Responses of hyperactive boys to a behaviorally focused school attitude questionnaire

Abstract

The Teacher Approval-Disapproval Scale was administered to three groups of elementary school boys: those considered by a teacher as hyperactive and referrable; those considered as among the most active but not referrable; and normoactive classmates. The three groups of boys differed significantly in their responses to 8 of 11 individual scale items, which ask the child about the amount of teacher approval and disapproval directed toward himself personally or about the frequency of his own happiness and unhappiness in the classroom. The three groups of boys differed significantly on only 2 of 11 counterpart class items, which ask the child about teacher behaviors toward the class as a whole or about the happiness and unhappiness of the entire class. The hyperactive boys said they received significantly less approval from teachers for academic, motivational, and social behaviors than did the normoactive boys and significantly more general disapproval. The present study is among the few that report differences between hyperactive and comparison groups on self-report questionnaires. The results suggest that what appears to be greater teacher disapproval of boys than of girls may in fact be simply greater teacher disapproval of children with disruptive behavior problems, most of whom are boys.