Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 27, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Mark Swerdlik (chair), E. Paula Crowley, Daniel Graybill, Jeffry Kahn, Douglas H. Lamb. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-155) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1994. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 3, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny E. Morreau (chair), Barbara Heyl, Ira L. Neal, Paula J. Smith, Jerome Tillman, Pamela H. Wheeler. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-224) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-128).

This study was made in an effort to find out some of the causes of maladjustment and to determine what effect the maladjustments play in general achievement of school work in a third grade.

When Child Protective Services (CPS) enters the picture assisting hard shipped families, the child may get placed in a foster home thus starting the cycle of mobility-the child is often moved from one home to another, one school to another resulting in a lack of residential and academic continuity for the child, which in turn results in negative effects in behavior, emotions and academia.

Researchers have noted that by providing formal and informal social skills training (SST), the school can become a potential optimal setting that fosters the development of social competence in students with behavioral problems. Indeed, learning to get along with people is one of the most important skills that we can teach students. In order to maximize its effectiveness, SST must be motivating and personally relevant enough for students to want to use the skills. In addition, it must provide opportunities for learned skills to be practiced under varying conditions and in as close to natural situations as possible in order to enhance the transfer of training. The purpose of the study was to investigate the social competence of students aged from six to twelve, diagnosed with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) in a public self-contained school setting, and to increase the students' social competence by using a literature-based method that employs multiage grouping, impersonation, and telecommunications. By providing intensive, literature-based training in a multiage classroom, the SST gave students opportunities to practice skills in a natural, real-life environment and, therefore, increased the likelihood of generalizing these skills in other settings. The employment of impersonation and telecommunications also enhanced students' acquisition of social skills and their interests to learn.

The problem of this thesis is to study the types, causes, and effects of maladjustments found in analyzing certain pupils of the sixth grade. Also the problem seeks to determine why the present curriculum is not meeting the needs of these maladjusted children of the Decatur Elementary School.

Research conducted on the prevalence of behavioural adjustment in Deaf children and adolescents, in erstwhile countries, points towards an appreciably elevated percentage of emotional and behavioural problems amongst this population group when compared to hearing normative groups. Studies specify that the prevalence of behaviour and emotional problems in Deaf children and adolescents varies from 4.8% to 50.3%. From existing research conducted, it is ambiguous as to why the reported prevalence rates of maladjustment are higher amongst Deaf children and adolescents. This pioneering study is the first of its kind to research dissimilar modalities of language used as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in schools for Deaf learners and how this could possibly correlate to learner behaviour in the classroom. Taking into consideration the reported pervasiveness of maladjustment in Deaf children and adolescents; this study uses the Teacher Report Form (TRF) to investigate the types of behaviour problems displayed by Deaf learners in the classroom. It further investigates whether Deaf learners display certain types of behaviour problems when dissimilar modalities of language are used as the language of learning and teaching. The overall findings of this study suggest that teachers who use manually coded spoken language report an elevated prevalence of behaviour problems on the TRF compared to teachers who use South African Sign Language (SASL). Results further suggest that the group of teachers who use SASL report somatic complaints and attention problems as the most frequently encountered behaviour problems in their classrooms. In comparison the group of teachers who use manually coded spoken English (MCE) report social problems and attention problems as the most frequently encountered behaviour problems in their classrooms. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Previous research suggests that as well as behavioural difficulties, a small subset of aggressive and antisocial children show callous unemotional (CU) personality traits (i.e., lack of remorse and absence of empathy) that set them apart from their low-CU peers. These children have been identified as being most at risk to follow a path of severe and persistent antisocial behaviour, showing distinct behavioural patterns, and have been found to respond less to traditional treatment programs. One particular focus of this thesis is that emerging findings have shown emotion recognition deficits within both groups. Whereas children who only show behavioural difficulties (in the absence of CU traits) have been found to misclassify vague and neutral expressions as anger, the presence of CU traits has been associated with an inability to correctly identify fear and to a lesser extend, sadness. Furthermore, emotion recognition competence varies with age and development. In general, emotion recognition improves with age, but interestingly there is some evidence that it may become less efficient during puberty. No research could be located, however, that assessed emotion recognition through childhood and adolescence for children high and low on CU traits and antisocial behaviour. The primary focus of this study was to investigate the impact of these personality traits and pubertal development on emotion recognition competence in isolation and in combination. A specific aim was to assess if puberty would exacerbate these deficits in children with pre-existing deficits in emotion recognition. The effect of gender, emotion type and measure characteristics, in particular the age of the target face, was also examined. A community sample of 703 children and adolescents aged 7-17 were administered the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire to assess adjustment, the Antisocial Process Screening Device to assess antisocial traits, and the Pubertal Development Scale was administered to evaluate pubertal stage. Empathy was assessed using the Bryant Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents. Parents or caregivers completed parent version of these measures for their children. Emotion recognition ability was measured using the newly developed UNSW FACES task (Dadds, Hawes & Merz, 2004). Description of the development and validation of this measure are included. Contrary to expectations, emotion recognition accuracy was not negatively affected by puberty. In addition, no overall differences in emotion recognition ability were found due to participant’s gender or target face age group characteristics. The hypothesis that participants would be better at recognising emotions expressed by their own age group was therefore not supported. In line with expectations, significant negative associations between CU traits and fear recognition were found. However, these were small, and contrary to expectations, were found for girls rather than boys. Also, puberty did not exacerbate emotion recognition deficits in high CU children. However, the relationship between CU traits and emotion recognition was affected differently by pubertal status. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to future research into emotion recognition deficits within this population. In addition, theoretical and practical implications of these findings for the development of antisocial behaviour and the treatment of children showing CU traits are explored.

Previous research suggests that as well as behavioural difficulties, a small subset of aggressive and antisocial children show callous unemotional (CU) personality traits (i.e., lack of remorse and absence of empathy) that set them apart from their low-CU peers. These children have been identified as being most at risk to follow a path of severe and persistent antisocial behaviour, showing distinct behavioural patterns, and have been found to respond less to traditional treatment programs. One particular focus of this thesis is that emerging findings have shown emotion recognition deficits within both groups. Whereas children who only show behavioural difficulties (in the absence of CU traits) have been found to misclassify vague and neutral expressions as anger, the presence of CU traits has been associated with an inability to correctly identify fear and to a lesser extend, sadness. Furthermore, emotion recognition competence varies with age and development. In general, emotion recognition improves with age, but interestingly there is some evidence that it may become less efficient during puberty. No research could be located, however, that assessed emotion recognition through childhood and adolescence for children high and low on CU traits and antisocial behaviour. The primary focus of this study was to investigate the impact of these personality traits and pubertal development on emotion recognition competence in isolation and in combination. A specific aim was to assess if puberty would exacerbate these deficits in children with pre-existing deficits in emotion recognition. The effect of gender, emotion type and measure characteristics, in particular the age of the target face, was also examined. A community sample of 703 children and adolescents aged 7-17 were administered the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire to assess adjustment, the Antisocial Process Screening Device to assess antisocial traits, and the Pubertal Development Scale was administered to evaluate pubertal stage. Empathy was assessed using the Bryant Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents. Parents or caregivers completed parent version of these measures for their children. Emotion recognition ability was measured using the newly developed UNSW FACES task (Dadds, Hawes & Merz, 2004). Description of the development and validation of this measure are included. Contrary to expectations, emotion recognition accuracy was not negatively affected by puberty. In addition, no overall differences in emotion recognition ability were found due to participant’s gender or target face age group characteristics. The hypothesis that participants would be better at recognising emotions expressed by their own age group was therefore not supported. In line with expectations, significant negative associations between CU traits and fear recognition were found. However, these were small, and contrary to expectations, were found for girls rather than boys. Also, puberty did not exacerbate emotion recognition deficits in high CU children. However, the relationship between CU traits and emotion recognition was affected differently by pubertal status. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to future research into emotion recognition deficits within this population. In addition, theoretical and practical implications of these findings for the development of antisocial behaviour and the treatment of children showing CU traits are explored.