Impaired school well-being in children with specific learning disorder and its relationship to psychopathological symptoms

Abstract

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature indicates that children with Specific Learning Disorder (SpLD) are at risk of internalising and externalising problems. Instead, less is known about the factors that may influence this symptomatology. For instance, a few studies investigated the extent to which impaired school well-being could predict internalising and externalising symptomatology. This study aimed first to examine school well-being in SpLD children in a multi-dimensional perspective, from the point of view of the children and their mothers; second, the study analysed relationships between school well-being problems and psychopathological symptoms. Seventy-two children aged 8–10 years, 20 with SpLD and 52 typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers completed the Questionnaire on School Well-being. The mothers also filled in the Child Behaviour Checklist. Compared with TD group, mothers of children with SpLD reported on QBS lower children’s learning performances and worse family–teacher relationships. Closer relationships between QBS scores, i.e. struggles with learning and emotional problems at school, and internalising/externalising symptoms were found in SpLD group. These findings suggest that school well-being problems could negatively influence the psychological development of children with SpLD and highlight the importance of supportive school environment to improve school well-being and overall psychological health of these children.