Academic, Social, and General Self-Concepts of Behavioral Subgroups of Learning Disabled Children

This study assessed perceived competence in 60 children, aged 8 to 13 years, who were classified into 4 carefully matched groups: (a) non-learning-disabled (non-LD), non-behavior-disordered, (b) LD, non-behavior-disordered, (c) LD with externalizing symptoms, and (d) LD with externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Results indicated that the scores of the non-behavior-disordered groups were higher than those of the behavior-disordered groups in cognitive, social, and general self-concept. The scores of the non-LD group did not differ from those of the non-behavior-disordered LD group. Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated that cognitive and social self-concept are at least as strongly related to behavioral factors as they are to achievement level. Implications for education and future research are discussed.