Hennessy E, Swords L, Heary C
School of Psychology, University College Dublin.
Child Care Health Dev. 2008 Jan;34(1):4-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2007.00772.x.
There is a widespread consensus in the literature that children who have psychological problems are more likely than other children to be excluded or rejected by their peers. The existence of this phenomenon has been established, primarily with the use of research on their sociometric status within groups of peers. Much less research has been performed on the way in which children develop attitudes and behavioural intentions towards peers with problems.
The primary aim of this article is to introduce readers to research on children's understanding of the nature of common childhood psychological problems, with a view to exploring the factors that might contribute to the development of negative attitudes and behaviour.
Relevant publications were identified through searches of electronic databases and articles in print.
From the early years of primary school, children are able to identify peers whose behaviour deviates from the norm and to suggest causes for the behaviour of peers with psychological problems. Furthermore, their beliefs about peers' personal responsibility for these problems appear to be a significant determinant of attitudes and behavioural intentions. The article identifies the need for more research on the role of factors such as gender and personal contact in determining children's understanding of, and attitudes towards, peers with psychological problems. In addition, the article calls for more research on mental health education programmes and the extension of these programmes to younger children, given the fact that even young primary school children appear to have beliefs about the causes of psychological problems and negative attitudes to peers who display such problems.
Research on children's understanding of mental health can make an important contribution to our understanding of why children with problems are so much more likely to be excluded from their peer group.
文献中普遍达成的共识是，有心理问题的儿童比其他儿童更有可能被同龄人排斥或拒绝。这种现象的存在已得到证实，主要是通过对他们在同龄人群体中的社会测量地位进行研究。关于儿童对有问题的同龄人形成态度和行为意图的方式的研究则少得多。
本文的主要目的是向读者介绍关于儿童对常见儿童心理问题本质理解的研究，以探索可能导致消极态度和行为形成的因素。
通过检索电子数据库和印刷版文章来确定相关出版物。
从小学早期开始，儿童就能识别出行为偏离规范的同龄人，并能为有心理问题的同龄人的行为提出原因。此外，他们对同龄人对这些问题的个人责任的看法似乎是态度和行为意图的一个重要决定因素。本文指出需要更多地研究性别和个人接触等因素在决定儿童对有心理问题的同龄人的理解和态度方面所起的作用。此外，鉴于即使是小学低年级学生似乎也对心理问题的成因有看法，并且对表现出此类问题的同龄人持消极态度，本文呼吁对心理健康教育项目以及将这些项目扩展到更年幼的儿童进行更多研究。
关于儿童对心理健康理解的研究可以为我们理解有问题的儿童为何如此容易被同龄人排斥做出重要贡献。
