Similarly, the staff who conducted the interviews were neither psychologists nor psychiatrists, again leaving room for error. Within the scope of the study's goals, however, the researchers controlled for the majority of the potential drawbacks.
This study provides educators with a rough series of guidelines for evaluating at-risk students. It can be used to create a checklist of behaviors and circumstance that can point to children which are at higher risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems, and give some objective measures which can be applied to any student, with less risk of personal bias on the part of the educator. However, there is also a possibility of using these findings to pigeonhole students that these findings may indicate are at risk, even if those students have other influencing factors that mediate their risks. Students that display the behaviors noted are not guaranteed to develop disorders, but the guidelines are useful none the less.
There are several avenues for further research from this study. First, as indicated by the researchers, the study needs to be repeated in an area with more diversity, to counteract any potential biases in the...
Second, similar research should be conducted on younger students, to discover which markers still apply, in the hopes of providing earlier intervention. Finally, additional study is indicated on students that have not qualified as at risk by per-screening. As was indicated by the study, children without given risk factor can develop emotional or behavioral disorders, and it should be examined whether the identified behaviors are markers for all children.
Works Cited
Achenbach, T.M. (2001). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4-18 and 2001 profile.
Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Nelson, J., Stage, S., Dupong-Hurly, K., Syhorst L., and Epstein, M. (2007). Risk Factors
Predictive of the Problem Behaviors of Children at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders. Exceptional Children. 73(3). 367-379
Walker, H., & Severson, H. (1990). Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD).
Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
Walker, H., Severson, H., & Feil, E.G. (1995). Early Screening Project (ESP). Longmont, CO:
Sopris West
