Factors of problem behavior in visually impaired children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Understanding behavioral patterns in visually impaired children is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Previous research suggests potential differences in behavior due to visual impairment, necessitating further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the behavior problem patterns of students in a residential school for the visually impaired.
• To determine if these patterns differ from general populations and are influenced by the visual handicap.

Main Methods:

• The Behavior Problem Checklist was administered to teachers of 104 visually impaired students.
• Four factor analyses were conducted to identify underlying behavioral dimensions.
• Further analyses examined the influence of sex, race, and age on the factor structure.

Main Results:

• Three distinct factors emerged: conduct disorder, personality problem, and inadequacy-immaturity.
• These factors aligned with dimensions identified in previous research on general populations.
• Behavioral patterns showed independence from the severity of the visual impairment.

Conclusions:

• Visually impaired children demonstrate similar problem behavior patterns to other student populations.
• The identified behavioral dimensions appear largely unaffected by the visual handicap.
• These findings support the application of general behavioral frameworks to visually impaired students.