GENDER DIFFERENCES IN TEACHER RATINGS OF ANXIETY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Anxiety is the most common mental illness globally. Although there is a collective understanding of anxiety, it can be hard to detect. Inconsistent findings exist regarding the correlation between self-reported anxiety in children and reports of their parents and teachers. Although teachers may demonstrate the ability to detect anxious students, there are several instances where teachers are unaware of the internal feelings of children. This study examines the congruence of teacher ratings of their students’ anxiety with children's own self-ratings. We also examine if teachers detect anxiety differently in boys and girls, such as rating boys with oppositional or defiant behaviors when they rate themselves as anxious. Using an existing database from an ongoing school mental health project, we examined student data using the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). This scale allows children to rate the severity of their own anxiety levels. Teachers completed the Behavior Intervention Monitoring Assessment System (BIMAS) for each of their students, which measures both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. The study hypothesis was that boys and girls would have similar self-ratings of anxiety, but teacher ratings of anxiety would match better with girls' ratings than with boys' ratings. Additionally, boys with higher self-ratings of anxiety would be more likely rated as oppositional by their teachers. These findings have implications regarding if and how to provide further support to teachers to identify significant anxiety problems, especially in cases where anxiety is masked by behavioral problems.