TABLE 2.
Raw Scores of Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems Among Children From Kindergarten to Fifth Grade, by Language Group: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort, United States, 1998–2004
| Fall Kindergarten, Raw Score (SD) | Spring Kindergarten, Raw Score (SD) | Spring First Grade, Raw Score (SD) | Spring Third Grade, Raw Score (SD) | Spring Fifth Grade, Raw Score (SD) | % Change (SD) | |
| Internalizing behavior problemsa | ||||||
| US-born, non-Hispanic White | ||||||
| English monolingual (n = 10 850) | 1.54 (0.52) | 1.56 (0.51) | 1.60 (0.51) | 1.65 (0.53) | 1.68 (0.54) | 0.14 (9.09) |
| English-dominant bilingual (n = 150) | 1.56 (0.46) | 1.57 (0.48) | 1.70 (0.53) | 1.66 (0.52) | 1.72 (0.57) | 0.16 (10.26) |
| Fluent bilingual (n = 60) | 1.61 (0.50) | 1.74 (0.50) | 1.89 (0.63) | 1.67 (0.48) | 1.72 (0.60) | 0.11 (6.83) |
| Total (n = 11 060) | 1.54 (0.52) | 1.57 (0.51) | 1.61 (0.51) | 1.65 (0.53) | 1.68 (0.54) | 0.14 (9.09) |
| Asian origin including US-born Asian | ||||||
| English monolingual (n = 380) | 1.56 (0.49) | 1.53 (0.43) | 1.54 (0.40) | 1.54 (0.50) | 1.61 (0.45) | 0.05 (3.20) |
| English-dominant bilingual (n = 340) | 1.42 (0.44) | 1.50 (0.46) | 1.51 (0.47) | 1.54 (0.44) | 1.58 (0.54) | 0.16 (11.27) |
| Fluent bilingual (n = 460) | 1.45 (0.45) | 1.46 (0.45) | 1.52 (0.47) | 1.50 (0.48) | 1.60 (0.52) | 0.15 (10.34) |
| Non–English-dominant bilingual (n = 110) | 1.61 (0.55) | 1.63 (0.56) | 1.52 (0.50) | 1.56 (0.50) | 1.58 (0.49) | -0.03 (1.86) |
| Non-English monolingual (n = 230) | 1.61 (0.58) | 1.58 (0.47) | 1.78 (0.63) | 1.55 (0.53) | 1.66 (0.54) | 0.05 (3.01) |
| Total (n = 1520) | 1.52 (0.50) | 1.53 (0.48) | 1.54 (0.48) | 1.53 (0.49) | 1.60 (0.50) | 0.08 (5.26) |
| Externalizing behavior problemsb | ||||||
| US-born, non-Hispanic White | ||||||
| English monolingual (n = 10 850) | 1.63 (0.63) | 1.64 (0.62) | 1.66 (0.61) | 1.68 (0.58) | 1.69 (0.58) | 0.06 (3.68) |
| English-dominant bilingual (n = 150) | 1.58 (0.56) | 1.72 (0.68) | 1.73 (0.64) | 1.65 (0.57) | 1.73 (0.58) | 0.15 (9.49) |
| Fluent bilingual (n = 60) | 1.54 (0.60) | 1.69 (0.62) | 1.85 (0.68) | 1.68 (0.57) | 1.76 (0.65) | 0.22 (14.28) |
| Total (n = 11060) | 1.63 (0.63) | 1.65 (0.62) | 1.66 (0.61) | 1.68 (0.58) | 1.69 (0.58) | 0.06 (3.68) |
| Asian origin including US-born Asian | ||||||
| English monolingual (n = 380) | 1.57 (0.63) | 1.58 (0.57) | 1.59 (0.60) | 1.58 (0.57) | 1.63 (0.58) | 0.06 (3.82) |
| English-dominant bilingual (n = 340) | 1.51 (0.54) | 1.56 (0.60) | 1.54 (0.54) | 1.55 (0.52) | 1.59 (0.58) | 0.08 (5.30) |
| Fluent bilingual (n = 460) | 1.47 (0.53) | 1.49 (0.56) | 1.53 (0.54) | 1.56 (0.53) | 1.55 (0.56) | 0.08 (5.44) |
| Non–English-dominant bilingual (n = 110) | 1.57 (0.57) | 1.54 (0.56) | 1.49 (0.50) | 1.62 (0.59) | 1.48 (0.61) | -0.08 (5.73) |
| Non-English monolingual (n = 230) | 1.53 (0.59) | 1.56 (0.60) | 1.61 (0.62) | 1.45 (0.54) | 1.52 (0.64) | -0.01 (0.65) |
| Total (n = 1520) | 1.53 (0.57) | 1.54 (0.57) | 1.55 (0.55) | 1.56 (0.55) | 1.56 (0.59) | 0.03 (0.96) |
Note. Raw scores are unadjusted. Internalizing and externalizing behaviors are each assessed on a scale ranging from 1 = never to 4 = very often; the externalizing and internalizing scale scores are then averaged to find the raw score.
a
The frequency of arguing, fighting, getting angry, acting impulsively, and disturbing ongoing activities; drawn from teacher-reported data.
b
The apparent presence of anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and sadness; drawn from teacher-reported data.