The Bidirectional Relationship Between Achievement and Externalizing Behavior Problems of Students with Learning Disabilities

The current study examined the bidirectional relationship between academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems of adolescents with learning disabilities. Forty-three students attending a residential school were assessed for externalizing behavior problems via parent and teacher reports on the Child Behavior Checklist and the Children's Attention and Adjustment Survey. The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised was used to estimate academic achievement in reading, spelling, and arithmetic. Achievement measures did not predict externalizing behavior problems 1 to 2 years later, although verbal IQ predicted parent reports. Teacher reports of externalizing behavior problems predicted reading and spelling achievement scores 1 year later, and parent reports of externalizing behavior problems predicted changes in reading achievement. There was evidence that attentional problems were the component of externalizing behavior accounting for these relations, consistent with the explanation that inattentive students have difficulty achieving in an intensive learning environment.