William C. Morse

Personality Patterns of Pupils in Special Classes for the Emotionally Disturbed

Four hundred forty-one children in public school classes for the emotionally disturbed were rated by their teachers on a checklist of problem behaviors. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations of the behaviors indicated that three factors could account for 16 percent of the variance. These were labeled conduct problem or unsocialized aggression, inadequacy-immaturity, and personality problem or neuroticism. Results were consonant with similar studies of other groups of problem children. The results also suggest the likelihood that differential programs for emotionally disturbed children will be necessary, depending upon their primary behavioral characteristics.

MULTIPLE DESCRIPTIONS OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR VIA PUPIL REPORT

Pupil data were gathered regarding classroom frequency of certain theoretically defined categories of behavior. The higher the incidence of particular categories, the more the class was presumed to be committed to a specific theoretical orientation. The four orientations were learning, child growth and development, mental health, and group dynamics. Homogeneous theory-commitment indices were derived and intercorrelated. The learning, mental health, and group dynamics indices were significantly correlated. The highest correlation was between learning and mental health. As far as Ss were concerned, a strong classroom commitment to learning was not associated with a drop in mental health conditions.