A contextual analysis of externalizing and mixed syndrome boys: when syndromal similarity obscures functional dissimilarity.

A contextualized approach to psychopathology that focuses on children's responses to events rather than overall behavior output was examined. Teachers rated boys in special education classrooms using a standardized syndromal instrument and one that assessed boys' social environments and their responses to them. Externalizing and mixed (aggressive and withdrawn) syndrome groups showed distinctive response patterns that could not be derived from syndrome scores, with externalizers showing aggression in response to aversive events, and mixed boys showing contextually anomalous responses to positive events. The externalizing and mixed groups each consisted of functionally distinct subgroups that were not detected using syndrome measures. The results clarify how syndromal measures can confuse psychologically distinct children and demonstrate the utility of a teacher-report method that is efficient to administer and sensitive to contextual influences.