Rutter Teacher Research Articles

Internet gaming disorder and its relationship with behavioral disorder and mother\u2019s parenting styles in primary school students according to gender in Iran

BackgroundThe problem of students’ gaming addiction has been related to the individual student’s characteristics and the influence of family environment. Researchers aimed to investigate if and how internet gaming disorder (IGD) of the elementary school boys and girls is related to behavioral disorder and their mother’s parenting style in Iran.MethodsThis is a descriptive correlational study, involving 657 fifth and sixth-grade elementary school students in 2019. Researchers used a multistage stratified random sampling of students, their parents and their teachers. Data were collected using internet gaming disorder questionnaire (IGD 20), Rutter teacher behavioral disorder questionnaire and Baumrind Parenting Styles questionnaire (PSI). Obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version16 for descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient test.ResultsFindings showed that IGD prevalence was 5.9% among primary school students with significant relationship between IGD and behavioral disorder among all participants (r = 0.23, p = 0.04); although it was insignificant among boys (r = 0.13, p = 0.11). Also the relationship between IGD and mother’s parenting style was significant in the total sample (r = 0.12, p = 0.03), in particular for girls and their mothers (r = 0.2, p = 0.001).ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate the importance of family and parental involvement in prevention and management of IGD chiefly among girls. Healthcare professionals will benefit from knowing the problematic consequences of online gaming among school-age children and try to promote safe and healthy online behavior supported by a supervised family environment.

The Relationship between Behavioral Problems in 7 to 13 Year Old Children with Cerebral Palsy and Maternal Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: In addition to numerous physical disabilities, children with cerebral palsy suffer from sociopsychological problems such as behavioral problems. The risk of depression in mothers of children with cerebral palsy is increased, while mothers have the most important role in the development of the children. Thus, this study has investigated the relationship between behavioral problems in children with cerebral palsy and depression in mothers. Materials and Methods: In this study, 76 children with cerebral palsy and their mothers were evaluated. Children’s behavioral problems and maternal depression were evaluated using Rutter's Teacher Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Among the study subjects, 67.7% of children had behavioral problems. No significant correlation was observed between the behavioral problems of children with cerebral palsy and maternal depression (r = -0.08, P = 0.49). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it seems that behavioral problems in children with cerebral palsy may not be the cause of depression in mothers.

Child and adolescent mental health problems in Tyva Republic, Russia, as possible risk factors for a high suicide rate.

High rates of child mental health problems in the Russian Federation have recently been documented; the rates of youth suicide are among the highest in the world. Across the Russian regions, Republic of Tyva has one of the highest rates of child and adolescent suicide and the lowest life expectancy at birth. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associations of mental health problems in Native Tyvinian children and adolescents using internationally recognised measures and diagnoses. A two-stage, two-phase design involved selection of schools in five rural settlements in Western Tyva and two schools in the capital city followed by selection of Native Tyvinian children in grades 3-4 (ages 9-10) and 6-7 (ages 14-15). In the first phase, a screening measure of psychopathology, the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire, was obtained on 1048 children with a 97% participation rate. In the second phase, more detailed psychiatric assessments were carried out for subgroups of screen-positive and screen-negative children. The prevalence of mental health problems was about 25%, ranging from 40% in adolescent boys from rural areas to 9% in adolescent girls from the city. The patterning of disorders and risk factors were similar to those in other countries, rural areas were associated with an increased risk of psychopathology. The findings indicate that there is an urgent need for interventions to reduce risk in this population and provide effective help for Tyvinian children and adolescents with mental health problems.

A multi-center randomized controlled trial of social skills training among children with behavior problems

To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a social skills training program in children with child behavior disorders. A total of 441 children, aged 7-13 years old, from 6 centers were randomized into intervention (n = 216) and waitlist group (n = 225). The social skills training program was offered to the intervention group 1 hour weekly for totally 12 weeks. The Rutter Parent & Teacher Scale and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were used at baseline and completion of intervention. Change of total score, neurotic factor score and antisocial factor score of Rutter Parent Scale in the intervention group was significantly larger than that in the waitlist group (P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.000). The clinical cure rate of the intervention group (47.69%) was significantly higher than that of the waitlist group (24.89%) after intervention (chi(2) = 24.84, P = 0.000). Change of total score, neurotic factor score and antisocial factor score of Rutter Teacher Scale in the intervention group was significantly larger than that in the waitlist group (P = 0.000, P = 0.003, P = 0.002). The clinical cure rate of the intervention group (56.02%) was significantly higher than that of the waitlist group (38.22%) after intervention (chi(2) = 14.01, P = 0.000). The total score, somatic complaint score and delinquent score of Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) of the intervention group decreased significantly than that of the waitlist group after intervention (P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.002) with the exception of aggressive behavior score (P = 0.078). The difference and decrease rate of total score, somatic complaint score, delinquent score and aggressive behavior score of intervention group were significantly higher than that of the waitlist group after intervention (P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.006, P = 0.015, P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.012). This study provides supports for the use of social skills training program to improve children's behavior problems in both family and school settings.

Comment on "Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children"

Letter to Editors as a contribution to discus some issues in conducting factor analysis about methodology in the article entitled “Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children”.

Reply to the comment on "Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children"

Reply to the comment on "Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children"

Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children

To examine the factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese primary school children. The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire, a 26-item scale covering a variety of behavioral problems, was completed by teachers of 877 children, aged 6 to 11 years. Data were subjected to factor analysis using the principal components solution with varimax rotation. The factorial analysis in total sample revealed three factors explaining 38.88% of the total variance. The factors contained items representing hyperactivity/conduct (Factor 1), anxious/depressive (Factor 2) and truancy/stealing (Factor 3). The highest correlations between factors scores were for Factor 1 and Factor 3. These Factors scores were higher in boys than girls and correlated with lower social class. All three Factors scores correlated with school performance. The comparison between separate factorial structures for the samples of boys and girls revealed a considerable overlap. The pattern of the items contained on Factor 1 appears to be related with the category of hyperkinetic conduct disorder used by the International Classification of Diseases-10. Results suggest that the Portuguese language version of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire possesses good psychometric properties and may be considered a useful instrument for measuring children's behavior problems.

Victimization and bullying among 8-year-old Finnish children

There are only few population-based time-trend studies on changes in prevalence of bullying and victimization among children. The main aim of this study was to find out whether changes have occurred in prevalence rates of bullying and victimization from 1989 to 1999 among eight-year-old children. The associations between victimization and bullying and psychiatric symptoms and their possible differences in the statistical strengths of associations between the years 1989 and 1999 were also studied. Two cross-sectional, representative samples from southern Finland were compared. All children born in 1981 (1989 sample, n = 985, response rate 95%) and 1991 (1999 sample, n = 962, response rate 86%) and living in the selected school district were included in the study samples. Children, parents and teachers were asked about bullying and victimization. The Children's Depression Inventory and Rutter's parent and teacher scales were used to study psychiatric symptoms. In 1999, fewer 8-year-old children were victims of bullying than in 1989. There was a decrease in the number of bullies but the change was statistically significant only in the parental reports. The statistical strengths of associations of victimization and bullying with psychiatric symptoms were mainly the same in 1989 as in 1999. Slightly decreased levels of victimization among 8-year-old Finnish children is a promising result, but further time-trend studies are needed, as well as qualitative studies, to obtain a deeper understanding of the bullying phenomenon and the factors reducing it. It might be that especially young children are suspectible to influences diminishing victimisation and bullying.

Factors associated with ideation and acts of deliberate self-harm among 18-year-old boys

The aims of the study were: (1) to identify the prevalence of ideation and acts of deliberate self-harm in 18-year-old boys; (2) to report the use of mental health services among these boys; (3) to identify risk factors assessed at age 8 and (4) to identify associated cross-sectional factors at age 18 of self-reported ideation and acts of deliberate self-harm. The participants in this community-based 10-year follow-up study consisted of 2,348 boys born during 1981. At baseline, three informant sources were used: parents, teachers and the children themselves. The questionnaires used were the Rutter Parents Scale, the Rutter Teacher Scale and the Children's Depressive Inventory. At follow-up, boys' psychopathology, adaptive functioning and substance use were studied using the Young Adult Self-Report questionnaire. Further questions about demographic factors and life events were added at both stages. The prevalence of ideation of deliberate self-harm was 4.0%, and of acts 2.2%, during the preceding 6 months. Of the subjects who reported ideation, 9.7%, and of those who reported acts, 16.0%, had used mental health services during the previous year. Self-reported depressive symptoms at age 8 predicted ideation and acts of deliberate self-harm 10 years later. Suicidal boys' problems in many life areas were linked with suicidal tendency through psychiatric symptoms, especially anxious/depressed symptoms and aggressive behaviour. The connection between self-reported depressive symptoms at age 8 and ideation and acts of deliberate self-harm at age 18 is a good reason to already pay special attention to children's own intimations of distress in elementary school. It is likely that an effective way to prevent suicidality among adolescents is to search for and treat psychiatric problems among young people. Self-reported screening questionnaires used, e.g. in school healthcare, may provide an opportunity to recognize these problems.

Early childhood stunting and later behaviour and school achievement.

Stunting in early childhood is common in developing countries and is associated with poorer cognition and school achievement in later childhood. The effect of stunting on children's behaviours is not as well established and is examined here. Children who were stunted at age 9 to 24 months and had taken part in a 2-year intervention programme of psychosocial stimulation with or without nutritional supplementation were reexamined at age 11-12 years and compared with non-stunted children from the same neighbourhoods. Their school and home behaviours were assessed using the Rutter Teacher and Parent Scales and school achievement was measured using the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Suffolk Reading Scales. No significant intervention effects were found among the stunted groups. Thus data from the four intervention groups were aggregated for subsequent analyses, comparing all 116 stunted children with 80 non-stunted children. Controlling for social background variables, the stunted group had more conduct difficulties (p < .05) as rated by their parents. They also had significantly lower scores in arithmetic, spelling, word reading and reading comprehension than the non-stunted children (all p < .001). Conduct difficulties and hyperactivity were related to poorer school achievement. Controlling for the children's IQ, the stunted children's arithmetic scores remained significantly lower than those of the non-stunted children, but reading and spelling scores were not different. Previously stunted children had more conduct difficulties at home, regardless of their social background, than non-stunted children. Their educational attainment was also poorer than non-stunted children and these results are suggestive of a specific arithmetic difficulty. Children with behaviour problems performed less well at school.

School adjustment and health in Russian adolescents

Associations between common physical and mental diseases and school adjustment, on one hand, and personal and social resources, on the other, were analyzed in 446 Russian adolescents, aged 12 to 16 years. Physical health data were obtained from the school medical documents. Children's psychological health was assessed using a translated short form of the Child Behaviour Checklist and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire. School adjustment was measured by grade point average and the School Adjustment Scale. Personality was measured by a short form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Gray-Wilson Personality Questionnaire. School adjustment was negatively related to behavioural problems and was associated with some physical conditions. Five physical health variables were related to academic attainment: Postural disturbances, myopia, thyroid enlargement, autonomic vascular dysfunction and cerebral asthenia. They were also positively related to neuroticizm and GWPQ Behavioural Inhibition scores and were negatively related to psychoticizm and Behavioural Activation scores.

A prospective study and review of pre-morbid characteristics in children with traumatic brain injury

The pre-morbid characteristics of 32 children requiring inpatient rehabilitation following moderate or severe head injuries were studied prospectively. Teachers completed Rutter and modified Conners questionnaires on the pre-head injury behavioural characteristics of each child and also rated the pre-morbid learning ability of the children on a four-point scale. The children's socioeconomic status was determined using their postcode at the time of the injury. Behavioural questionnaires were returned for 25 of the 32 children. Five of the 25 children obtained total behaviour problem scores on the Rutter teacher scales indicative of pre-morbid psychopathology. The general learning ability of five children was rated as being far below average. The children had a higher mean socioeconomic deprivation score than for the geographic area in which the rehabilitation unit is sited. The incidence of pre-morbid behaviour problems in the study population with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury may be somewhat higher than in the local population, but this did not appear to be a major risk factor in sustaining a head injury. However, adverse environmental conditions, linked to socioeconomic deprivation, did appear to be important risk factors that contributed to a pedestrian road traffic accident.

Classroom climate and the mental health of primary school children

This study was carried out to examine associations between classroom climate and pupils' mental health in primary school, and whether pupils who had emotional and behavioural problems in the second grade are more vulnerable to the effects of a poor classroom climate 4 years later. The study was carried out by means of questionnaires to teachers. The students ( n = 861) were surveyed in the second (aged 8 years, Time 1) and sixth grade (aged 12 years, Time 2). The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) at Time 1 and the Teacher Report Form (TRF) at Time 2 were used to measure internalizing, externalizing and total problem scores. Classroom climate was measured using a composite variable at Time 2. The results show associations between poor sixth-grade classroom climate and an increase in emotional and behavioural problems in both boys and girls. In addition, the girls who were overall poorly adjusted, particularly those who had externalizing problems in the second grade, were especially vulnerable to a poor classroom climate in the sixth grade.

Reactions of Russian adolescents to reward and punishment: a cross-cultural study of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire

A translated, shortened version of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire was administered, along with an abbreviated adult Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, to 251 Russian schoolchildren aged 14–16 years. Girls were significantly higher than boys on passive avoidance , flight, and N, suggesting higher levels of anxiety/emotionality. In accord with British and Japanese results, principal component analysis of individual items largely failed to identify the six theoretical animal learning paradigms on which the GWPQ was constructed. Nor did intercorrelations among scale scores support the a priori three-dimensional structure of the test; instead there was evidence for two major systems underlying reactions to reward and punishment: Inhibition , with strong loadings on passive avoidance, extinction and flight, and Activation , with positive loadings on fight and approach and a negative loading on active avoidance. Correlations with Rutter Teacher scores, the Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self-Report are also presented and discussed. As predicted, anxiety and emotional problems were associated with Inhibition, while conduct disorder and attention deficits were associated with Activation. Multiple regression analysis showed that GWPQ scores were superior to scores on this version of the EPQ as predictors of teacher ratings and added significant predictive power to parent and self-report measures of adolescent adjustment.

Emotional and behavioural symptoms in 8-9-year-old children in relation to family structure.

The association between family structure and behavioural and emotional symptoms in prepubertal children was studied in an epidemiological survey conducted in Finland. Five thousand eight hundred thirteen children aged 8 and 9 years were screened using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) for parents and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for teachers. Information concerning family type, birth order and sibship size were obtained from the parents. The majority of the children (84%) in the sample lived with both their biological parents, 10% with a single parent, and around 5% with a biological parent and a stepparent. Around 1% of the children lived outside their original home. The prevalence of behavioural and emotional symptoms was lowest in children living with both their biological parents and highest among children living outside their original home according to both parents' and teachers' reports. Children living with a parent and a stepparent had problems more often at home, but less often at school than children living with a single parent. Living with a single father was associated with having more externalizing, school-related problems, while living with a stepfather was associated with having more internalizing, home related problems. Having younger siblings seemed to be associated with fewer problems at school, and being the youngest child with having less problems both at home and at school.

Design and subjects of a Finnish epidemiological study on psychiatric disorders in childhood.

In an epidemiological multi-centre study, parents filled in the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) and teachers filled in the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for almost 6000 children. The children filled in the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The subjects well represented the entire population of 8-9-year-old children in Finland. The material and design of the study as well as the basic demographic characteristics are presented.

Behavioural and emotional symptoms in 8-9-year-old children.

We present epidemiological data from a multi-centre study on psychiatric symptoms among 6017 8-9-year-old children representing a total annual birth cohort (N = 60007) in Finland. The results are based on three questionnaires: the Rutter Parent Scale (RA2), the Rutter Teacher Scale (RB2), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The proportion of children that scored above the cutoff points, indicating probable psychiatric disturbance, were 11.2% for the RA2, 13.9% for the RB2 and 6.9% for the CDI. Twenty-four percent of the subjects scored above the cutoff point on at least one of the questionnaires. Low family social status and disrupted family relations correlated strongly with high rates of symptoms in the children.

Behavioural/emotional symptoms among 8-9-year-old children with somatic symptoms or illnesses as reported by their teacher.

The aim of this study was to assess children's behavioural/emotional symptoms at school and to compare these symptoms of somatically healthy children with those of children with somatic illnesses or symptoms. The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) was used for measuring psychiatric symptoms in 5813 children aged 8-9 years. The parents reported the somatic symptoms and illnesses of their children during the previous 12 months. One hundred and sixty one children had a marked or serious chronic illness, 292 had a mild chronic illness, and 92 had one or several symptoms. The findings suggest that boys with a marked or serious chronic somatic illness are prone to manifest psychiatric symptoms in their interactions with peers and teachers at school and that boys with a mild chronic illness have less psychiatric symptoms than healthy boys.

Psychiatric symptoms in children with intellectual disability.

In a sample of almost 6000 8-year-old children, we found that 1.5% attended special schools for the educationally subnormal, or training schools. Psychiatric symptoms were studied by means of three screening instruments: the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) for the parents, the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for the teachers, and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) for the children. The prevalence rate of children identified as possibly suffering from a psychiatric disturbance was 32.2% according to the RA2. The corresponding prevalence rate for the RB2 was 34.2%. According to the CDI 11.0% had depressive disturbance. All types of disturbances were more frequent among the intellectually disabled children as compared to the nondisabled children. The differences were statistically significant for emotional and mixed types of disturbance on the RA2, and for emotional and conduct types of disturbance on the RB2.

Children’s behavioural/emotional problems: a comparison of parents’ and teachers’ reports for elementary school-aged children

This study assessed the agreement between parents and teachers concerning behavioural/emotional symptoms of children. 5671 children born in 1981 (mean age 8.5 years at the time of study) were studied using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2). Boys had more behavioural symptoms on both scales, 3.6% of the boys and 2.3% of the girls were deviant on both scales. Agreement between parents and teachers on single behaviours was better for deviant girls than for deviant boys. The factors constructed from the Rutter scale items (separately of each scale) represented externalizing, internalizing and hyperactivity behaviours. For all children, moderate correlations between parents' and teachers' ratings were found in externalizing behaviour and hyperactivity. Correlations of the factors were clearly higher for deviant girls than for deviant boys. Scoring high on one of the scales increased the probability of scoring high on the second scale. The discussion focuses on factors that may affect agreement between parents and teachers when behavioural symptoms are assessed.