Sara G. Zimet

The Relationship of Teacher Rating Scales to Behavior Observations and Reading Achievement of First-Grade Children

1This investigation was supported by funds from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, Grant No. R01 HDO 3775, and, in part, by a Research Scientist Development Award, No. MK2 47356, from the National Institute of Mental Health. In recent years a number of teacher rating scales have been prepared for use in evaluating or screening children for behaviorial and emotional problems (Bower, 1960; Conners, 1969; Miller, 1972; Ross, Lacy, & Parton, 1965; Walker, 1970). The reason for their popularity is quite clear: As Werry &

Comparisons of intellectual performance among children with psychiatric disorders

The intellectual performances of children with a variety of psychiatric disorders were examined and compared with the findings from a similar study by Hodges and Plow (1990). Mean IQ scores were in the average range for both study samples, and no significant differences were found in WISC-R summary scores. Nevertheless, the Hodges and Plow findings were only partially corroborated. They observed, for instance, a relative deficit in verbal abilities for conduct-disordered children and lower IQ scores for children with anxiety disorders vs. children with all other disorders. Our replication study found no significant differences among the disorder groups for any of the scores examined. Possible explanations for the divergence in findings are discussed.

Classroom behavior during reading instruction.

BonnieW. Camp Sara G. Zimet It has been noted that behavior problems increase as the reading level decreases (Graubard, P. S., 1971) and that a large percentage of behavior problem children are underachievers (Glavin & Annesley, 1971). A previous study relating achievement and teacher ratings to behavioral observations suggested that these correlations result from behavior or events which take a child off task rather than because of deviant behavior (Camp & Zimet, 1974). The present study was a further explora tion of the rei a tionship between poor reading achievement and behavior problems. It compared behavior observed in high, middle, and low reading groups of first grade pupils during their reading periods.

Race and sex as variables for children involved in treatment.

Race and sex as variables in psychiatric treatment at five child psychiatry clinics were examined. From an earlier study data indicating race was significant were reanalyzed. Across clinics major findings indicated that black females were seen for psychotherapy for significantly fewer sessions than white females, black males and white males and that parents of sons who were in therapy came in for psychotherapy significantly more often than parents of daughters. The implications and the limitations of the study are discussed.

Recall of Aggressive Words by Kindergarten Children

Lists of verbs rated as high or low in aggressive affect were compiled. Individual interviews were held with 28 children at the end of kindergarten. IQ tests were administered and the word lists were presented. Each child was asked to repeat the words he recalled hearing in each list. Significantly more highly aggressive words were recalled. No significant correlations were found between IQ and recall scores and no differences were attributable to sex. Frequency of usage was a significant factor in influencing recall.