Attainment of developmental tasks in emotionally and behaviourally disturbed adolescents across regular vs. special schools: a four-group comparison

Abstract

In Germany, adolescents with emotional and behavioural disturbances (EBD) are either schooled in special schools for students with EBD or in regular schools. The present study is the first to compare the perceived attainment of a broad range of developmental tasks of adolescents with and without EBD attending regular vs. special schools. While about 40% of German adolescents from schools for students with EBD did not fulfil the criteria of EBD according to the Youth Self-Report, almost 40% of the students from regular schools fulfilled these criteria. Using ordinal logistic regression analysis, main effects for school type and EBD status as well as interaction effects of school type and EBD status were observed. Adolescents attending special schools reported lower progress in the attainment of one out of 12 developmental tasks. Compared to students without EBD, students with EBD perceived lower attainment of seven developmental tasks, especially of those linked to taking responsibilities of adulthood. The results are discussed regarding how successful attainment of developmental tasks can be supported. Also, reasons for the large number of students without self-reported EBD attending a special school are considered.