Sonuga-Barke E J, Thompson M, Stevenson J, Viney D
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton.
Psychol Med. 1997 Jul;27(4):909-18. doi: 10.1017/s0033291797005291.
Previous research has suggested that behavioural problems displayed during the pre-school years are best understood as undifferentiated difficulties in manageability. The present study explored this issue, by examining the structure of British parents' ratings of their pre-school children's behavioural problems.
The 19-item Behavioural Checklist (BCL; Richman, 1977) was completed by 1047 parents of 3-year-old children taking part in an epidemiological survey of child development.
Factor analysis revealed six factors representing poor social adjustment, poor emotional adjustment, sleep problems, over-activity/inattention, eating problems and soiling. When these scores were used as a basis for cluster analysis, problem types clustered around six centres. The first, and largest, grouping was of children with no problems. Three further large groupings displayed specific but moderate problems (over-active, timid, and naughty children). The final two groupings displayed more extreme problems including anti-social behaviour. In one group these were accompanied by severe emotional problems and in the other by signs of hyperactivity. The reliability and validity of these clusters was supported. Parental ratings of behaviour problems taken when the children were 8-years-old suggested that the children in the hyperactive/conduct group were likely to have continued difficulties.
This paper argues against the homogeneity of pre-school behaviour problems but supports the idea that problems of a clinically significant level are likely to be co-morbid, with either problems of emotional regulation (neurotic) or those of behavioural regulation (hyperactive) accompanied by problems of conduct.
先前的研究表明，学前阶段出现的行为问题最好被理解为在可管理性方面的无差别困难。本研究通过考察英国父母对其学前儿童行为问题的评分结构，对这一问题进行了探究。
1047名参与儿童发育流行病学调查的3岁儿童的家长完成了包含19个条目的行为清单（BCL；Richman，1977）。
因素分析揭示了六个因素，分别代表社交适应不良、情绪调节不良、睡眠问题、多动/注意力不集中、饮食问题和弄脏衣物。当将这些分数用作聚类分析的基础时，问题类型围绕六个中心聚类。第一个也是最大的一组是没有问题的儿童。另外三个大组表现出特定但程度适中的问题（多动儿童、胆小儿童和调皮儿童）。最后两组表现出更极端的问题，包括反社会行为。在一组中，这些问题伴有严重的情绪问题，而在另一组中伴有多动迹象。这些聚类的信度和效度得到了支持。当孩子8岁时家长对行为问题的评分表明，多动/品行组的孩子可能会持续存在困难。
本文反对学前行为问题具有同质性的观点，但支持这样一种观点，即具有临床显著水平的问题可能是共病的，要么伴有情绪调节问题（神经质），要么伴有行为调节问题（多动），同时伴有品行问题。
