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More than the sum of its parts: Cumulative risk effects on school functioning in middle childhood
Author(s) -
Ashworth Emma,
Humphrey Neil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/bjep.12260
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , checklist , pupil , psychological intervention , reading (process) , cumulative risk , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , medicine , neuroscience , psychiatry , political science , law
Background Risk factors for poor school functioning rarely occur in isolation, but instead are likely to cluster together. As they accumulate, cumulative risk theory ( CRT ) predicts that the likelihood of negative outcomes increases, often disproportionately. Aims We build upon and extend previous research by (i) examining two critical aspects of school functioning (reading attainment and behavioural difficulties); (ii) utilizing a large number of candidate risk factors across multiple ecological domains; (iii) testing the two core assumptions of CRT ; and (iv) formally examining the functional form of the risk–outcome relationships. Sample Participants were N = 3084 children aged 6–7 attending 77 mainstream primary schools in England. Methods Sixteen candidate risk factors (e.g., familial poverty) were modelled using data from the National Pupil Database. Reading attainment and behavioural difficulties data were generated via teachers’ reading assessment scores and the Teacher Observation of Children's Adaptation Checklist (disruptive behaviour subscale), respectively. A cumulative risk score was generated for each pupil. Multilevel modelling was utilized for analysis. Results Six risk factors were identified for behaviour and seven for reading attainment. A cumulative risk effect was found for both outcomes, and the two core assumptions of CRT were supported. Quadratic relationships were found for both aspects of school functioning, indicative of a threshold effect. Conclusions As the number of risk factors increases, difficulties in school functioning increase disproportionately. Consistent with CRT , our results suggest that the number of risks is more important than their nature. This has implications for future risk research and the implementation of school‐based interventions.