Abstract

PAPALEO, Fátima N.; PUEYRREDON, Mayra A.; ACUNA MORALES, Laura  and  MUSTACA, Alba Elizabeth. Emission of ADHD Behaviors by “Normal” Children according to Argentinean Teachers. Acta de investigación psicol [online]. 2018, vol.8, n.3, pp.52-62. ISSN 2007-4719.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2018.3.06.

According to the DSM-IV a child that “often” emits at least six of 18 behaviors should be diagnosed with ADHD. Generally teachers are the first to report the “abnormal” frequency of behaviors of their students. The study aimed at determining the frequency of emission of ADHD behaviors by a “normal” student during class hours. Elementary school teachers (N = 113) reported in a 4-point scale (0 = never; 3 = very frequently) the frequency with which a “normal” child emits in class the ADHD behaviors included in the DSM-IV. Results showed that according to 25.7% of the teachers, “normal” children emit frequently (i.e., more than four times per hour) six or more ADHD behaviors. Results also showed that the sociodemographic characteristics of the teachers and school-situational variables were related to the frequency of a beha vior that was deemed as normal. It was concluded that ADHD behaviors are emitted quite frequently by normal children du ring class hours. The judgment on whether that frequency is or not normal will depend of the subgroup to which each teacher belongs. Thus, a same behavior could be judged as normal by one teacher and as abnormal by another. The results are in accordance with the psychological approximation to abnormal behavior that states that each observer will judge a behavior as normal or as abnormal according to his/her own criteria determined by cultural standards.

Keywords : Teachers’ characteristics; School context; Abnormal behavior; Elementary school children; Elementary school teachers.