Contextual specificity in classroom adjustment: Latent profiles of primary school behavior problems in Trinidad and Tobago

ABSTRACT

Behavioral problems are commonly observed in primary school children, yet the educational contexts in which children’s behaviors occur vary across regions of the world. Thus, culturally adapted and context-specific behavioral assessments are needed to successfully identify and support children at risk for severe behavior problems. This study examines behavior problems in a nationally representative sample (N = 700) of primary school students in Trinidad and Tobago using the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents, a contextually-based assessment that has been adapted and standardized for use with this population. We applied latent profile analysis, a person-centered approach, to identify distinct patterns of behavior problems and contexts in which behaviors occurred. The resultant 6-profile model consisted of two profiles of adjusted children making up 60% of the sample and four profiles of at-risk children with elevated underactive and/or overactive behavior problems associated with different classroom contexts. Profiles were differentially associated with classroom learning behaviors and reading ability. The most vulnerable subgroup of primary school students showed high levels of under- and overactive behaviors in peer, learning, and teacher contexts, deficits in reading fluency, problem-solving, and motivation.

KEYWORDS:

• Behavior problems
• classroom contexts
• latent profile analysis
• person-centered methods
• Trinidad and Tobago

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by a grant to the Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago, by the Organization of American States (Fund # TT/AE/138101941) and by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Grant #R305B090015.

Notes on contributors

Clara-Christina E. Gerstner

Clara-Christina E. Gerstner, MPhil, is a graduate student in Quantitative Methods at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.

Paul A. McDermott

Paul A. McDermott, PhD, is a Professor of Quantitative Methods at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.

Emily M. Weiss

Emily M. Weiss, MS, is a graduate student in Quantitative Methods at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.

Michael J. Rovine

Michael J. Rovine, PhD, is a Senior Fellow in Quantitative Methods at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.

Frank C. Worrell

Frank C. Worrell, PhD, is a Professor of School Psychology at the University of California- Berkeley, Graduate School of Education.

Tracey E. Hall

Tracey E. Hall, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist and Instructional Designer at the Center for Applied Special Technology.