Früherkennung von Verhaltensauffälligkeiten bei Schulanfängern - Umsetzung in der schulärztlichen Eingangsuntersuchung Bremen

Abstract

Background. Behavioral problems such as inattentiveness, impulsivity, aggression, and anxiety are among the most common mental disorders in school starters. A behavioral screening was there¬fore added to the preschool medical examination in Bremen, Germany. If this screening shows a behavioral problem, the children are offered to participate in extensive psycho¬logical diagnostics. Aim. The aim of the study is to investigate the necessity of a preschool behavioral screening and to examine the methods used in the psychological examination. The relation between commonly de¬tected behavioral problems and differences concerning the overall development between child¬ren with and without behavioral problems is analyzed. Furthermore the present study investigates the childrens benefit from the behavioral screening in regard to the effectiveness of consecutively applied interventions during the first year of primary school. Methods. This study presents results based on four publications from a cooperation pro¬ject between the Public Health Department Bremen and the Center for Clinical Psychology and Re¬habilitation (German: Zentrum für klinische Psychologie und Rehabilitation; ZKPR), University of Bremen. Publication I critically examines the necessity and practical implementation of a be¬ha¬vio¬ral screening into the preschool health examination whereas publication II to IV report the em¬pi¬rical findings of the project. Results related to the psychological examination of children with and with¬out behavioral problems before school start (N = 217) as well as after the first year of primary school (N = 129) are compared. Results. The presented findings support the implementation of behavioral screenings in the pre¬school medical examination in combination with subsequent psychological diagnostics. Con¬clusions regarding these diagnostics are discussed. Participation in behavioral trainings during the first grade of primary school based on the results of a preschool behavioral screening does not seem to reduce behavioral symptoms. The results apparently suggest completing the behavioral screening at an earlier age. Even though earlier examinations are already implemented in some parts of Germany, its benefits have not yet been examined comprehensively. Conclusion. Although the behavioral screening seems to improve the German preschool medical examination, empirical research on this topic is still lacking. There is urgent need of a tight-meshed network of research and practice.