The Family-School Relationship from a Parents' Perspective and the Social Adaptation of Children Showing Behavioural Problems
This study examines the correlation between the family-school relationship, as defined by Bronfenbrenner's (1979) typology of mesosystem, and the social adaptation of children with behavioral problems. The parents of 59 elementary school children classified by the school system as showing behavioral difficulties completed a questionnaire on their relation with the school setting. Teachers were asked to complete an agressivity, prosociality and inattention scales at the beginning and the end of the school year. An exploratory factor analysis first validated the school-family relationship questionnaire. Multiple linear regressions indicate that parents' positive representation of school is related to less aggressivity and more prosociality in children. Moreover, communications between parents and school at the beginning of the school year predict a diminution of children's aggressive behaviors during the year. Those results highlight the importance of considering the family-school relationship as a multi-dimensionnal concept that can predict changes in the social adaptation of children with behavioral problems.