Externalizing behavioral problems refer to the extreme way in which an individual may express his or her emotions, often due to a lack of skills to control feelings. To avoid robust problematic...Show moreExternalizing behavioral problems refer to the extreme way in which an individual may express his or her emotions, often due to a lack of skills to control feelings. To avoid robust problematic behavior patterns in later life that are difficult to correct, it is important to be able to detect externalizing behavioral problems in primary school-aged children. However, the perception of what constitutes problematic behavior may differ depending on the type of observer. In particular, parents may view their child’s behavior differently from teachers. The purpose of this research was to examine potential differences between teachers and parents in the judgement of externalizing behavioral problems of primary school-aged children. Also, it was investigated whether differences in judgment depended on a child’s gender or social-cognitive skills. Participants were primary school children from Amsterdam between 5 and 12 years old who exhibited high levels of externalizing behavior at school and at home, and who were siblings of delinquents and/or failed to attend school on a regular basis (N = 178; 73.6% boys). Teachers and parents provided judgments of externalizing problem behaviors using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher Report Form; the Social Cognitive Skills Test was used to measure social-cognitive skills. Results showed that there was a significant difference between parents and teachers: teachers more often concluded a child exhibited externalizing problem behavior. In addition, no gender differences in teacher-parent judgement of externalizing behavioral problems were found. Lastly, social-cognitive skills did not predict externalizing problem behaviors according to parents and teachers, and gender did not influence this association. It can be concluded differences between parents and teachers with regards to judging the degree of externalizing problems are already present in young children, regardless of their gender or social-cognitive skills.Show less
