BASIC SKILLS, EARLY PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL MALADJUSTMENT

The focus of this study is on the role of basic skills (defined as the summed results of national achievement test scores in Swedish and mat hematics) in boys' social developmental process. With reference to a h olistic model for individual functioning and development, the aim of t he investigation was obtained by studying the relationships between ba sic skills and early problematic behaviour at the age of 10, on the on e hand, and later social maladjustment, manifest in the presence in of ficial registers for alcohol problems, crime and psychiatric disorders , on the other. Based on data concerning basic skills and six teacher- rated behaviours (aggressive behaviour, motor restlessness, shyness, d isharmony, concentration difficulties, and overambition), boys with si milar profiles across the seven factors were grouped together using cl uster analysis. Six clusters were deemed an optimal solution. Register data for alcohol problems, crime and psychiatric diagnoses were avail able with no attrition. For each of the clusters, the percentage of bo ys who appeared in any of the records was reported. The results strong ly corroborate holistic assumptions that low levels of basic skills at an early age per se is not a precursor of later maladjustment. Even w hen occurring in conjunction with shyness, the results did not point t o an increased risk of negative social development. It is only when lo w basic skill levels form clusters along with other problematic behavi ours that the risk increases. This. is most obvious when low basic ski lls is present in profiles which are also characterised by aggressiven ess, motor restlessness, disharmony and concentration difficulties. Am ong the boys belonging to the most 'problematic cluster' at age 10, no less than 90% were found in at least one of the civic records through young adulthood.