Behavior problems in children with the presenting problem of poor school performance.

Used 3 methods of assessing behavioral disturbance in 79 children presenting with poor school performance to an interdisciplinary evaluation center. Findings revealed a very high frequency of behavior problems, particularly of the internalizing type, but few differences in frequency or type of behavior problems among 4 subgroups: children with learning disabilities, mental retardation, borderline intellectual functioning, and without learning disabilities or cognitive impairment. Behavioral problems were associated with lower perceptions of self-worth and family functioning characterized as more controlling, and less supportive. Findings are discussed in terms of the need for interactional models of learning and behavior problems.

Situational social problem-solving skills and self-esteem of aggressive and nonaggressive boys.

This study was designed to assess specific social problem-solving, perceived competence, and self-esteem characteristics of 20 aggressive and 18 nonaggressive boys. Significant behavioral differences existed between the groups. The problem-solving measure provided for qualitative assessment of specific problem solutions that children consider, varying according to the interpersonal context of conflicts with peers, teachers, and parents and to the level of others' intent in conflicts (ambiguous frustration and hostile provocation). In univariate analyses, aggressive children had poorer self-esteem, generated fewer verbal assertion solutions in peer conflicts and during hostile frustration, and employed more direct action solutions with teachers and during hostile frustration. Discriminant analyses significantly differentiated the two groups. Findings indicated that future research should consider the relative distribution of specific kinds of problem situations that children produce, and that situational factors in social problem-solving skills should be addressed.

Client characteristics associated with behavior change for treated and untreated aggressive boys.

This study examined the relationship between subject characteristics of aggressive boys and their behavioral changes during a school year. Seventy-six boys in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades were identified by their teachers as the most disruptive and aggressive in their classes. These boys were assigned to untreated control, anger-coping, anger-coping plus goal-setting treatment, and minimal treatment goal-setting cells. The anger-coping treatment was based on cognitive behavioral procedures. In both anger-coping cells, greater reductions in rates of disruptive/aggressive off-task classroom behavior was predicted by having higher rates of these behaviors initially, and greater reductions in parents' ratings of aggression was predicted by having poor social problem-solving skills initially. Additional predictors of reductions in parents' ratings of aggression in one, but not both, anger-coping cells included having higher rates of somatic symptoms and poorer social acceptance by peers. In contrast to the other cells, those boys in the no-treatment group who demonstrated the greatest spontaneous improvement on these change measures were the ones who initially were the best problem-solvers and who had higher levels of self-esteem. This cognitive-behavioral treatment appeared to have most impact with those boys who were the most in need of intervention.