BEHAVIORAL DIFFICULTIES IN TODDLERS - IMPACT OF SOCIOCULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL RISK-FACTORS

Evaluated behavioral difficulties in three groups of preschoolers (age s 2 to 4 years). low risk, social risk (e.g., poverty, one-parent fami lies), and dual risk (both biological and social risk conditions). Par ents of 238 toddlers completed the Child Behavior Checklist/2-3 (CBCL/ 2-3) and the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI). Demographic, pren atal, and perinatal information was obtained to determine group status . Results indicated that toddlers in social- and dual-risk groups obta ined significantly higher parent ratings on the Internalizing behavior s scale and the Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn, and Destructive behavior subscales of the CBCL/2-3 when compared to toddlers in the low-risk g roup. No significant differences were obtained between social- and dua l-risk groups or between specific biological risk categories (e.g., pr ematurity vs. developmental disorder). All ECBI results were nonsignif icant. These findings suggest that social risk conditions place a pres chooler at greater risk for behavioral difficulties, whether these poo r social conditions occur with full-term, healthy infants or with chil dren at biological risk (e.g., prematurity). It is recommended that so cial risk factors as well as biological risk factors be considered so that early intervention programs may target problematic behavior in th eir treatment approaches with preschoolers.