Externalizing Behavior Problems and Low Academic Achievement: Does a Causal Relation Exist?
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Externalizing Behavior Problems and Low Academic Achievement: Does a Causal Relation Exist? Tara Kulkarni 1
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& Amanda L. Sullivan & Jiwon Kim
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Accepted: 30 October 2020/ # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
Children’s low academic skills are associated with a variety of behavior problems and maladaptive outcomes throughout childhood and adulthood. Given the prevalence of behavioral disorders is approximately 19% of all US children, understanding of the mechanisms through which academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems interact can inform effective intervention to prevent persistent academic failure, chronic behavioral difficulties, and related negative long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to systematically review research on the association between low academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems, as well as evaluate the research indicating causal linkages, if any, between the two domains. Five databases were searched, including OVID Medline, PsycInfo, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Education Resource, and PROQUEST. Search terms included statistical designs that could support a hypothetical causal association (e.g., structural equation modeling). We screened a total of 1990 studies, of which 26 met the final inclusion criteria. In total, ten studies reported significant negative effects between the two domains, of which only six reported effect sizes that could be considered meaningful. All but two reported these effects in the direction of early externalizing behavior problems to later academic achievement. Overall, there was inconclusive evidence for either causal or predictive relations. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed. Keywords Externalizing . Disruptive behavior . Academic achievement As early as kindergarten, externalizing behavior problems and low academic achievement are associated with negative outcomes, both proximal and distal (e.g., Bushman et al. 2018; Morgan et al. 2009). Additionally, both domains are highly correlated (e.g., Murray and Farrington 2010) such that, together, difficulties severely undermine a child’s academic and
* Tara Kulkarni [email protected]
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Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, 250 Education Sciences Building, 56 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Educational Psychology Review
mental health outcomes (Nelson et al. 2004). Children who present with concomitant academic failure and externalizing behavior problems often have some of the worst life outcomes as adults, including incarceration (Moffitt 2003). Although a large body of studies indicate a predictive relation between the two (Algozzine et al. 2011), establishing whether the evidence supports a causal association is essential to inform effective intervention for prevention of persistent academic failure and psychopathology (Masten and Cicchetti 2010) and streamlining of efficient resource allocation in schools (McIntosh et al. 2006). The only oth
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