Psychosocial dimensions of learning disabilities: External validation of (1) statistically-derived psychosocial subtypes and their relations to (2) cognitive and academic functioning.

摘要

The present study aimed to assess the following: (a) the relationship between age and psychosocial functioning; (b) the relations between psychosocial functioning and cognitive and academic achievement; and (c) the external validity of statistically-derived psychosocial subtypes, employing a behavioral measure distinct from the one used to establish the typology. The subjects in this study consisted of 152 learning disabled children between the ages of 7 and 13 years (inclusive). Of these subjects, 147 were assigned to one of seven psychosocial subtypes using a profile matching algorithm developed by Fuerst (1991). Comparisons between these subtypes yielded the following results: Overall, learning disabled subjects were not found to display increased psychopathology with increasing age; that is, patterns of psychosocial functioning remained stable over time. Results of comparisons on cognitive and academic achievement measures showed a relation between performance on these measures and both severity and type of psychopathology. In particular, subjects who displayed more severe psychopathology were found to demonstrate better verbal skills on average. Finally, the seven psychosocial subtypes could be distinguished on the basis of patterns of performance on items of the Behaviour Problem Checklist. The results of this study support previous findings and further reinforce the need to consider subtypes of socioemotional and behavioral functioning displayed by learning disabled children.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses u26 Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1993 .T72. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 32-06, page: 1703. Adviser: B. P. Rourke. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1993.