Children's understanding of their emotionally disturbed peers. II. Etiological factors.

In a previous study, we (Marsden and Kalter, 1976) found that fourth- and sixth-grade children not only made distinctions between normal and emotionally disturbed behavior, but also were able to discriminate degrees of childhood psychopathology in a manner strikingly congruent with clinician-judges. Having assessed children's perceptions of emotional disturbance, we turned our attention to how the children might account for the development of such childhood disorders. We are aware of no previous study which has examined children's views of the etiology of emotionally disturbed behavior of their peers. Such information could shed further light on children's understanding of childhood psychopathology and might implicitly indicate what children believe are the necessary ingredients for healthy emotional development. This knowledge would be useful to mental health professionals, teachers, and parents seeking both to understand the emotionally disturbed child's place in his peer group and to convey an understanding of emotional illness to normal children.