SEBDS and the Mental Processing Biases Suggested by School-Based Data Collection with Children Aged 8–12 in Greece: An Important Finding and Suggestions for Future Research

Abstract

This chapter explores the simultaneous effects of the independent variables of social cognition (social information processing) and of self-esteem/global self-worth on clinically and research-derived measures of problem behaviour in children aged 8–12 (dependent variables). The specific aims are to develop and test a school-based standardised model for better screening of SEBDs in Greece in children 8–12 years old and analyse in-depth the inferred patterns of mental processing of SEBD-screened children from the data collected in one-on-one interviews. The hypothesis is that groups of particular children will emerge that share similar characteristics in their social information processing styles and their proposed reactions to challenging social interactions. Evidently, these findings could lead to a suggestive discussion of school-based approaches to interventions.

The study presents evidence for this hypothesis, suggesting the existence of three separate groups in the sample. The sample included 240 children assigned in two groups, the experimental and the control, each containing 120 closely matched cases. The exploratory analysis of the outcomes reveals an identified mental processing bias in attributing causality and in behaviour response selection that is consistent enough to suggest the bias may be as organised in the brain as a ‘hard-wired’ function.

Citation

Papakyriakopoulos, C. (2012), "SEBDS and the Mental Processing Biases Suggested by School-Based Data Collection with Children Aged 8–12 in Greece: An Important Finding and Suggestions for Future Research", Visser, J., Daniels, H. and Cole, T. (Ed.) Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 339-357. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002024