Resources and adversities in the home environment of children with poor school achievement

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to investigate resources that promote development as well as adversities in the homes of children referred for psychological help due to low school performance, in comparison with two groups of non-referred children, one with low school performance and the other with good school performance. 60 children aged 7 to 11 and their mothers participated in, recruited in a free child guidance clinic and in a public school. Home measures were obtained for 12 types of resource and seven classes of adversity. Children's level of intelligence, academic performance and behavior problems were also assessed. Results showed that referred children had more behavior problems; their families offered them less development-promoting resources, and there were more difficulties in parent-child relations at their homes. Strategies are suggested to support families who seek for help in the community to cope with their children's school learning problems.