With the aim of clarifying the association between behavioral / emotional problerns and school underachievement, two studies were conducted with the Rutter Child Behavior Scale - A2 (CBS) In Study 1, CBS was applied to 200 mothers, each one with a child who had been referred to a university child guidance clinic for psychological aid by virtue of school learning problerns; sex differences were investigated. In Study 2, seventy-four children in three groups were assessed through CBS: 1. Children with school learning problems and presumed educable mental retardation; 2. Children with schoollearning problems and presumed normal intelligence; 3. Children with good school performance. Results showed a high proportion of children who, according to CBS score, were in need of psychological help. Mothers reported more internalized problerns in girls and more immature behaviors in children presumed to be mentally retarded. Trends detected by earlier interview researches were confirmed by CBS.
school underachievement; behavior problerns; Child Behavior Scale - A2