A TYPOLOGY OF CHILD SCHOOL BEHAVIOR: INVESTIGATION USING LATENT PROFILE ANALYSIS AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 53; no. 5; pp. 471 - 487
• Main Author: Mindrila, Diana L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2016; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adjustment; Behavior Assessment System for Children; Behavior Problems; Classification; Cluster analysis; Elementary School Students; Multivariate Analysis; Physical Health; Statistical Analysis; Student Adjustment; Student Behavior; Student Characteristics
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.21917

To describe and facilitate the identification of child school behavior patterns, we developed a typology of child school behavior (ages 6–11 years) using the norming data (N = 2,338) for the second edition of the Behavior Assessment System for Children Teacher Rating–Child form). Latent profile analysis was conducted with the entire data set, whereas cluster analysis was conducted within each latent profile. The resulting classification system included three latent profiles: (a) Adequate Adjustment (AA), (b) Mild Adjustment Difficulties (MAD), and (c) Functionally Impaired Adjustment (FIA). The AA latent profile included the (a) Well‐Adapted, (b) Average, and (c) Worry clusters. The clusters identified within the MAD latent profile were (a) Academic Problems, (b) Physical Complaints, (c) Disruptive Behavior Problems, and (d) Internalizing Problems. Finally, the FIA latent profile comprised the (a) Clinical Problems–External and (b) Clinical Problems–Internal clusters.