Establishing a Placement Index for behaviorally disturbed children using the Hand Test

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Child Psychology

Background:

• Assessing behavioral and social maladjustment in children is crucial for appropriate educational placement.
• Severely behaviorally handicapped children often require specialized educational interventions.
• The Hand Test is a psychological tool that may offer insights into behavioral patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if Hand Test variables can empirically differentiate varying levels of behavioral and social maladjustment in children.
• To assess the utility of the Hand Test in aiding placement decisions for students with behavioral handicaps.
• To develop a predictive model for educational placement using Hand Test data.

Main Methods:

• A stepwise discriminant analysis was employed.
• Hand Test protocols from 100 students (ages 6-18) were analyzed.
• Participants included students in regular education and three levels of special education placement.

Main Results:

• Pathology (PATH) and aggression (AGG) emerged as significant discriminators (p < .05).
• A weighted equation using nine variables achieved 64%-79% accuracy in predicting correct educational placement.
• The derived "Placement Index" showed potential for guiding decisions.

Conclusions:

• The Hand Test is a valuable tool for psychologists in making educational placement decisions for behaviorally handicapped children.
• Integrating multiple Hand Test variables enhances the accuracy of placement predictions.
• Further research is recommended for cross-validation of the Placement Index.