Behaviour problems in children with dyslexia

The association between behaviour problems and dyslexia was assessed in a p opulation sample of 10- to 12-year-old children. Twenty-five dyslexic child ren and a matched control group were recruited through a screening in prima ry schools in the city of Bergen, Norway. For the assessment of behaviour p roblems the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Self Report (TRF), and Youth Self Report (YSR) were filled out by parents, teachers, and children , respectively. Information on health and developmental factors were obtain ed from parents on a separate questionnaire designed for the study. The dys lexic group had significantly more behaviour problems than the control grou p according to both the CBCL and the TRF. On the YSR there was no significa nt difference between the groups. Dyslexic children had higher CBCL and TRF scores on the Total Behaviour Problem scale, the Internalizing and Externa lizing subdomains, and the Attention problem subscale. The groups differed in social background, prenatal risk factors, birth weight, preschool langua ge problems, and IQ, but these variables showed no relationship to the leve l of behaviour problems in the present sample. We conclude that pre-adolesc ent dyslexic children show a wide range of behaviour problems that cannot b e attributed to social or developmental background variables.