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The overall amount of disruptive behavior in the first grade classroom can influence the course of aggressive behavior in boys through middle school, according to a study by School of Public Health researchers. Aggressive and disruptive first-grade boys who began first grade in classrooms where the level of disruptive behavior was high were far more likely to be rated severely aggressive in middle school compared to all other boys. In contrast, first-grade boys who were rated as being just as aggressive but who spent their first year of school in classrooms where order was maintained were significantly less likely to act aggressively later on. The common practice of grouping many disruptive children together in one classroom may be actively steering those children toward anti-social behavior. The study was published in the Spring 1998 issue of Development and Psychopathology. The lead author is Sheppard G. Kellam, professor, Mental Hygiene.
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