Symptoms of Behaviour Disturbance and Adjustment to School

Summary This paper reports a longitudinal study of behavioural symptoms in 3, 4 and 5 yr old children. The sample consisted of 50 boys and 50 girls living in a working‐class area in Inner London, and information was obtained on maternal health and adjustment to school in addition to the expression of behavioural symptoms at home. The results indicate that while maternal health and behaviour disturbance in the home correlate positively together, with the exception of two symptoms there was no relation at all between behaviour at home and adjustment to school. These results are considered to have implications for the prognostic value of behavioural symptoms as well as for the treatment of young children.