Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children
Learning and behavioral difficulties often emerge during the first years of primary school and are one of the most important issues of concern for families and schools. The study was aimed at investigating the co-occurrence of difficulties between academic learning and emotional-behavioral control i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/112 |
| _version_ | 1797555487234850816 |
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| author | Emanuela Castro Maria Cotov Paola Brovedani Gabrielle Coppola Tania Meoni Marina Papini Tania Terlizzi Chiara Vernucci Chiara Pecini Pietro Muratori |
| author_facet | Emanuela Castro Maria Cotov Paola Brovedani Gabrielle Coppola Tania Meoni Marina Papini Tania Terlizzi Chiara Vernucci Chiara Pecini Pietro Muratori |
| author_sort | Emanuela Castro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Learning and behavioral difficulties often emerge during the first years of primary school and are one of the most important issues of concern for families and schools. The study was aimed at investigating the co-occurrence of difficulties between academic learning and emotional-behavioral control in typically developing school children and the moderating role of sex. A sample of 640 second-grade school children participated in the study. This study used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to measure the emotional and behavioral difficulties and a battery of objective and standardized tests to evaluate the learning skills in children. In this sample 7% to 16% of children performed below the normal range in reading and/or arithmetic tests. Mixed models showed that children’s hyperactive behaviors were positively related to both reading and math difficulties, and emotional problems correlated negatively with reading accuracy. The more children displayed behavioral difficulties, the more they were exposed to the risk of worsening reading and math performance, especially for girls. The result that among different emotional-behavioral problems within the school setting, hyperactivity behaviors and emotional difficulties are related to learning difficulties with a moderate effect of sex, needs to be taken into account in screening and prevention programs for learning difficulties in order to not disregard the complexity of the associated profiles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:48:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9f4a6621bf64822970e602f3d4568ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:48:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9f4a6621bf64822970e602f3d4568ff2023-11-20T11:29:06ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672020-08-017911210.3390/children7090112Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade ChildrenEmanuela Castro0Maria Cotov1Paola Brovedani2Gabrielle Coppola3Tania Meoni4Marina Papini5Tania Terlizzi6Chiara Vernucci7Chiara Pecini8Pietro Muratori9IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyIRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyIRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyDepartment of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, ItalyCRED Della Zona Educativa Pisana, 56121 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyCRED Della Zona Educativa Pisana, 56121 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyDepartment of Education, Language, Interculture and Psychology, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, ItalyIRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry Pisa, 56018 Calambrone, ItalyLearning and behavioral difficulties often emerge during the first years of primary school and are one of the most important issues of concern for families and schools. The study was aimed at investigating the co-occurrence of difficulties between academic learning and emotional-behavioral control in typically developing school children and the moderating role of sex. A sample of 640 second-grade school children participated in the study. This study used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to measure the emotional and behavioral difficulties and a battery of objective and standardized tests to evaluate the learning skills in children. In this sample 7% to 16% of children performed below the normal range in reading and/or arithmetic tests. Mixed models showed that children’s hyperactive behaviors were positively related to both reading and math difficulties, and emotional problems correlated negatively with reading accuracy. The more children displayed behavioral difficulties, the more they were exposed to the risk of worsening reading and math performance, especially for girls. The result that among different emotional-behavioral problems within the school setting, hyperactivity behaviors and emotional difficulties are related to learning difficulties with a moderate effect of sex, needs to be taken into account in screening and prevention programs for learning difficulties in order to not disregard the complexity of the associated profiles.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/112screeninghyperactivityemotional problemsmathematical skillsreading skills |
| spellingShingle | Emanuela Castro Maria Cotov Paola Brovedani Gabrielle Coppola Tania Meoni Marina Papini Tania Terlizzi Chiara Vernucci Chiara Pecini Pietro Muratori Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children Children screening hyperactivity emotional problems mathematical skills reading skills |
| title | Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children |
| title_full | Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children |
| title_fullStr | Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children |
| title_short | Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children |
| title_sort | associations between learning and behavioral difficulties in second grade children |
| topic | screening hyperactivity emotional problems mathematical skills reading skills |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/112 |
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