Competencia Social e Relações Sociais No Rendimento Escolar e Aceitação Dos Pares

Infant and Child Development
Inf. Child Dev. 15: 347–366 (2006)

Published online 31 May 2006 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/icd.448
Children with Behaviour Problems:

The Influence of Social Competence
and Social Relations on Problem
Stability, School Achievement and
Peer Acceptance Across the First Six
Years of School
Lisbeth Henricsson* and Ann-Margret Rydell
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden

The aims of the present study were to investigate the role for

problematic children of the child’s social competence, teacher

relations and behaviour with peers for later problem persistence,
school performance and peer acceptance, in terms of moderating

(protective and exacerbating) and independent effects. Groups of

children with externalizing (n ¼ 26) and internalizing (n ¼ 25)

problems and a non-problematic group (n ¼ 44) were followed

from grade 1–6. Teachers rated behaviour problems and social

competence in the first, third and sixth grades, the teacher–child

relationship in third grade, and school achievement in sixth
grade. Behaviour with peers was assessed in observations in later

elementary school. Peer acceptance was assessed through peer

nominations in sixth grade. Both problem groups had lower

social competence, school achievement and peer acceptance in

sixth grade than the non-problematic group. There were moder-

ating and independent effects of social competence, teacher and

peer relations on outcomes, but these applied mainly to children
with internalizing problems. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley &

Sons, Ltd.

Key words: externalizing problems; internalizing problems; social

competence; teacher relationships; peer relationships; school

achievement
*Correspondence to: Lisbeth Henricsson, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University,

P.O. Box 1225, SE-75142, Sweden. E-mail: lisbeth.henricsson@psyk.uu.se
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

348 L. Henricsson and A.-M. Rydell
INTRODUCTION
In the present study, children with externalizing and internalizing behaviour

problems and a control group of non-problematic children were followed
through elementary school and further through grade 6. The major aims were to
investigate whether the child’s social competence, teacher relations and
behaviour with peers functioned as protective or exacerbating factors for the
adaptation of problematic children, as well as the possible independent relations
of social competence and teacher and peer relations to adaptation.
Risk factors are characteristics of the individual or environment that place
children on trajectories for negative outcomes, for instance family stress and low
SES are risk factors for developmental difficulties (e.g. Webster-Stratton, 1988). In
view of their relative stability and negative consequences, children’s early
behaviour problems may be seen as risk factors for later, persisting problems and
adverse outcomes in several areas of functioning (see below). Protective factors are
those circumstances that may reduce the impact of risk factors on adjustment
outcomes, and exacerbating factors may also affect the impact of risk factors but in
the opposite direction, i.e. augment maladjustment.
One way to clarify the relations between risks, protective and exacerbating
factors is by testing moderator models. A moderator is a variable that affects the
direction and/or strength of the relation between a predictor variable and a
dependent variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). For example, the relationship
between frequent television viewing and later aggression has been found to
apply only to boys, and the relation from stress exposure in schools to
competence might vary as a function of child and family characteristics (Johnson
et al., 2002; Masten et al., 1988). Apart from moderator effects, it is important to
determine whether other possibly influential variables have independent
relations to outcomes (i.e. over and above the impact of the initial risk factors).
Children’s Behaviour Problems

Internalizing and externalizing expressions of dysfunction are the two major
dimensions of children’s behaviour problems (e.g. Cicchetti and Toth, 1991;
Garber et al., 1991; Serbin et al., 1991). Externalizing problems are characterized
by behaviours that are harmful to others or disruptive, such as impulsivity,
hostile defiance, destructive behaviour, temper tantrums, and over-activity (e.g.
Achenbach, 1990). These problems seem highly stable (e.g. Campbell, 1991;
Ferguson and Horwood, 1998) and have been associated with long-term negative
outcomes such as school failure and adult criminality (Campbell et al., 1994;
Hymel et al., 1990; Ladd and Burgess, 1999; Loeber, 1990). Internalizing disorders
are signified by intropunitive emotions and moods like sorrow, guilt, and
worries, and by loneliness, withdrawal and somatic complaints (e.g. Rutter
et al., 1970; Zahn-Waxler et al., 2000). The results regarding problem stability and
sequelae of internalizing problems are less consistent. Some studies have found
these problems neither stable nor a predictor of negative outcomes (e.g. Ladd and
Burgess, 1999; Serbin et al., 1991) while others have found considerable stability
and relations to later anxiety disorders (Hymel et al., 1990; Rubin et al., 1989;
Vargo, 1991).
Once a child has entered the school system, to succeed academically is of
paramount importance for long-term development. Children with behaviour
problems are often low achievers. Externalizing behaviour problems have been
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Inf. Child Dev. 15: 347–366 (2006)
Children’s Behaviour Problems, Competence and Relations 349
shown to predict low school achievement (Coie et al., 1989; Jimerson et al., 2000),
and socio-emotional and behavioural problems have also been related to poor
work-skills, which in turn predict poor academic achievement (McLelland et al.,
2000). Another important developmental task is to achieve positive relations with
peers. There is substantial evidence connecting externalizing behaviour problems
to peer relation difficulties. In fact, aggression and disruptive behaviours are the
most stable correlates of peer rejection (Coie and Dodge, 1983; Newcomb et al.,
1993). Withdrawal and shyness, included among internalizing problems, are also
associated with low peer acceptance (Newcomb et al., 1993), especially for
children from about age nine and older (Gresham and Elliot, 1987; Rubin et al.,
1998). Thus, internalizing and externalizing problems are common in middle
childhood, they are fairly stable (particularly externalizing problems), and often
coupled with low school achievement and poor peer relations. It is clearly
important to identify factors in and around the child that may influence the
course and sequelae of the problems once they are manifest.
Behaviour Problems and Social Competence

Social competence has been associated with successful school adaptation and
with positive teacher and peer relations (Howes, 2000; Ladd, 1999; Pianta et al.,
1995; Wentzel, 1991). Several issues regarding relations between problems and
competencies appear relevant. One is whether specific competence deficits
characterize the two problem aspects. Major competence aspects are prosocial
behaviour, e.g. willingness to help, share and cooperate, and social initiative, the
ability to respond to other’s social overtures and to take own initiatives (e.g.
Rydell et al., 1997). In a recent study, low levels of prosocial behaviours were
associated with both externalizing and internalizing problems in elementary
school children, while low levels of social initiative were associated only with
internalizing problems (Henricsson and Rydell, 2004). Whether this pattern of
associations persists at older ages has not been investigated. Another important
issue refers to the moderating force of social competence. Researchers (e.g. Dodge
and Crick, 1990) have proposed social competence to moderate the link between
problem behaviours and problematic social relationships. However, in the
Henricsson and Rydell study cited above, there was little evidence that social
competence moderated the negative teacher relations developed by children with
behaviour problems. The effect of competence on the development of proble-
matic children thus needs further study. Possibly, social skills in a problematic
child could start virtuous circles that may have positive effects in several areas,
while lack of social skills may further accentuate the child’s problems. Neither
has the independent effects of social skills for development, above the impact of
problems, been sufficiently investigated.
Behaviour Problems and Teacher–Child Relationships

It is well known that children’s relationships with teachers are important for the
development of competencies in preschool and early school years (e.g. Birch and
Ladd, 1997, 1998; Pianta and Steinberg, 1992; Pianta and Walsh, 1996). Further,
both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours have been associated
with conflictual, overly dependent and non-close relationships with teachers,
concurrently and prospectively (Birch and Ladd, 1998; Henricsson and Rydell,
2004; Howes, 2000; Howes et al., 2000; Ladd and Burgess, 1999; Pianta and
Niemitz, 1991). Conflicted and negative teacher–child classroom interactions

have been observed for children with externalizing problems (Henricsson and
Rydell, 2004). Conflicts with teachers appear to be stable and to have
independent, negative effects on school adjustment, sometimes across several
years and across teachers (Birch and Ladd, 1998; Hamre and Pianta, 2001; Pianta
et al., 1995). Unfortunately, the protective power of close and trusting teacher
relations seems much less documented (e.g. Birch and Ladd, 1998; Pianta et al.,
1995). Thus, it has been demonstrated that teacher relations contribute
independently to the outcomes of early behaviour problems, but teacher
relations may also moderate the effects of behaviour problems. A problematic
child who develops a warm and trusting teacher relationship could be somewhat
protected and decelerate his/her problematic behaviour}in contrast, a proble-
matic child who gets locked in teacher conflicts may become even more problem-
ridden. Issues of moderating effects are so far unexplored with regard to teacher
relations.
Behaviour Problems and Peer Relationships

Important research issues concern the role of peer relations in forming
adaptation. Some workers have outlined the effects of peer relations in terms
of moderator effects. For instance, peer exclusion may determine whether
children with problematic dispositions, e.g. anxiety, adapt well or become
maladjusted (e.g. Gazelle and Ladd, 2003), and peer problems seem to exacerbate
antisocial development among children initially disposed toward aggression
(Dodge et al., 2003). In contrast, peer acceptance has been found to facilitate a
more positive development for children with behaviour problems (Garmezy
et al., 1985; Kupersmidt et al., 1990). The independent influence of peer rejection
on adaptation for problematic children has also been demonstrated in studies
testing mediator models (Ladd and Troop-Gordon, 2003; Miller-Johnson et al.,
2002).
Thus, the effect of peer relations on development has been explored previously,
but there are issues in need of more attention. Neither the role of peer relations in
the development of children with internalizing problems nor the possible effects
of positive peer relations have been much studied. Further, peer relations have
most often been studied in terms of peer evaluations, which presumably rest to a
great extent on children’s behaviour in interactions, but investigations of actual
observed peer behaviour are scarce.
The Present Study

In the present study, children were followed during their first six years of school.
One aim was to study the extent to which social competence, teacher relations
and behaviour with peers moderated later problem levels, school performance
and peer acceptance for children with externalizing and internalizing problems.
We studied the protective effects of social competence, close teacher relations and
positive behaviour with peers, and the possibly exacerbating effects of conflicted
or dependent teacher relations and aggressive and withdrawn behaviours with
peers. We also investigated the importance of these phenomena in terms of
independent relations to later outcomes, when early problem behaviours were
taken into account. Mainly, we investigated relations from the end of elementary
school to sixth grade, but with regard to social competence, we also studied the
short-term relations to later problem levels during elementary school, from grade
1 to 3. Moreover, we studied the pattern of relations between competence and
problems in grade 6.
METHODS
Participants
The sample initially consisted of 95 children (reducing to 91) who were
prospectively followed from first grade to third grade and then to grade six.
The study was conducted in a middle-sized Swedish city (for a closer description,
see Henricsson and Rydell, 2004). The children were recruited from a larger
sample of children (see below). The participating children (52% boys) were from
23 classes in 20 different schools, representing all the city’s school districts. At
inclusion, the children were 7–8 years old (M ¼ 7 years, 6 months, S:D: ¼ 3).
Eighty-four percent of these children had Swedish parents and 16% had a non-
Swedish background, i.e. one or both parents were born outside Sweden, in all
cases in a non-Nordic country. Forty-two and 48% of the parents (mothers and
fathers) had vocational training or secondary school, and 48 and 45% had college
or university degrees. The rest of the parents had compulsory school education.
Ninety-three children participated in the follow-up studies in grade 2 and during
the fall of grade 3, two children having moved from the city, and as two more
children had moved, 91 children participated in the assessments during
the spring semester of grade 3. Ninety-one children participated in the data
wave in grade 6. Two of the missing children in grade 3 were again included, but
one child had moved to a special school for learning-disabled children and for
this child as well as for one other child, also learning disabled, parental consent
was not obtained. There were missing data for a few children on separate
measures.
Procedure
During the spring term of first grade, teachers rated the behaviour problems and
social competence of 526 students or 40% of all the first graders in the city from
32 different schools. The classes were selected through a randomized stratified
procedure to guarantee that all types of central and suburban residential areas
would be represented. Based on the Rutter scale scores (see Measures), one
problem-free group and two problem groups were recruited. The externalizing
problem group was defined as children with 53 on the Externalizing Problem
Scale and 42 on the Internalizing Problem Scale. Twenty boys and six girls
fulfilled these criteria. The Internalizing problem group consisted of 25 children
(8 boys and 17 girls) of the 44 children with 53 on the Internalizing Problem
Scale and 42 on the Externalizing Problem Scale. The problem-free group
consisted of 21 boys and 23 girls with 41.70 on both problem scales, selected
from classes with same-sex problem children. (For a more comprehensive
description of the sample, see Henricsson and Rydell, 2004). In grade 6, the
current classmates of the longitudinal sample also participated in the peer
nomination procedure (see below). Parental consent was obtained separately for
each data wave.
During the spring term of second grade, the child’s behaviours towards peers
were observed in natural classroom settings. Each child was observed for 10–20
five-minute periods (M ¼ 13 periods) of ordinary classroom activities during 3–5

(M ¼ 4 days) different school days. The teacher was naive as to who was the
target child, and the observer (the first author) was blind to the classification
(problematic or not) of the child.
Late in the fall of third grade, after teaching the children for more than two
years, each teacher answered a questionnaire about her perception of each child’s
relationship with her. In the spring term of third grade, the teachers once more
rated the children’s behaviour problems and social competence. At the same
time, data about parental education and parent ratings of child problem
behaviours were collected. During the spring term of grade six, new teachers
who knew the children well (in the Swedish school system, children switch
teachers between third and fourth grade) rated the children’s behaviour
problems, social competencies and school achievement. The children’s accep-
tance by peers was studied through peer nominations.
A general idea of this longitudinal design was that relations between
behaviour problems and outcomes should rest on measurements that were
separated in time. We also had the following considerations in mind: The spring
term of grades 1, 3 and 6 were chosen for teacher ratings of problems and
competences, to ensure familiarity with students. In first grade, the teachers had
more than six months’ experience with their students, and in third and sixth
grade, teachers generally had known their students for more than two school
years. Similarly, we wanted the elementary school teacher’s rating of each child’s
relationship with her to rest on solid experiences of interactions. Thus these
evaluations were obtained in third grade, but in the fall of that school year, which
hopefully somewhat reduced method variance by separating ratings of the
relationship from ratings of problems. The in vivo observations of behaviours
with peers and with teachers (the latter not reported in this context) took part in
the spring of grade 2, i.e. the later part of elementary school, thus the
observations should rest on established patterns of interactions with social
partners, but also allow analyses of how teacher–child interactions would be
associated with perceptions of the relationship (reported in Henricsson and
Rydell, 2004). We also wished to avoid burdening the schools with excessive data
collection, which we hoped would bolster retention.
Measures
For an overview of measures used in the analyses, see Table 1.
Behaviour problems and social competence: Items measuring behaviour problems
and social competence used five-step response scales with scale end-points stated
for each item (1 ¼ doesn’t apply at all, 5 ¼ applies very well to the child). The
middle steps were defined in the general instruction to respondents. Higher
scores indicated more problems and higher social competence. Scales were
constructed as the mean of items.
Children’s behaviour problems were measured with the Children’s Behaviour
Questionnaire (CBQ; Rutter et al., 1970). The scale measuring Externalizing
Problems had nine items capturing acting-out behaviours (e.g. ‘is often
disobedient’), as well as restlessness and inattention (e.g. ‘very restless’). The
scale measuring Internalizing Problems had five items (e.g. ‘often worried, worries
about many things’). As a test of reliability across contexts, concurrent relations
between teacher and parent problem ratings in grade 3 were computed. For
externalizing problems, the correlation was rð81Þ ¼ 0:55, p50.001, and for
internalizing problems it was 0.23, p50.05.
Table 1. Descriptive statistics of variables (N ¼ 90–95)

Data wave and variables a M(S.D.) Range
First grade
Behaviour problems and social competence
Externalizing problems 0.95 1.82(1.08) 1–5
Internalizing problems 0.89 1.40(1.06) 1–5
Prosocial behaviour 0.94 3.33(0.86) 1–5
Social initiative 0.91 3.77(1.02) 1–5
Second grade
Observed child behaviours with peers
Aggressive 0.69 0.00(0.78)
Withdrawn 0.77 0.00(0.90)
Competent 0.62 0.00(0.51)
Third grade
Fall term: teacher–child relationship
Conflicts 0.86 1.58(0.67) 1–5
Dependency 0.64 1.99(0.76) 1–5
Closeness 0.79 4.10(0.50) 1–5
Spring term: behaviour problems and social competence
Prosocial behaviour 0.95 3.57(0.86) 1–5
Sixth grade
Behaviour problems and social competence
Prosocial behaviours 0.95 3.30(0.87) 1–5
School achievement 0.92 3.38(0.89) 1–5
Peer acceptance 0.09(1.01)
Social competence was measured with the teacher version of the Social
Competence Inventory (SCI; Rydell et al., 1997). The SCI captures two aspects
of social competence, pro-social behaviour and social initiative derived through
factor analysis (Rydell et al., 1997). The Prosocial Behaviour Scale has 17 items (e.g.
‘gives compliments to peers’, ‘shows generosity towards peers’). The Social
Initiative Scale has 8 items (e.g. ‘often suggests activities and games to play with
peers’, ‘invites shy children to participate in play’).
School achievement: Teachers rated children’s school achievement in four subjects,
Swedish, Mathematics, English and Social Sciences on 5-point scales ranging
from 1 to 5 with ascending numbers indicating higher achievement. Teachers
were instructed to give a comprehensive rating of each child’s achievement based
on a general evaluation of the child’s every day school performance as well as
test results. For a sub-sample of five randomly selected classes participating in
the study, N ¼ 87 children, results of national tests in Swedish, Math and English
from grade 5 were available. The correlations with teacher ratings a year later
were high, r ¼ 0:82, 0.82 and 0.88, p50.01 for Swedish, Math and English,
respectively. Averaging the scores on the four rated items provided an overall
measure of school achievement.
The teacher–child relationship: The teacher’s perception of each child’s relation-

ship with her was measured with a Swedish translation and adaptation of ‘The
Student–Teacher Relationship Scale’ (STRS; Pianta, 1996), consisting of 28 items.
A five-step response format was used, from ‘don’t agree at all’ to ‘totally agree’.
The items are designed to tap the dimensions of warmth/security, anger/
dependence, and anxiety/insecurity. The Conflict Scale consists of 12 items (e.g.
‘This child and I always seem to be struggling with each other’), the Dependency
Scale has five items (e.g. ‘This child is overly dependent of me’) and the Closeness
Scale comprised 11 items (e.g. ‘I share an affectionate, warm relationship with this
child’).
Peer relations: We studied two aspects of the child’s relations with peers.
A child’s observed behaviour towards peers affords a direct assessment of how
the peer relationship is handled by the child, and peers’ statements about
whether the child is preferred as a companion is an assessment of his/her
standing in the peer group.
The child’s behaviour towards peers was measured in classroom observations.
Twelve peer behaviour items (e.g. ‘fussing, teasing’, ‘rejects peer’s social
overture’, ‘touches in a friendly way’) were standardized and factor analysed,
identifying three meaningful factors, and scales were constructed as the
mean of items, see Henricsson and Rydell (2004). The Aggressive Peer Behaviour
Scale with three items captured physical and verbal hostility (pushing/hitting
peer, verbal or physical anger, and irritated remarks). The Uncertain/Withdrawn
Peer Behaviour Scale comprised two items (vague and undirected remarks,
looking sad or uncertain), and the Competent Peer Behaviour Scale contained
four items (e.g. friendly touches, positive verbal comments). Agreement
between independent observers was rð29Þ ¼ 0:89, 0.88 and 0.94 for the three
scales.
In grade 6, peer acceptance was assessed in a nomination procedure (e.g.
Ladd, 1999). The children were asked to nominate up to three children for
each of two items. One item measured social liking, ‘name three in the class
that you wish to be with’ and one item measured social disliking, ‘name
three in the class that you do not wish to be with’. Each item was
standardized across gender within each class. A Social Preference Score (SPS)
was derived by subtracting the number of nominations on the social disliking
item from the number of nominations on the social liking item (Coie and
Dodge, 1983).
Statistical analyses: For all analyses, the SAS computer software was
used. ANOVAs were performed with the General Linear Model (GLM)
procedure that controls for unequal group sizes. Post hoc analyses were
performed with the Tukey test. Regression analyses were performed on the
outcome variables, with each problem group versus the non-problematic
group and one other predictor than problem ratings at a time. All continuous
variables were centred before entered as predictors and gender was always
included as a control term, due to the uneven sex distribution in the
problem groups (see Methods). Hierarchical regression analyses were performed.
In a first step, the predictors (problem ratings and either a social competence, a
teacher relations or a peer behaviour variable) were entered, to investigate the
effect of other variables when controlling for behaviour problems, and in a
second step, interaction terms were entered, and moderator effects studied
according to Baron and Kenny (1986). Significant interaction effects (indicating
moderators) were plotted by the procedure described by Cohen and Cohen
(1983).
RESULTS
Preliminary Analyses
Problem Stability, Social Competence, School Achievement and Peer Acceptance in Grade 6
There were no group differences in parental education, w2 ð4; N ¼ 81Þ ¼ 2:66, ns
or ethnicity w2 ð2; N ¼ 91Þ ¼ 2:69, ns.
As a background to the main analyses, the stability and direction of changes in
problem behaviours was investigated. As seen in Table 2, there was an overall
group effect across the three measurements: children with behaviour problems in
first grade still had higher problem levels in grades 3 and 6 than did problem-free
children. There were also interaction effects of time and group. In the two
problem groups, there was a reduction in problem levels, while the problem-free
children sustained low problem levels up to grade 6.
Results regarding social competence, school achievement and peer acceptance
in grade 6 are depicted in Table 3. Children in the externalizing problem group
had lower levels of prosocial behaviour in grade 6 than the problem-free children
while the children in the internalizing problem group had lower levels of social
initiative than both the other groups. Both problem groups had lower school
achievement and lower peer acceptance than the children who had formerly been
unproblematic.
Moderator Effects and Independent Contributions to Outcomes of Social Competence,

Teacher Relations and Behaviour with Peers
In the first set of analyses, effects of the two social competence aspects for the
levels of the two kinds of problems was investigated, first during the elementary
school years from grade 1 to 3, and then from the end of elementary school to
grade 6. The effect on school achievement and peer acceptance in grade six of
problems and competences at the end of elementary school were also
investigated. Next, possible protective and independent effects of a close teacher
relationship and competent behaviour with peers at the end of elementary school
was explored with regard to problem levels, school achievement and peer
acceptance in grade 6. Finally, possible exacerbating and independent effects of
teacher conflicts and dependency on teacher, and aggressive and withdrawn
behaviour with peers at the later part of elementary school were investigated in
Table 2. Results of two-way ANOVAs with repeated measures of problem behaviours in

grades 1, 3 and 6 for problem-free children (PF), children with internalizing (INT) and
externalizing (EXT) behaviour problems (N ¼ 89–91), controlling for gender
Problem PF INT EXT Df Time Time Group Group Overall
Behaviours M(S.E.) M(S.E.) M(S.E.) effect effect effect F-values
Externalizing 2,86 0.02 10.3*** 172.9*** 380.1***
First grade 1.13(0.04) 1.30(0.07) 3.45(0.06)
Third grade 1.25(0.08) 1.48(0.12) 3.05(0.11) 75.4***
Sixth grade 1.41(0.09) 1.60(0.14) 2.51(0.13) 33.1***
Internalizing 2,86 6.0** 16.7*** 110.9*** 178.1***

First grade 1.20(0.06) 3.48(0.09) 1.51(0.08)
Third grade 1.41(0.10) 2.84(0.16) 2.14(0.14) 21.5***
Sixth grade 1.23(0.08) 2.57(0.13) 1.52(0.11) 28.2***
*
p50.05, **p50.01, ***
p50.001.
Table 3. Results of one-way ANOVAs and Tukey’s post hoc test regarding social
competence, school achievement and peer acceptance in grade 6 among problem free
children (PF, n ¼ 44), children with internalizing (INT, n ¼ 22) and children with
externalizing behaviour problems (EXT, n ¼ 24–25), controlling for gender, N ¼ 91–90
Variable PF (A) INT (B) EXT (C) df F Sign
M(S.E.) M(S.E.) M(S.E.) diff
Pro-social behaviour 3.8(0.12) 3.3(0.18) 3.2(0.17) 3,87 4.94** A>C
Social initiative 4.2(0.12) 3.1(0.18) 4.3(0.17) 3,87 13.05*** A>B
B5C
School achievement 3.7(0.12) 3.0(0.17) 3.1(0.17) 3,86 8.95*** A>B, C
Peer acceptance 0.52(0.14) 0.04(0.21) 0.56(0.20) 3,86 10.46*** A > B, C
*p50.05, **p50.01, ***p50.001.
the same manner. As mentioned above, regression analyses were performed

separately with each problem group vs the unproblematic group and with one
other predictor at a time. In analyses with behaviour problems in grade 1 as
predictors, the classification of problematic/not problematic (1–0) was used,
whereas in the analyses of behaviour problems in grade 3 the continuous
problem ratings were employed representing more accurate estimations of the
children’s problems at that time. From the regressions, only significant
independent effects of social competence, teacher relations and peer behaviour,
or interaction effects of those variables and problem ratings were reported, to
avoid redundant reporting.
Protective Factors
Social Competence in Relation to Problem Persistence, Peer Acceptance and School
Achievement
The short-term effects of prosocial behaviour and social initiative were tested
in analyses on internalizing and externalizing problems in grade 3, with problem
status and social competence ratings in first grade as predictors. Children with
externalizing problems had lower levels of prosocial behaviour and children with
internalizing problems had lower levels of prosocial behaviour and social
initiative (see too Henricsson and Rydell, 2004). In the analyses on children with
externalizing problems, only prosocial behaviour was used, as social initiative
was not deemed relevant for children with externalizing problems. In these
analyses, there were no independent effects of social competence on internalizing
or externalizing problems in grade 3, nor any interaction effect of prosocial
behaviour and externalizing problems, b’s 50.11, but in the analyses regarding
internalizing problems/no problems, there was a significant interaction with
social initiative b ¼ 0:36, p50.05. As depicted in Figure 1, the interaction
indicated that there was a protective effect of social initiative for the
unproblematic group: Higher levels were associated with lower problem levels
in grade 3. For the problematic children, social initiative did not make a
difference.
In analyses on outcomes in grade 6 (i.e. problem ratings, peer acceptance and
school achievement), the above procedure was repeated, using problem and
competence ratings at the end of elementary school as predictors. Prosocial
behaviour independently predicted lower levels of both externalizing problems
and internalizing problems in grade 6, b ¼ 0:23, p50.05, and 0.23, p ¼ 0:05.
Internalizing problems gr 3
2.5
2
High Social
1.5 Initiative
1 Low Social
Initiative
0.5
0
1 2
1. Unproblematic
2. Internalizing problems
grade 1
Figure 1. Moderating effects of social initiative on the level of internalizing problems in

grade 3 for non-problematic children and children with internalizing problems in grade 1.
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
Peer Acceptance
0.5 High Prosocial

0.4 Behavior
0.3 Low Prosocial
Behavior
0.2
0.1
0
-0.1 1 2
-0.2 1. Unproblematic
2. Internalizing problems grade 3
Figure 2. Moderating effects of prosocial behaviours in grade 3 on the level of peer

acceptance in grade 6 for unproblematic children and children with internalizing problems
in grade 3.
There were no interaction effects with either competence aspect, b’s 50.15, ns. As
regards school performance and peer acceptance in grade 6, prosocial behaviour
did not contribute, in the analyses of children with externalizing problems/no
problems, b’s > 0.12, ns. In the analyses with the internalizing problem/problem
free groups, prosocial behaviour independently predicted higher peer accep-
tance, b ¼ 0:31, p50.05, and the interaction effect was also significant, b ¼ 0:27,
p50.05, see Figure 2. The formerly problematic but highly prosocial children
were more accepted by peers than those with low prosocial levels; in fact they
were about as accepted as the formerly non-problematic children. For the
formerly non-problematic children, the level of prosocial behaviour did not make
a difference for peer acceptance. There were no other significant independent of
or interaction effects of social competence.
Effects of Positive Teacher Relations and Competent Peer Behaviour on Problem

Persistence, Peer Acceptance and School Achievement
The effect of a close teacher–child relationship at the end of the elementary
school years, independent of and in interaction with behaviour problems in grade
3 was investigated for problem levels, school achievement and peer acceptance in
sixth grade. As before, separate analyses with each problem group were performed
on each outcome at a time, resulting in six analyses. There were no independent or
significant interaction effects of a close teacher relationship, b’s 50.17, ns.
Next, we investigated the independent and moderating effects of socially
competent behaviour with peers on outcomes in grade 6, when controlling for
and interacting with behaviour problem levels during the latter part of the
elementary school years. In the analyses with the externalizing problem/no
problem groups, there were no significant independent or interaction effects of
competent behaviour with peers in any of the three six grade outcomes, b’s
50.14, ns. In the analyses with the internalizing problem/no problem groups,
competent behaviour with peers contributed to lower levels of grade 6
internalizing problems, b ¼ 0:27, p50.01. Further, there were interaction effects
for the three outcomes, b ¼ 0:22, p50.05, b ¼ 0:29, p50.05 and b ¼ 0:31, p50.01
for internalizing problems, school achievement and peer acceptance, respectively.
As seen in Figures 3–5, the interactions indicated that for the formerly
problematic children, high levels of socially competent peer behaviour were
associated with lower levels of internalizing problems and higher levels of school
achievement and peer acceptance. These effects were not evident in the formerly
non-problematic group.
Exacerbating Factors
Effects of Negative Teacher Relations and Negative Behaviour with Peers on Problem
Persistence, Peer Acceptance and School Achievement
Possible effects of negative aspects of the teacher relationship at the end of
elementary school (teacher relations and problems were rated in grade 3) on
3
Internalizing problems grade 6
2.5
High Social
2
Competence
Interactions
1.5
Low Social
Competence
1
Interactions
0.5
0
1 2
1. Unproblematic
Figure 3. Moderating effects of socially competent behaviour with peers on internalizing

problems in grade 6 for unproblematic children and children with internalizing problems
in grade 3.
3.5
School Achievement
3
High Social
2.5 Competence
Interactions
2
Low Social
1.5 Competence
Interactions
1
0.5
0
1 2
1. Unproblematic
Figure 4. Moderating effects of socially competent behaviour interactions with peers on

school achievement in grade 6 for unproblematic children and children with internalizing
problems in grade 3.
0.8
0.6
Peer Acceptance
High Social
0.4 Competence
Interactions
0.2
Low Social
0 Competence
1 2 Interactions
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
1.Unproblematic
Figure 5. Moderating effect of socially competent peer behaviour interactions on peer

acceptance in grade 6 for unproblematic children and children with internalizing problems
in grade 3.
behaviour problems, school achievement and peer acceptance in grade 6 were

tested in the next series of analyses. Conflicted relations were used in the
analyses on the externalizing problem group, and dependent relations were used
in the analyses on the internalizing problem group, as conflict with teachers was
deemed more relevant for children with externalizing problems and dependency
was deemed more relevant for children with internalizing problems.
As regards the analyses on children with externalizing problems/no problems,
conflicted relations did not contribute independently to any of the outcomes in
grade 6, b’s 50.19, ns. In the analyses on children with internalizing problems/
no problems, there were no significant independent effects of dependency, b’s
50.25, ns, but a significant interaction effect of problem levels and teacher
dependency on peer acceptance, b50.31, p50.05. As seen in Figure 6, among
0.8
Peer Acceptance 0.6

High Dependence
0.4
Low Dependence
0.2
0
1 2
-0.2
1. Unproblematic
2. Internalizing problems
grade 3
Figure 6. Moderating effect of dependent teacher relations on peer acceptance for

unproblematic children and children with internalizing problems in grade 3.
the formerly problematic children but not among the formerly non-problematic
children, high dependency was associated with lower levels of peer acceptance.
Finally, a set of analyses on the grade six outcomes was undertaken for each
problem group vs the non-problematic group with negative peer behaviours and
problem ratings in the later parts of elementary school as predictors. Aggressive
peer behaviour was used as a possible exacerbating factor for children with
externalizing problems, and withdrawn peer behaviour as a possible exacerbat-
ing factor for children with internalizing problems, in parallel with the reasoning
regarding teacher relations above. In the analyses on the externalizing problems/
no problem groups, aggressive peer behaviour did not contribute significantly to
any of the outcomes, nor were any interaction effects found, b’s50.14, ns. In the
analyses on the internalizing problem/no problem groups, uncertain/withdrawn
behaviour independently contributed to higher levels of grade 6 internalizing
problems and lower levels of school achievement, b ¼ 0:28 and 0.23, p50.01
and p50.05. No interaction term was significant, b’s50.38, ns.
DISCUSSION
Our main aims were to investigate moderating effects and independent

contributions of problematic children’s social competence and social relations
for problem stability, school achievement and peer acceptance. Moderating
effects were found only for children with internalizing problems: Prosocial
behaviour served as a protective factor with regard to peer acceptance, and early
competent behaviour with peers was related to lower later problem levels and
higher school achievement and peer acceptance for problematic children. On the
other hand, high levels of dependency on the elementary school teacher further
risked the peer acceptance of problematic children. As regards independent
effects on outcomes, these also, with one exception (prosocial behaviour reduced
later externalizing problem levels, irrespective of earlier problem levels) applied
to internalizing problems: Prosocial behaviour had an independent effect with
regard to later problems and peer acceptance and early competent behaviour
with peers independently reduced later problem levels. There were however also
negative effects: Withdrawal with peers contributed to higher problem levels and
lower school achievement, above the influence of problem levels.
The two problematic groups had lower school achievement in grade 6 than the
problem-free group, a finding in line with other studies (e.g. Jimerson et al., 2000).
However, we did not know whether the problematic children were also learning
disabled, because we did not assess cognitive function or screen for learning
disorders, which we acknowledge is a shortcoming of the study.
The problem groups had lower social competence than problem-free children.
The competence profiles from grade 1 of lower prosocial behaviour in both
problem groups were not fully replicated, since at age 12, only the children with
externalizing problems differed significantly from the problem-free group in this
respect. However, the lower social initiative in the internalizing group only
(Henricsson and Rydell, 2004) was replicated in grade 6. Thus, support is
provided for the idea that the two major kinds of childhood problems are
characterized by different social skills deficits.
Moderator and Independent Effects

First, it should be noted that, with regard to problem persistence, effects applied
to the size of the amelioration of problems in the two problem groups, as both
groups presented with reduced problem levels across time. As for school
achievement and peer acceptance, effects applied to the higher or lower levels of
these phenomena in grade 6.
The buffering effects of social competence were extremely modest as just one of
twelve interaction analyses was significant. These meager findings parallel our
earlier results, which showed very scant effects of social competence on the
teacher relations of problematic children (Henricsson and Rydell, 2004). There
were however some independent effects of social competence across three years.
Apparently, children’s prosocial behaviour is important for the reduction of both
externalizing and internalizing problem levels with time, regardless of initial
problem levels, and may also have an influence on later peer acceptance above
that of internalizing problems.
We further investigated the effects of social relations for problematic children.
None of the analyses involving children with externalizing problems revealed the
slightest trace of a moderator effect, for better or for worse, neither of teacher
relations nor of early behaviour with peers, and no predictor affected any
outcome, above the influence of earlier problems.
Neither for children with internalizing problems did positive teacher relations
have any protective effect. Thus, our results contradicted reports of benign effects
of a positive teacher relationship (Meehan et al., 2003), and seemed rather to
suggest that, unfortunately, the positive relations that children develop with
teachers have little influence (e.g. Birch and Ladd, 1998; Hamre and Pianta, 2001;
Pianta et al., 1995), at least in the long run. However, and in contrast to other
studies (Birch and Ladd, 1998; Hamre and Pianta, 2001; Pianta et al., 1995), there
was not much effect of negative teacher relations either. Dependency on the
elementary school teacher adversely affected peer acceptance for children with
internalizing problems, but there were no ill effects at all of early teacher
conflicts. Our predictions spanned three years and a new school setting,
including a new teacher who rated the problems, but earlier studies have found
robust effects across levels and teachers (e.g. Hamre and Pianta, 2001). We can
only conclude that in our case, early teacher relations did not appear to have
much influence on later adaptation.
As regards early behaviour with peers, there were both moderating and
independent effects for children with internalizing problems. Early competent
handling of peer relations seemed to protect problematic children, but also,
withdrawn behaviour with peers had negative independent effects on later
problem levels and school achievement. Thus, not only the standing in the peer
group forms adaptation (e.g. Dodge et al., 2003; Gazelle and Ladd, 2003;
Kupersmidt et al., 1990; Ladd and Troop-Gordon, 2003; Miller-Johnson et al.,
2002). We have demonstrated that early actual behaviour with peers is of
importance. Of course, the behaviours were most probably manifestations of the
social competence or the internalizing problems assessed also in the teacher
ratings. However, our results point to the importance of a child’s competence
with peers, both in assessments and as a target for interventions. Helping young
children who appear anxious, sad and withdrawn to become competent in peer
interactions may help foster a positive development.
In general, we found relatively few moderator and independent effects of
social competence and social relations. This may be due to the remarkably high
individual stability of the behaviour problems themselves (see Tables 2 and 4).
Behaviour problems are known to be stable, especially externalizing problems
(e.g. Ferguson and Horwood, 1998; Hymel et al., 1990; Rubin et al., 1989), and as a
consequence, the role of other phenomena may be fairly small. Further, our
problem groups were rather extreme, representing the five and eight percent
most problematic children in a large representative sample of first graders. The
influence of social assets and social relations on adaptation may have been larger
among children with less pronounced problems.
Table 4. Correlations between variables in the regression analyses on grade 6 outcomes,

controlling for gender, N ¼ 91–90
Predictors Outcomes
Grade 3 Grade 6
Predictors Ext3 Int3 Ext6 Int6 Ach Paccept
*** **
Ext3 0.71 0.12 0.34 0.54***
Int3 0.32* 0.53*** 0.37*** 0.43***
Pros1 0.37*** 0.46***
Init1 0.18 0.46***
Pros3 0.54*** 0.43*** 0.55*** 0.44** 0.40*** 0.47***
Init3 0.15 0.53*** 0.04 0.45*** 0.26* 0.22
AggP 0.30** 0.07 0.29** 0.03 0.08 0.05
U/WP 0.12 0.27* 0.07 0.39*** 0.32** 0.26*
SoccP 0.00 0.10 0.05 0.24* 0.24 0.18
ConfT 0.79*** 0.38*** 0.53*** 0.21 0.28** 0.42***
DepT 0.49*** 0.46*** 0.35*** 0.30** 0.31** 0.36***
CloseT 0.17 0.25* 0.11 0.20 0.05 0.21*
*
p50.05, **p50.01, ***
p50.001.
Ext3 = externalizing problems in grade 3; Int3 = internalizing problems in grade 3; Ext6 =
externalizing problems in grade 6; Int6 = internalizing problems in grade 6; Init1 = social
initiative in grade 1; Init3 = social initiative in grade 3; AggP = aggressive peer behaviours;
U/WP = uncertain/withdrawn peer behaviours; SoccP = socially competent peer
behaviours; ConfT = conflicts with teacher; DepT= dependency with teacher; CloseT=
closeness with teacher; Paccept = peer acceptance; Ach = school achievement in grade 6.
Limitations
Some limitations of our study need to be discussed. The problem-assessment
rested solely on teacher ratings. However, teacher ratings were validated in
relation to concurrent parent ratings in grade 3, pr ¼ 0:55 and 0.23 for
externalizing and internalizing problems. These figures resemble those of other
studies of parent–teacher agreement about child problems, which generally
shows lower correspondence for internalizing problems (Grietens et al., 2004;
Hinshaw et al., 1992; Stanger and Lewis, 1993; Verhulst and Akkerhuis, 1989).
Also, different teachers performed the school assessments in elementary school
and in grade 6, but still stability was very high (0.71 and 0.53 for externalizing
and internalizing problems between grade 3 and 6). In the analyses on the child–
teacher relations and later outcomes, different teachers had rated the relationship
and the later problems and school performance. As regards the teacher-ratings of
school performance, these were highly correlated (>0.80) with test results a year
earlier, and thus appear to be reliable measures of children’s achievement in
school.
Conclusions
Children with pronounced internalizing problems risk a non-optimal adaptation
in several respects, but they seem to benefit from their strengths, as assessed in
the school context. Social competence in relation to peers seems to be one
important health factor, and our results therefore point to interventions in terms
of competence-building as potentially effective.
In contrast, the adaptation of children with pronounced externalizing problems
seemed affected only by the problems themselves. Apparently, we have not
focused the relevant predictors, or perhaps, what are needed are individual
therapeutic interventions. Recent research in school settings has indicated
promising results with anger-related problems using multi-faceted training
packages (Nangle et al., 2002; Sukhodolsky et al., 2004). In any case, further
research into the factors that may cut into the spiral of negative experiences for
these children seems of paramount importance, because they are at very high
developmental risk. Finally, our study has also emphasized the value of in vivo
measures of children’s real behaviours.
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Infant and Child Development

Inf. Child Dev. 15: 347–366 (2006)

Children with Behaviour Problems:

*Correspondence to: Lisbeth Henricsson, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University,

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the present study, children with externalizing and internalizing behaviour

Children’s Behaviour Problems

Behaviour Problems and Social Competence

Behaviour Problems and Teacher–Child Relationships

Niemitz, 1991). Conflicted and negative teacher–child classroom interactions

Behaviour Problems and Peer Relationships

The Present Study

five-minute periods (M ¼ 13 periods) of ordinary classroom activities during 3–5

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of variables (N ¼ 90–95)

The teacher–child relationship: The teacher’s perception of each child’s relation-

Moderator Effects and Independent Contributions to Outcomes of Social Competence,

Table 2. Results of two-way ANOVAs with repeated measures of problem behaviours in

Internalizing 2,86 6.0** 16.7*** 110.9*** 178.1***

the same manner. As mentioned above, regression analyses were performed

Figure 1. Moderating effects of social initiative on the level of internalizing problems in

0.5 High Prosocial

Figure 2. Moderating effects of prosocial behaviours in grade 3 on the level of peer

Effects of Positive Teacher Relations and Competent Peer Behaviour on Problem

Figure 3. Moderating effects of socially competent behaviour with peers on internalizing

Figure 4. Moderating effects of socially competent behaviour interactions with peers on

Figure 5. Moderating effect of socially competent peer behaviour interactions on peer

behaviour problems, school achievement and peer acceptance in grade 6 were

Peer Acceptance 0.6

Figure 6. Moderating effect of dependent teacher relations on peer acceptance for

Our main aims were to investigate moderating effects and independent

Moderator and Independent Effects

Table 4. Correlations between variables in the regression analyses on grade 6 outcomes,

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Internalizing 2,86 6.0 16.7* 110.9* 178.1*