Do demographic factors, school functioning, and quality of student–teacher relationships as rated by teachers predict internalising and externalising problems among Norwegian schoolchildren?

Antisocial behaviour and teacher-student relationship quality: The role of emotion-related abilities and callous-unemotional traits

BACKGROUND

Childhood antisocial behaviour has been associated with poorer teacher-student relationship (TSR) quality. It is also well-established that youth with antisocial behaviour have a range of emotion-related deficits, yet the impact of these students' emotion-related abilities on the TSR is not understood. Furthermore, the addition of the Limited Prosocial Emotions Specifier in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) indicates that understanding the role of callous-unemotional (CU) traits for youth with antisocial behaviour problems is of particular importance.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between antisocial behaviour difficulties and the TSR by examining the influence of emotion-related abilities and CU traits.

SAMPLE

Twelve teachers from 10 primary schools provided anonymized information on 108 children aged 6-11 years.

RESULTS

Antisocial behaviour was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness) as well as higher emotion lability/negativity and lower emotion understanding/empathy. Emotion lability/negativity was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness), and emotion understanding/empathy was associated with lower teacher-student conflict and higher closeness. CU traits were associated with higher teacher-student conflict and lower teacher-student closeness (controlling for antisocial behaviour more broadly). We found no evidence of a moderating effect of CU traits or emotion-related abilities on the association between antisocial behaviour and TSR quality.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions for behaviour difficulties should consider teacher-student relationships in the classroom. Strategies which aim to improve teacher-student closeness as well as reduce teacher-student conflict may be of particular value to students with high CU traits.

Student–Teacher Relationships and Student Anxiety: Moderating Effects of Sex and Academic Achievement

This study examined the influence of student–teacher relationships on children’s anxiety and its differential association according to children’s sex and academic achievement. The sample included 350 third- and fourth-grade students and their elementary school teachers. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated that student–teacher conflict at the beginning of the school year was associated with higher anxiety in students at the end of the year. The influence of conflict with teachers also varied for boys and girls, according to their academic achievement. Indeed, high-achieving girls reporting conflict with teachers presented more anxiety compared with boys and their low-achieving peers. This study highlights the influence of teachers on student anxiety, and brings attention to high-achieving girls, a group rarely considered at risk.

Does School Functioning Matter in Patients of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services?

OBJECTIVE

General population studies have demonstrated that good school functioning protects children and adolescents against mental health problems. However, no such studies of clinical populations have been conducted. Therefore, we explored the association between school functioning and mental health in patients referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). We also examined whether good school functioning and general social competence at referral predicted better mental health outcomes after six months of outpatient treatment.

METHOD

Of 345 patients, aged 8-15.5 years, referred as outpatients to CAMHS in a Norwegian county, 192 were eligible for a six-month follow-up study. Parents filled out the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 120 of these children and teachers completed the Teachers' Report Form (TRF) for 122 children.

RESULTS

Teacher-reported adaptive functioning (r = -0.65) and academic skills (r = -0.42), and parent-reported social competence (r = -0.35) and school competence (r = -0.27) were significantly (p < 0.01) negatively associated with total emotional and behavioral problems at baseline. Parent-reported school competence and the total level of emotional and behavioral problems at referral significantly (p < 0.05) predicted the total level of emotional and behavioral problems six months after referral.

CONCLUSION

Both teacher- and parent-reported school functioning were associated with mental health in CAMHS patients. Only parent-reported school competence predicted total levels of emotional and behavioral problems six months after referral. Therapists, teachers, and parents should cooperate closely when planning and conducting child and adolescent psychiatric treatments, and school should be considered an important area for intervention.