Behavior Problems of Deaf Children and Adolescents: A Factor-Analytic Study

Abstract

Using the Behavior Problem Checklist, teachers rated 327 students (ages 6–20) in a state school for the deaf. Traits rated as present in at least 10% of the students were intercorrelated, then a principal-component factor analysis and an orthogonal rotation of the factor matrix were accomplished by electronic computer. Five factors were rotated in accordance with Kaiser’s varimax criteria. The first three factors extracted—which accounted for approximately 70% of the common factor variance and the preponderance of disturbed behavior—were strikingly similar to the conduct, personality, and immaturity dimensions consistently identified in previously studied normal and disturbed populations. Two other factors, labeled isolation and communication problem, were also extracted. These may represent a more or less deafness-specific cluster of behavior problems.