384 children, referred for evaluation of possible sexual abuse, with two decades of research. The prospective study summarizes demographic information, clinical history, relationship of perpetrators, nature of abuse, and clinical findings. The study reports on the results by patterns of referral and the medical examination. RESULTS: There were 2384 children evaluated in a tertiary referral center between 1985 and 1990 for possible sexual abuse. Children were referred after they disclosed sexual abuse, because of behavioral changes or exposure to an abusive environment, and because of possible medical conditions. A total of 96.3% of all children referred for evaluation had a normal medical examination; 95.6% of children reporting abuse were normal, 99.8% who were referred for behavioral changes or exposure to abuse were also normal. Of the 182 children referred for evaluation of medical conditions, 92% were found to be normal at the time of examination by the Child Advocacy Center. The remaining 15/182 (8%) that were found to be abnormal were diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases, acute or healed genital injuries, and were 17% (15/88) of the total cases found to have medical findings diagnostic of abuse. Interviews of the children indicated that 68% of the girls and 70% of the boys reported severe abuse, defined as penetration of vagina or anus. Penetration was associated with a higher percentage of abnormal findings in girls (6%) compared to 1% of the boys. The relationship of the abuser impacted on the severity of the abuse. CONCLUSION: Research indicates that medical, social, and legal professionals have relied too heavily on the medical examination in diagnosing child sexual abuse. History from the child remains the single most important diagnostic feature in coming to the conclusion that a child has been sexually abused. Only 4% of all children referred for medical evaluation of sexual abuse have abnormal examinations at the time of evaluation. Even with a history of severe abuse such as vaginal or anal penetration, the rate of abnormal medical findings is only 5.5%. Biological parents are less likely to engage in severe abuse than parental substitutes, extended family members, or strangers.     

Cognitive Modeling: A Means for Achieving Prevention in School-Based Consultation

The shift in educational placement of children with disabilities into an integrated approach continues to gain momentum. One strategy for implementing this integrated partnership is the use of general education prereferral intervention techniques. This study specifically examined the longitudinal impact of collaborative consultation as a prereferral intervention on referral accuracy to special education. Several data collection forms were used to provide an accurate count of the number of children in the school populations who were referred for special education assessment and who were found to verify for special education services. Referral accuracy was determined by taking a ratio of the number of students assessed to the number of students verified. Results indicated a significant increase in referral accuracy when the collaborative consultation model was implemented as a prereferral strategy. Implications and suggestions for further research are offered.     

Schools and emotional and behavioral problems: A comparison of school-going and homeschooled children

Much attention has been focused recently on the deepening crisis in the education system. Researchers have attributed these problems to the school environment. One method for examining this claim is to compare specific emotional and behavior problems among children who attend schools and children who do not. This study examined three aspects of children's emotional world—emotional and behavioral problems, depression, and attachment security—in a group of children attending school and a group of homeschooled children, matched for socioeconomic background and research procedure. The findings indicated a lower level of depression among the homeschooled children; no difference was found between the groups in attachment security. With respect to emotional and behavioral problems, no difference was found in internalizing problems, but more externalizing problems were found among the school-going than the homeschooled children, in 9–10-year-olds and 11–12-year-olds, but not in 6–8-year-olds.     

Student Teachers' Attitudes Towards the Inclusion of Children with Special Needs

Previous research has suggested that teachers' attitudes are crucial to the success of inclusion programs for children with special needs. In the present study, the impact of special needs category (intellectual disabilities versus emotional and behavioural problems) and student teachers' training (being trained to work with either younger or older children) on their attitudes towards inclusion were explored. Ninety three student teachers completed a new measure of attitudes towards inclusion: the Impact of Inclusion Questionnaire (IIQ). Results showed that student teachers were more negative about the impact of children with emotional and behavioural problems on other children, teachers, and the school environment than they were about children with intellectual disabilities. There was little support for the effects of training background or student teachers' previous experience of special needs on their attitudes. Implications for inclusion programs and future research are briefly discussed.     

Mediating effects of teacher and peer relationships between parental abuse/neglect and emotional/behavioral problems

The current study examined the mediating effects of the teacher and peer relationships between parental abuse/neglect and a child’s emotional/behavioral problems. A total of 2070 student surveys from the panel of the Korean Child Youth Panel Study (KCYPS) were analyzed by path analysis. The key findings of this study are outlined below. Firstly, parental physical and emotional abuse and neglect had significant effects on children’s problems. The direct effect of parental abuse on emotional/behavioral problems was higher than the direct effect of parental neglect on emotional/behavioral problems. Secondly, the teacher relationship partially mediated the effects of the parental abuse/neglect on emotional/behavioral problems. Thirdly, the peer relationship also partially mediated the effects of parental abuse/neglect on children’s emotional/behavioral problems. The indirect effect of parental neglect via teacher relationships and peer relationships was stronger than the indirect effect of parental abuse. This study is significant in that it identified that parental abuse/neglect was mediated by the teacher and peer relationship, thereby suggesting an implication for effective intervention with children who have suffered abuse and neglect. In terms of the teacher and peer relationship, understanding the influence of parental abuse and neglect on children’s problems was discussed, and the limitations and recommendations for future study were suggested.     

Supporting children with genetic syndromes in the classroom: the example of 22q deletion syndrome

An increasing number of children are likely to have a known genetic cause for their special educational needs. One such genetic condition is 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS), a genetic syndrome associated with early speech and language difficulties, global and specific cognitive impairments, difficulties with attention and difficulties with social‐emotional functioning. In this article the learning and behavioural strengths and needs of this genetic syndrome are described along with recommendations for classroom‐based interventions. Suggested recommendations in the learning and emotional‐behavioural domains for the syndrome draw on a number of approaches that have been found to be useful for children with a range of conditions including ADHD, ASD and dyscalculia. While teachers cannot be expected to know about all potential genetic causes for special educational needs, knowing that a genetic condition is likely to be associated with a pattern of relative cognitive and behavioural strengths and needs is important.