Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(4):214-222

Opportunities for integration into ordinary school of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and students with chronic cardiovascular diseases (Representative Study for Republic of Bulgaria)

Agovska A., Sabeva S., Tzvetkov D.

Chair of Hygiene, Ecology and Occupational Deseases, Medical University, Sofia, Republic of Bulgaria

This article reviews the results of a representative study on the opportunities for integration into mainstream school of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and students with chronic cardiovascular disease. The aim of the study is to clarify some important personal characteristics as well as some factors, related to the school and family environment of students with EBD and those with chronic CVD in order to assess their capacities for integration. Altogether 192 students aged 8-15 years with psychic disorders and 337 aged 15-18 years with cardiovascular diseases were followed for two and four years respectively. Results show that students with EBD are with limited cognitive capacities, emotionally unstable, introverts, with high level of psychotisicm and higher level of personal anxiety compared to their healthy coevals. Students with EBD, studying with the healthy children, compared to their coevals with the same diagnoses, but studying separately in recovery school "pure model of special school" are with better short-term memory, lower level of situation anxiety, better mental work capacity and as whole more successfully socialized. In the end of the second year of investigation their psychic health improves as well. All this allow us to draw the conclusion that the integrated education of pupils with EBD has a better effect on the psychic health and improves as a whole their learning potentialities. Beside some significant differences between the students with CVD and the healthy referents, in terms of social and family status, school performance, school relationships, personal and cognitive characteristics, they could successfully be integrated into the public school in the presence of a well organized and individualized health, social and pedagogic support.

Published: November 1, 2001  Show citation