On a peer sociometric measure, 101 learning-disabled and 156 low-achieving students received lower ratings than 608 normally achieving students. Parent/teacher behavior ratings for 77 of the learning-disabled and low-achieving students found that children rejected in peer sociometric ratings exhibited lower social competence and more behavior…

Principal components analysis was employed on the Adaptive Behavior Scales with scores of 122 older (mean age 63.5) individuals with severe intellectual impairment living in England. The study found the structure of adaptive skills and interpersonal maladaptive behaviors similar to that found for younger retarded adults. Two factors, personal…

Examined relationship between social behavior and self-concept among 41 fifth and sixth graders. Teachers rated students on School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS); students completed Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC). Found several significant positive relationships between Social Competence scores on SSBS and SPPC self-concept scores.…

The independent and relative influences of social discourse and social skills on problem behaviors were examined in 50 children with language learning disabilities (LLD) and 50 control children. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both impaired social discourse skills and poor social skills accounted for the negative effects of LLD on…

Differences were examined in parent ratings of social-emotional behavior among 64 preschool-aged children referred for child find screening and assessment and 64 preschool-aged typical children. The children who had been referred were found to have greater social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses than the comparison group. (Author/CR)

Examined relation between fathers' and children's communicative skills and child behavior problems early and late in the Head Start school year. Found that the structural models for externalizing and internalizing behavior confirmed the hypothesis that father communication was linked to child communication skills and child communication was linked…

Compared adjustment of maltreated and nonmaltreated 5- to 12-year-olds. Found that maltreated children showed less academic engagement, more social skills deficits, lower ego resiliency, and more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems than nonmaltreated children. Effects of maltreatment on academic maladjustment were partially mediated…

Board members should avoid 10 common errors: losing patience, behaving badly, challenging the board after a vote, acting like inspectors, micromanaging school administrators, springing surprise questions at meetings, putting politics before children, representing special interests, violating executive session, and putting the board before family…

Examined relations between mothers' expressed positive and negative emotion and 55- to 79-month-olds' regulation, social competence, and adjustment. Structural equation modeling revealed unique effects of positive and negative maternal expressed emotion on children's regulation, and the relations of maternal expressed emotion to children's…

Chance UK is a unique charity in the UK that specialises in mentoring programmes for primary schoolchildren with behavioural problems. It was founded in 1995 by a policeman, Chief Superintendent Paul Mathias, who believed that by stepping in early, young children with behavioural difficulties could be given the chance to develop the necessary…

Objective: The objective of this follow-up study was to assess the long-term effects of clinical infant home-visiting services on child outcomes at school entry. Method: Participants were 63 five-year-olds from low-income families, half of whom were referred to parent-infant home-visiting services during the first 18 months of life due to concerns…

The link between learning problems and social-emotional difficulties is well documented and both are associated with temperamental risk factors. Whereas temperament refers to individual differences in biologically based dispositions for responding to and engaging with one's surroundings, developmental outcomes are the products of experiences as…

Social skill deficits have become a defining characteristic of students with specific learning disability (SLD). Attempts have been made to enhance social functioning through structured training approaches. The effectiveness of these efforts was evaluated in a quantitative research synthesis (meta-analysis), which revealed a "small" effect with…

Despite the inclusion of Asperger syndrome in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) 10 years ago, there is ongoing debate regarding its validity as a diagnostic construct, particularly relative to the diagnosis of autistic disorder when it is not accompanied…

This study tested the independent and interactive influences of classroom (concentrations of peer prosocial behaviors and victimization), family (household moves, mothers' education), and school (proportion of students receiving income assistance) ecologies on changes in children's social competence (e.g., interpersonal skills, leadership…