Behavioral Problems Assessment and Correlates in Primary School Children

Abstract

Behavioral problems in children are likely to have detrimental effects on child’s social, personal and academic functioning (Walsh, Murrell, Scherbarth, & Kubiak, 2009). Reliable and valid identification of behavioral problems in children should incorporate parent and teacher report regarding child’s behaviors. The present study was carried out to develop an indigenous dual informant rating scale (parent report scale and teacher report scale) for measuring behavioral problems of primary school children, with the aim to identify correlates and predictors of behavioral problems in primary school children. These objectives were achieved in a series of three independent studies. In study 1, parents, teachers, school psychologists and child psychiatrists were contacted to generate list of problem behaviors of the children aged 5 to 11 years. Standardized behavioral problems scales developed in the West and clinical case studies were also reviewed to generate an independent pool of 90 items each for parent report scale and for teacher report scale. The factorial validity based on a sample of parents of 443 primary school children was obtained. Similarly, factorial validity of the teacher report scale based on a sample of 446 teachers of primary school children was obtained. Both the scales showed high Cronbach’s alpha. In study 2, construct validity for both the scales was determined by calculating construct and concurrent validities. Both the scales showed good construct and concurrent validities. In study 3, correlates and predictors of behavioral problems in primary school children were assessed on a sample of 240 children. Correlates of behavioral problems of these children were determined with demographic information form and social information processing scale, “Home Interview with the Child” (Dodge, 1986). Behavioral problems were assessed by the scales developed by the researcher. The results showed that gender, age of the child, maternal age, parental education, socioeconomic status and academic performance of the child were significant correlates of behavioral problems. Multiple regression analysis revealed aggressive response generation in XIX social information processing, parents’ education and gender of the child as predictors of behavioral problems on both parent report scale and teacher report scale. Results of this study are in line with existing literature on children’s behavioral problems. The implications of the results of current research on behavioral problems of primary school children in Pakistan are discussed.