Differences in behavior problems and academic achievement between students with and without health impairments in Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractStudents with health impairments (SWHIs) are at greater risk of academic and behavioral difficulties in comparison to their peers without health impairments. However, school-based comparative studies with regard to differences in behavior problems and academic achievement between students with and without health impairments are quite rare. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between behavior problems and academic achievement among students with and without health impairments; and examine whether behavior problems were related to academic achievement among SWHIs. A random sample of 483 students with and without health impairments have participated in the study. The total difficulties scale of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess behavior problems and average aggregate marks were used to measure academic achievement of students. Descriptive statistics, one-way MANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were utilized to analyze the data. The result demonstrated significant differences in behavior problems and academic achievement between students with and without health impairments. Behavior problems had a significant negative relationship with academic achievement of SWHIs. SWHIs in Addis Ababa are at increased risk for higher rates of behavior problems and lower scores of academic achievement. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords

• Academic achievement
• behavior problems
• students with health impairments
• students without health impairments
• Daryl O’Connor, University of Ulster: Ulster University, United Kingdom
• Health Psychology