Differentiating attributes of children referred to a school mental health program

A group of 275 first- and fourth-graders referred to a school mental health project were compared to a demographically matched sample of 509 non-referred classmates on the frequency of occurrence of 39 background descriptive variables reflecting four clusters: (a) physical and health characteristics, (b) recent critical life-events, (c) concurrent school activities and special services, and (d) current family status. Referred children had more serious problems of coordination and health and were judged to be less attractive physically. They experienced many more recent critical life-events, were involved in more problem-related special services and fewer extracurricular activities, and evidenced more signs of familial disruption.