An Empirical Definition of Elementary School Adjustment: Selection of Target Behaviors for a Comprehensive Treatment Program

As a first step in the identification of functional skills required for successful adjustment in elementary school, 130 kindergarten through fifth-grade students participated in a naturalistic descriptive investigation. Of the children studied, 55 were identified by teachers as "not making a good social adjustment to school" (low rated) and 75 were identified as "making a good social adjustment to school" (high rated). These two groups were compared on 15 dependent variables selected to provide a broad-based assessment of school adjustment. Measures were drawn from direct observations in academic and nonacademic settings, self-reports, and assessments of academic achievement. In addition to correlational analyses replicating earlier findings, the results indicate that the two groups differed significantly on the overall assessment of school adjustment variables, and that this overall effect was due to specific differences on six measures.