Congruence of parents' and teachers' ratings of children's behavior problems

This study compared parents' and teachers' perceptions of behavior disorders in 1,008 white children enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade. Data included background information and ratings on the Behavior Problem Checklist. For the most part, parents perceived more problems in their children than did teachers. Parents and teachers tended to agree that boys exhibited more deviant behavior than girls and that youngsters from the higher social classes had fewer disorders than those from the lower classes. Parent and teacher judgments were somewhat alike in that both groups tended to observe a pattern in the development of problems that first increased then decreased or first increased then decreased and leveled off across grades. Trends were more gradual for parents and sharper for teachers, or declines were not seen by parents that were seen by teachers. Bivariate correlations between parents' and teachers' evaluations were significant but low or low to moderate. Mother-teacher and father-teacher coefficients differed on Socialized Delinquency but were similar on the other behavioral dimensions. Although significant interactions of parentteacher relationships with sex and grade were infrequent, correlations between ratings by the two groups of informants were higher for boys than for girls; and correlations between parent and teacher judgments were lower for early grades than for later grades.     

Gender differences in children's problem behaviours in competitive play with friends

Disruptive behaviour disorders are much more common in boys than girls ( Office of National Statistics, 1999 ); in contrast, gender differences in normative problem behaviours are poorly understood. To address this issue, 228 6‐year‐olds (134 boys, 94 girls) were each observed playing a board game with a same‐gender friend. Ratings of aggression, disruption, arousal and negativity were used to index problem behaviours. Multiple‐groups confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the latent factor had the same metric for boys and girls, but a mean that was approximately half a standard deviation higher for boys than girls. In addition, the association between the latent factor and teachers’ ratings of total difficulties was significantly stronger for boys than girls.     

Gender differences in self-system processes as rated by teachers and students

A commonly held assumption about gender differences in children's perceptions of their academic competence is that girls underrate their abilities more than boys. The present study had two goals: to assess whether boys or girls are more likely to over- or underrate their academic competence, and to examine gender differences in self-system concomitants of discrepant appraisals. One hundred twelve 4th-6th-grade children rated themselves on overall self-worth, academic competence, self-regulatory style, anxiety, and coping with perceived failure. Six teachers rated these children on the same items. In addition, standardized achievement test scores were available for the children. Groups of over-, under-, and congruent raters were formed using teacher ratings as one comparison standard and achievement test scores as another comparison standard. The data show that when distortion in self-appraisal is derived from achievement test scores, girls are somewhat less likely to underrate their abilities than are boys. However, when distortion is derived from teacher ratings of competence, girls are more likely to underrate than boys and boys are somewhat more likely to overrate. Teachers rate boys who underrate themselves lower in competence than boys who overrate themselves, but they rate girls who underrate higher than girls who overrate. The commonly held assumption about girls' underrating of their academic competence is not borne out in this study. We believe it is important to examine differences between comparison standards and between children's and teacher's ratings to understand more fully gender differences in self-system concomitants of discrepant self-appraisals.The authors wish to thank James Connell for his important contributions to this article, and the Human Motivation Research Group (Ed Deci, Richard Ryan, and James Connell) for making their data available to us.     

Measurement of Impulsivity: Construct Coherence, Longitudinal Stability, and Relationship with Externalizing Problems in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

This study focused on the assessment of impulsivity in nonreferred school-aged children. Children had been participants since infancy in the Bloomington Longitudinal Study. Individual differences in impulsivity were assessed in the laboratory when children were 6 (44 boys, 36 girls) and 8 (50 boys, 39 girls) years of age. Impulsivity constructs derived from these assessments were related to parent and teacher ratings of externalizing problems across the school-age period (ages 7–10) and to parent and self-ratings of these outcomes across adolescence (ages 14–17). Consistent with prior research, individual measures of impulsivity factor-analyzed into subdimensions reflecting children's executive control capabilities, delay of gratification, and ability or willingness to sustain attention and compliance during work tasks. Children's performance on the main interactive task index, inhibitory control, showed a signficant level of stability between ages 6 and 8. During the school-age years, children who performed impulsively on the laboratory measures were perceived by mothers and by teachers as more impulsive, inattentive, and overactive than others, affirming the external validity of the impulsivity constructs. Finally, impulsive behavior in the laboratory at ages 6 and 8 predicted maternal and self-ratings of externalizing problem behavior across adolescence, supporting the longterm predictive value of the laboratory-derived impulsivity measures.     

Children's appraisals of sex-typed behavior in their peers

Four experiments evaluated the effect of variations in sex-typed behavior in hypothetical peers on children's ratings of friendship. In all four studies, the children were heterogeneous with regard to social class, ethnicity, and race. In Experiment 1, children (71 boys, 90 girls) in Grades 3–6 read five stories about a target boy and in Experiment 2 (102 boys, 137 girls) about a target girl who displayed four sex-typed behaviors that ranged from exclusively masculine to exclusively feminine. In Experiment 1, boys preferred the exclusively masculine boy most as a friend. With each addition of a feminine behavior (and corresponding subtraction of a masculine behavior), the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In contrast, the girls preferred the exclusively feminine boy most as a friend and, with each addition of a masculine behavior, the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In Experiment 2, the converse was found although girls' ratings of friendship were less sharply affected by the target girl's sex-typed behavior than was observed for boys' ratings in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, children (33 boys, 38 girls) in Grades K—2 were read three stories about a target boy, accompanied by detailed chromatic illustrations, whose four sex-typed behaviors were exclusively masculine, equally masculine and feminine, or exclusively feminine. The boys had significantly more favorable friendship ratings than the girls; however, in contrast to Experiments 1 and 2, the target boy's sex-typed behavior did not affect friendship ratings of either boys or girls. Experiment 4 (28 boys, 27 girls) repeated the procedure of Experiment 3 with children in kindergarten and Grade 1; in addition, the children made forced-choice friendship ratings for each of the three possible story pairs. In contrast to Experiment 3, boys' friendship ratings were affected by the target boy's sex-typed behavior, as observed in Experiment 1, but girls' friendship ratings were not. However, in the forced-choice situation, the boys significantly preferred the exclusively masculine boy whereas the girls significantly preferred the exclusively feminine boy. The results were discussed in relation to the influence sex-typed behavior has on modifying the effects of a peer's sex on affiliative preference and sex differences in appraisals of cross-gender behavior, including the concept of threshold effects.     

Students' Self-Concept and Academic Achievement in Zimbabwe: A Preliminary Study

Students' personal beliefs about their capabilities to learn influence their motivation and learning. This study determined the relationship between self-concept and academic achievement of Zimbabwean primary school students. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from 75 pupils (36 girls, 39 boys: age range 9–12 years). Data were also collected from five of the students' teachers. Pupils' perceptions of comments or feedback from classmates and teachers comprised the self-concept measures. Academic achievement was measured using teachers' ratings of pupils' academic performance. Pupils who reported receiving positive comments from classmates and teachers were more likely to be rated by their teachers as having higher academic achievement compared to those who perceived themselves to be less favourably regarded by teachers.     

Gender differences in teachers’ perceptions of students’ temperament,educational competence,and teachability

Background. Student's temperament plays a significant role in teacher's perception of the student's learning style, educational competence (EC), and teachability. Hence, temperament contributes to student's academic achievement and teacher's subjective ratings of school grades. However, little is known about the effect of gender and teacher's age on this association. Aims. We examined the effect of teacher's and student's gender and teacher's age on teacher‐perceived temperament, EC, and teachability, and whether there is significant same gender or different gender association between teachers and students in this relationship. Sample. The participants were population‐based sample of 3,212 Finnish adolescents (M= 15.1 years) and 221 subject teachers. Methods. Temperament was assessed with Temperament Assessment Battery for Children – Revised and Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey batteries and EC with three subscales covering Cognitive ability, Motivation, and Maturity. Data were analyzed with multi‐level modelling. Results. Teachers perceived boys’ temperament and EC more negatively than girls’. However, the differences between boys and girls were not as large when perceived by male teachers, as they were when perceived by female teachers. Males perceived boys more positively and more capable in EC and teachability than females. They were also stricter regarding their perceptions of girls’ traits. With increasing age, males perceived boys’ inhibition as higher and mood lower. Generally, the older the teacher, the more mature he/she perceived the student. Conclusions. Teachers’ ratings varied systematically by their gender and age, and by students’ gender. This bias may have an effect on school grades and needs be taken into consideration in teacher education.     

Attention styles and peer relationships of hyperactive and normal boys and girls

Attention skills of hyperactive and normal boys and girls and behavioral ratings by teachers were investigated. Peer perceptions were obtained using a sociometric measure. Results supported previous research that found attentional deficits in hyperactive children. Results also suggested that hyperactive girls, as well as hyperactive boys, have difficulty with peer relationships. Hyperactive boys and girls displayed different patterns of problem behavior, although both groups displayed more problems than normal boys and girls. Specifically, the hyperactive girls displayed more conduct problem behavior than normal girls, but less than hyperactive boys. Because of the disruptive behavior problems they present, hyperactive boys may be identified earlier than are hyperactive girls.Portions of this paper were presented at the 56th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, 1984. Thanks are expressed to the students and teachers of the Eastwood Local Schools who took part in the study.The author wishes to thank the Department of Psychology and the Faculty Research Committee at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, for their support of this study.     

Sex differences in intellectual performance: analysis of a large cohort of competitive chess players

Only 1% of the world's chess grandmasters are women. This underrepresentation is unlikely to be caused by discrimination, because chess ratings objectively reflect competitive results. Using data on the ratings of more than 250,000 tournament players over 13 years, we investigated several potential explanations for the male domination of elite chess. We found that (a) the ratings of men are higher on average than those of women, but no more variable; (b) matched boys and girls improve and drop out at equal rates, but boys begin chess competition in greater numbers and at higher performance levels than girls; and (c) in locales where at least 50% of the new young players are girls, their initial ratings are not lower than those of boys. We conclude that the greater number of men at the highest levels in chess can be explained by the greater number of boys who enter chess at the lowest levels.     

Identification of gifted deaf children: a complex but critical educational process.

11 deaf students in a large midwestern school for the deaf were divided into gifted and nongifted groups by ratings of teachers and school administrators. There were six subjects in the gifted group (3 boys and 3 girls) and five subjects in the comparison group (3 boys and 2 girls). There was no statistically significant difference between mean raw scores of the two groups on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Also, teachers' rankings of the subjects identified as gifted did not correlate significantly with their Raven scores. Identification of gifted deaf students is too complex to be based only on teachers' ratings.     

West Indian teachers', parents', and students' attitudes toward adolescent behavior problems

Attitudes toward adolescent behavior problems were surveyed using samples of teachers, parents, and secondary school students in Barbados. Fifty-two behaviors were rated for their impact on students' school and general social adjustment. Results revealed high positive correlations between groups in terms of ranked positions of problems, and also between rankings of problems of both boys and girls. However, parents rated the majority of problems higher (more serious) than did teachers, while adults generally awarded higher ratings than did male students, especially for conduct problems. Female students' responses were highly similar to those of adults, except in respect to heterosexual activity, which they rated more serious in boys, while most adults rated it much more serious in girls. Implications for discipline and guidance are considered.     

Q-sort assessment of attachment security during the preschool years: links from home to school

This study investigated relations among preschoolers' secure-base behavior with mother at home, stressful family conditions, and qualities of developing relationships with peers and teachers in preschool. Preschool-age children (N = 94; 51 boys and 43 girls) and their mothers were observed during multiple home visits, and their security of attachment was assessed with the Attachment Q-Set. Children in families with lower levels of stress had more secure attachment relationships with mothers. Both boys and girls who were less securely attached to their mothers expressed significantly more anger-aggression in preschool. For boys, higher levels of family stress were also significantly related to anger-aggression and to social competence in preschool. In addition, boys who were more securely attached to their mothers were more securely attached to their preschool teachers and were more popular with peers in preschool.     

西安市小学生中独生与非独生子女个性品质的比较研究

本文研究了西安城区１０所小学７８７名独生与非独生子女个性品质方面的情况。我们设计了有１８个行为项目的教师问卷（每项按五等评分）及家长问卷;对结果进行了因素分析,据所聚类的项目内容,将所得四个因素命名为人际关系、自我中心、学习动力和独立性,进行多变量的变异数分析结果表明,独生子女的自我中心和学习动力比非独生子女强烈;而独立性却比非独生子女差．这说明独生子女在个性品质方面既有缺点,也有优点,不能说得一无是处;关键在于正确的教育思想和方法。     

The impact of workaholism on personal relationships

Workaholism involves a reluctance to disengage from work that is evidenced by a tendency to work or think about work anytime and anywhere. Conceptual links made with the transactional model of stress suggest that workaholics focus on work at the expense of personal relationships. The present research tested the proposition that workaholics deny their workaholism and experience greater disturbances in close relationships than do non-workaholics. In addition to workers' own self-ratings, ratings from their partner or spouse were also obtained. Workaholics' ratings of their levels of enjoyment were not significantly different from their partners' ratings, but their self-ratings of drive were significantly higher than partners' ratings. Workaholic and non-workaholic dyads reported similar levels of relationship adjustment. The data indicated that workaholics' self-ratings of their level of workaholism were similar to the ratings provided by their spouse/partner, and that satisfaction with their personal relationship (with their spouse or partner) was minimally affected by workaholism. These findings were replicated 6 months after the first data collection, and demonstrated stability across time. The data suggest that intimate relationships may act as stress buffers for workaholics. Implications are discussed in terms of the transactional model of stress and practices for guidance counsellors.     

Children’s Gender-Typed Activity Choices Across Preschool Social Contexts

Variability in children’s gender-typed activity preferences was examined across several preschool social contexts--solitary play, interactions with female peers, male peers, and both, and interactions with teachers. Participants were preschool children (N?=?264; 49?% girls, M age?=?52?months, range 37–60) attending Head Start classes in the Southwest United States. Seventy-three percent were Mexican/Mexican-American, and 82?% of families earned less than $30,000 per year. Children’s preferences for gender-typed activities varied as a function of their own gender and the identity of their interactional partners. Girls and boys preferred gender-typed activities (e.g., girls preferred feminine activities) when in solitary play but activity preferences changed across social contexts. Specifically, girls played significantly more with masculine activities when with male peers and boys played significantly more with feminine activities during interactions with teachers. Findings suggest that through social interactions with peers and teachers, children are exposed to a greater range of activities than what they experience when they play by themselves.     

Adolescents’ Perceptions of Masculine and Feminine Values in Sport and Physical Education: A Study of Gender Differences

In present study we investigated possible gender differences in how 357 secondary-school students valued the importance of masculine and feminine characteristics within sport and physical education and how their ratings of values were related to their participation in gendered sport. The results indicated that boys rated appearance strength, sports competence, endurance strength, and masculinity as significantly more important than did girls. Girls rated appearance good looking face, appearance slender, and femininity as significantly more important than did boys. Further, more boys participated in traditionally masculine sports, whereas girls to a greater extent participated in traditionally feminine sports. A discriminant function analysis separated the masculine sport group from the feminine sport group, which suggests that higher scores on the masculine function were indicative of lower value on appearance slender and flexibility, accompanied by higher value on appearance strength and masculinity. For the feminine sport group, this pattern was the opposite.     

What Explains Boys’ Stronger Confidence in their Intelligence?

This study investigated whether boys’ stronger confidence in their intelligence is explained by gender differences in measured intelligence and gender-stereotypical parental perceptions of their children’s intelligence. Verbal, numeric, figural, and reasoning intelligence and corresponding self-ratings were assessed for 496 German 11th and 12th graders (284 girls; age: M?=?16.95). Parents also rated their children’s intelligence (339 parents; 205 mothers; age: M?=?46.66). With and without controlling for intelligence, boys rated their numerical, figural, and reasoning abilities higher than girls. The same pattern appeared in parental intelligence perceptions. Boys even judged themselves as more intelligent controlling for both measured intelligence and parental intelligence estimates. Thus, neither intelligence nor gender-stereotypical parental perceptions totally explains boys’ stronger confidence in their intelligence.     

Temperament,classmate likability,and social perspective coordination as correlates of children's parent-rated type A behaviors

Parents of 58 boys and 62 girls from grades three through eight completed the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH), a measure of Type A behavior. Normative and reliability data were similar to those obtained from teachers as reported in the literature, but a factor analysis of parents' ratings revealed four factors (Competitiveness, Irritability, Impatience, and Leadership) as opposed to the two factors (Impatience/Aggression and Competitiveness) that have been derived from teacher ratings. Boys had higher total MYTH scores than girls, but correlations with age were not significant. No grade or gender effects were obtained for any of the four MYTH factor scores. Correlates of the MYTH scores were computed separately for boys and for girls. For boys, Irritability was related to Reactivity, a Difficult Temperament, low classmate Likeability, and poor performance on two social cognitive tasks (compromising and friendship understanding). For girls, Leadership was related to Classmate Likeability and good performance on the two social cognitive tasks. For boys only, total MYTH scores were related to low Attention Span, high Reactivity, a Difficult Temperament, and low Friendship Understanding scores. Findings are related to the gender differences found in the study of both ego control and cooperation/ competition.     

Agreement among teacher,peer, and self-ratings of children's aggression,withdrawal, and likability

This study examined the relationship among teacher, peer, and self-ratings of children's social behavior. The Pupil Evaluation Inventory was completed by 172 first-graders, 346 fourth-graders, 283 seventh-graders, and 30 teachers. Groups of deviant responders and controls were also selected from the total sample on the basis of peer-rated aggression and withdrawal scores. Interrater agreement was consistently greater between peer and teacher ratings than between self-ratings and either peer or teacher ratings. Discrepancies between raters were greatest for children with more deviant scores, with peer ratings providing the highest estimates of deviant behavior, and self ratings yielding the lowest. Self ratings were lower than teacher or peer ratings on aggression and withdrawal, and higher on likability. Aggression produced greatest agreement between raters. Agreement was uninfluenced by the cognitive maturity of peer evaluators. The results suggest that the selection of raters should be influenced by the class of behaviors to be evaluated and the context in which they occur.This research was funded by Québec Ministry of Social Affairs Grant RS 281 to Jane Ledingham and Alex Schwartzman. The authors wish to thank Lisa Serbin for her helpful comments on this article, and Claude Senneville, Geoff Selig, and Denise Morin for their assistance in the data collection and analysis.