Teachers' Beliefs about Maltreatment of Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

A national survey of 556 teachers of students with emotional/behavior disorders (E/BD) was conducted to identify special educators' beliefs about child maltreatment among the students they taught. The respondents reported that they believed approximately 38% of their students had been abused physically or sexually 41% had been neglected, and 51% had been abused emotionally. The teachers reported that the behavior of their students, student reports, physical signs, and reports from others led them to believe that abuse or neglect had occurred. Furthermore, they reported that their students displayed many personal and behavioral characteristics often identified as indicators of maltreatment. Of the teachers surveyed, 82% related that they had reported maltreatment and that their reports were made most often to school administrators and least often to the abuse and neglect hotline. Implications for the education and treatment of children who have been maltreated and have E/BD are discussed as well as recommendations for research.

The Characteristics Among Maltreatment, Special Education Service Delivery, and Personnel Preparation

“…Less than half of the studies (40%, n = 8) reported the participant’s role or involvement with special education service delivery. Moreover, only 20% ( n = 4) of research groups (Costello, 2009; Orelove, Hollahan, & Myles, 2000; Oseroff et al, 1999; San Julian, 2013) considered abuse and neglect as it directly related to the special education process or the relation between maltreatment and disability.…”

“…Miller, Santos, and Burke (2019) found that school social workers and school psychologists believed providing trauma-informed support through special education service delivery was necessary but did not occur in actual practice due to a lack of staff preparation. Over the last 40 years, multiple calls for action have been made by organizations and researchers to address this growing concern (Council for Exceptional Children [CEC], 2018; Division for Early Childhood [DEC], 2016; McCaffrey & Tewey, 1978; NEA, 1989; Oseroff, Oseroff, Westling, & Gessner, 1999). Nonetheless, researchers continue to find that professionals employed in schools feel unprepared to support children who have experienced abuse and neglect (Anderson, Blitz, & Saastamoinen, 2015; Baxter & Beer, 1990; Costello, 2009; McIntyre, 1987; Miller et al, 2019; San Julian, 2013), and reported that the training they have received in this area is minimal and insufficient (Abrahams, Casey, & Daro, 1992).…”

School Mobility and Students with Emotional Disturbance

“…For example, Mattison, Spitznagel, and Felix (1998) reported that over half of students with ED in their study had experienced abuse. Findings from a national survey of teachers indicated that 38% of students labeled ED were estimated to have been physically or sexually abused and 41% neglected (Oseroff, Oseroff, Westling, & Gessner, 1999). Students with ED are also more likely to live in poverty than students in the general population (Wagner, 1995).…”

Why Do Juvenile Justice Teachers Enter the Profession?

“…In addition, about 60% of incarcerated students have three or more comorbid mental health disorders (Wasserman et al, 2003), such as posttraumatic disorders, depression, conduct disorders, and anxiety disorders (Abrams, 2013). A significantly disproportionate number of these students have substance abuse issues (McClelland, Elkington, Teplin, & Abrams, 2004) and have experience with physical and/or sexual abuse (Oseroff, Oseroff, Westling, & Gessner, 1999). Furthermore, a substantial portion of incarcerated students have low academic abilities particularly in the area of literacy (Krezmien, Mulcahy, & Leone, 2008).…”