An evaluation of the special needs referral process for low-income preschool children with emotional and behavioral problems

The present study is an evaluation of the special needs referral system in a large urban Head Start program. To assess the validity of this system, two assessments were conducted. The first examined a representative sample of 105 children who were formally referred for special needs services. The Early Intervention Screening Profile (EISP) was used to indicate the distribution of problem behaviors of these special needs children. Two independent raters evaluated all cases. Reliable evaluations revealed that all of the referred children displayed speech and language problems, with 70% showing only speech problems and 30% showing speech plus emotional and behavioral problems. The second assessment examined reports of teachers’ concerns about children program-wide by obtaining a representative sample of 203 children nominated by teachers as most likely to be identified as having special needs. Teachers completed a modified EISP. Results indicated that over 70% of the children evidenced emotional and behavioral problems with no accompanying speech difficulties and 30% displayed emotional and behavioral problems plus speech problems. Implications of referral biases were discussed.     

An investigation of preschool classroom behavioral adjustment problems and social–emotional school readiness competencies

The study examined the unique relationship between multiple dimensions of classroom behavioral adjustment problems and salient social–emotional competencies for urban Head Start children. These relationships were investigated using a hierarchical model that controlled for the variance in social–emotional outcomes attributed to age, gender, and verbal ability. Classroom behavioral adjustment problems were assessed early in the year by the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) across multiple, routine preschool classroom situations. Outcomes assessed at the end of the year included emotion regulation, peer play in the home and neighborhood context, and approaches to learning. Socially negative behavior in the classroom predicted emotional lability, maladaptive learning behaviors, and disruptive social play in the home at the end of the year. Withdrawn behavior uniquely predicted lower affective engagement in the classroom and disconnection from peers in the home context. Findings provide predictive validity for the ASPI. Implications for policy, practice and future research are discussed.     

Direct assessment of behavioral and emotional problems

New procedures for assessing the behavior of children in an environmental context are available to the school psychologist. The procedures, which are sometimes called psychosituational or informal assessments, examine the influence of the external environment as setting the occasion for emotional and behavioral problems. Covert speech of children also is viewed as an event which can occasion behavioral problems and can serve to reinforce and/or punish the behavior. Procedures are outlined for conducting the direct assessment.     

Association between psychosocial stressors with emotional and behavioral problems among children of low-income addicted families living in Brazil

BackgroundChildren exposed to substance use in their families are vulnerable to multiple risk factors in their development and at increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems. The aims of the study were as follows 1) estimate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among children aged 6–11 years old, living with addicted family members in a low-income urban community of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil; 2) evaluate the children’s exposure to family psychosocial stressors and substance use; and 3) investigate the factors related to the increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems and substance use.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 children aged 6–11 years old (M = 9.16 years, SD = 1.61). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Psychosocial Stress Factors (PSF).ResultsHigh prevalence of problems was found for this sample: the CBCL showed 26.7% of clinical scores for Internalizing Problems, 40.6% for Externalizing Problems, and 40.6% for Total Problems. Exposure to family psychosocial stressors was also high, including severe disease (33%), physical aggression (28.9%), death (27.8%), psychiatric hospitalization (16.7%), suicide attempts (15.5%), and suicide (9.3%). Exposure to these family stressors was associated with an increase of two to four times in the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems.ConclusionsChildren exposed to substance abusers have more mental health problems than general population, even when compared to peers living in similar low-income areas. This is a group that should be target of a selective preventive intervention.     

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.     

Home ownership and the emotional and behavioral problems of children and youth

This study examined the impact of home ownership on the emotional-behavioral problems of children and youth ages 4 to 16 years. Data came from two large-scale general population surveys conducted in the province of Ontario in 1983, the Ontario Child Health Study (N = 3,325) and the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (N = 12,592). Results showed an inverse association between home ownership and ratings of emotional-behavioral problems. The net effects of home ownership expressed in standard units dropped from the .20 to .43 range for teacher and parent ratings to the .07 to .17 range, after controlling for socioeconomic variables. Furthermore, the concentration of home ownership in neighborhoods was not associated with ratings of child problem behavior in either study. Projects aimed at supporting home ownership among low-income families may provide a means for improving the emotional and behavioral functioning of disadvantaged children.     

Family trauma and its association with emotional and behavioral problems and social adjustment in adolescent Cambodian refugees

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of war-related trauma on the subsequent social adjustment and functioning of young Cambodian refugees. METHOD: This longitudinal study of 67 young Cambodian refugees in Montreal interviewed in the first year of high school and then 2 years later examines a family's exposure to war related premigration trauma and its association with an adolescent's emotional and behavioral problems and social adjustment. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Youth Self-Report and an inventory of risk behavior. Social adjustment was assessed in terms of academic achievement, peer relations, and feeling of competence. RESULTS: The trauma a family suffered before leaving their homeland and prior to the teenager's birth seems to play a protective role at various times in adolescence with regard to externalized symptoms, risk behavior, and school failure in boys, and foster positive social adjustment in girls. CONCLUSIONS: These reactions may be understood as overcompensation by the children of the survivors of a massacre, to whom the implicit duty to succeed has been passed on. They suggest that a broader range of posttraumatic responses to war situations should be investigated and that trauma's dual nature as both burden and source of strength should be examined more closely.     

Arts enrichment and preschool emotions for low-income children at risk

No studies to date examine the impact of arts-integrated preschool programming on the emotional functioning of low-income children at risk for school problems. The present study examines observed emotion expression and teacher-rated emotion regulation for low-income children attending Settlement Music School's Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program. At a level of p < .001, results indicate the following. First, within Kaleidoscope, children showed greater observed positive emotions such as interest, happiness, and pride, in music, dance, and visual arts classes, as compared to traditional early learning classes. Second, children at Kaleidoscope showed greater observed positive emotions than peers attending a comparison preschool that did not include full integration of the arts. Third, across the school year, children at Kaleidoscope showed greater growth in teacher-rated levels of positive and negative emotion regulation. The implication is that arts enrichment may promote social–emotional readiness to learn for low-income children at risk for school problems.     

Mediating effect of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and school adjustment

The current study examined the mediating effects of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and a child’s school adjustment by investigating 2070 student surveys from the Korean Child Youth Panel Study (KCYPS). A path analysis yielded the following key findings. Firstly, childhood abuse and neglect showed a significant negative and direct effect on school adjustment. It is particularly important to note that the effect of neglect was bigger than that of abuse in this study. Secondly, emotional/behavioral problems were found to partially mediate between abuse/neglect and school adjustment. Thirdly, academic competence partially mediated the effect of neglect on school adjustment, while it did not mediate the effect of abuse on school adjustment. The indirect effect of parental neglect via emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence was stronger than that of parental abuse. The influence of parental abuse and neglect on children’s school adjustments was discussed in terms of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence considering unique Korean cultural context.     

Profiles of social competence among low-income African American preschool children

Relations between children's personal attributes and peer play competence were investigated in a sample of 141 African American preschool children who participated in Head Start. Variable-oriented analyses confirmed that dispositions of temperament, emotion regulation, autonomy, and language were related to children's peer play competence in the classroom. Person-oriented analyses revealed distinctive profiles of personal attributes linked to adaptive preschool social functioning. A small group of resilient children whose profile was characterized by highly adaptable temperament, ability to approach new situations, and above average vocabulary development evidenced the greatest social competence with peers. Children who were disruptive with peers were equally divided between two profiles characterized by inattention and activity, but with differential performance on vocabulary tasks. A profile containing calm, reticent children was the group least likely to engage in disruptive peer play. Inspection of the six profiles revealed the within-group variability for this economically disadvantaged sample and illustrated the differential importance of temperament, regulation, and language constructs. Findings from the profile analyses and relations with peer competence inform the study of resilience in social development for urban African American children who participate in early intervention preschool programs.     

关于学龄前儿童情绪调节策略的研究

学龄前儿童在社会互动中,必须学习文化情境下的情境表达规则,才能掌控在什么情景下表达什么情绪,以及如何表达和调节情绪才能满足双方的需求以维持正面的社会互动体系。学龄前儿童情绪调节策略的采用,有助于减少情绪冲突,促进情绪成长。只有教给幼儿正确调节情绪的方法,才能使幼儿的心理健康成长。经过调查,男孩女孩在情绪调节策略的运用上也表现出较大差异。     

幼儿情绪与行为问题调查研究

幼儿情绪与行为是幼儿成熟的重要标志,其心理行为发展具有定向性和程序性,情绪诱发幼儿的行为。因此,遵从感知运动到情绪的发展,从幼儿情绪动机到各种能力的发展,从直觉行动思维到形象思维的发展,通过对儿童的情绪和行为发育进行评估,能够提供儿童早期发展的针对性建议;同时通过提高育儿技能,教会成人与幼儿交流和游戏方式,帮助培养孩子良好的情绪情感、社会适应能力和学习技能等,促进幼儿健康、和谐、全面发展。     

A pilot study of early childhood mental health consultation for children with behavioral problems in preschool

This study reports the findings of a pilot demonstration project called Together for Kids, which used a mental health consultation model to address the needs of young children with challenging behaviors who are identified in preschool classrooms. The study was conducted in four preschool programs and one Head Start program serving children ages 3–5, including both private-pay families and those using public subsidies. Rates of significant behavior problems as assessed by preschool teachers using a standardized scale were high, with 34% of all children enrolled in preschool classrooms in these sites over a 3-year period identified at-risk of externalizing or internalizing problems. Classroom teachers, as well as individual children and families identified as at-risk, were provided services, including, classroom observation and teacher training, individual child assessment and therapy, family assessment and support, and referrals for other family needs. Analysis of outcomes for 47 children and families with externalizing behavior problems who received individualized consultation, compared to 89 control children, and analysis of outcomes of a matched group of 19 intervention and 19 control children, revealed that the intervention was associated with significant improvements in classroom aggressive and maladaptive behavior, and growth in adaptive behavior. Improvements in child behavior were associated with total hours of individual child services provided, and with improvements in child developmental skills. Significant reductions in the rate of children suspended or terminated from child care programs were also found. Implications for further development of models of early childhood mental health consultation are discussed.     

Child and informant influences on behavioral ratings of preschool children

This study investigated relationships among teacher, parent, and observer behavioral ratings of 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children using intra‐class correlations and analysis of variance. Comparisons within and across children from middle‐income (MI; N = 166; mean age = 54.25 months, standard deviation [SD] = 8.74) and low‐income (LI; N = 199; mean age = 51.21 months, SD = 7.22) backgrounds revealed significant agreement between the raters but also considerable differences in both ranking and absolute scores between raters. Teachers and parents consistently rated children from LI classrooms as having more behavioral problems and fewer prosocial behaviors. Results are conceptualized with respect to how differential expectations, comparison groups, and types of interaction with children can affect the evaluation of child behavior. Results point to the need for multiple sources of evaluation when assessing children for behavioral difficulties, particularly children from lower income backgrounds. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An empirical analysis of behavioral and emotional problems of foster children as related to re-placement in care

Foster care is seen as a temporary service. However, for many children, foster care involves years of long term care. Most professionals feel that if a child must remain in care, the number of foster homes or re-placements the child experiences should be minimized. Evidence suggests that this lack of stability has a detrimental effect on the child's psychosocial development. Even though the research evidence supports the negative impact of re-placement on the foster child, little empirical research has dealt with identification of factors associated with children likely to be re-placed. This article focuses on foster children with behavioral and emotional problems and analyzes the association of these problems with placement stability and continuity. The findings report that children with behavioral and emotional problems are replaced in foster care more often than those children without similar problems.