| Summary: | A number of research studies on the prevalence and intensity of Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBDs) have expressed growing concern as problems continue to worsen for children, adolescents, and a new "sample" of preschoolers. 1 in 5 children and adolescents may have an identifiable mental health disorder requiring treatment. The severity and nature of these problems affect how children think, feel, and act, exposing them to seriously heightened risk of school failure, family conflicts, child abuse, later juvenile delinquency, early drug/alcohol abuse, violence, and even suicide. If untreated these factors may lead to maladjustment in adulthood, aggressive and anti-social personality disorders, alcohol dependency syndrome, criminal behaviour and marital breakdown. The present study attempts to further the investigation of the effects of variables of social cognition and emotion on psychopathology by using a simultaneous design. Specific aims are to: 1) Develop and test a school-based standardised model for better screening of SEBDs in Greece for 8-12 year-old children. The predictive power of the simultaneous "independent variables" (social-cognitive and self-esteem/self worth) on "dependent" ones (psychopathology profiles) is explored by means of improving variance prediction. 2) Discover and analyze possible social interaction biases within groups of experimental children with particular types of emotional and behavioural problems.
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