Emotional and Behavior Disorders

Chapter 8

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

 BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

Brain Disorders

Brain disorders are the result of either brain dysgenesis (abnormal brain development) or brain injury (caused by influences such as disease or trauma that alter the structure or function of a brain that had been developing normally up to that point).

Genetics

There is evidence of a genetic link to some forms of emotional and behavioral disorders (Weiner, 1999).

Temperament

Generally conceived to be a person's behavioral style or typical way of responding to situations.

 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Dodge (1993) has identified three primary environmental factors to the development of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior.

(1) An adverse early rearing environment.

(2) An aggressive pattern of behavior displayed when entering school, and

(3) Social rejection by peers.

Community

When students associate with peers who exhibit antisocial behavior, they are more likely to experience trouble in the community and at school.

School

Is where children spend the largest portion of their time outside the home.

 SCREENING TESTS

The process of differentiating between children who are not likely to be disabled and those who either show signs of behavioral disturbance or seem to be at risk for developing behavior problems.

Behavior Rating Profile (BRP-2)

This test includes six subtests that can be used independently or in any combination (Brown & Hammill, 1990).

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

This test comes in teacher report, parent report and child report forms and can be used with children ages 5 through 18 (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1991).

Systematic Screening for Behavioral Disorders (SSBD)

This test is the most systematic, fully developed instrument presently available for screening children for possible emotional and behavioral disorders.

Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS)

This test assesses a student's strengths