Comparison of Social Support and Self-Injurious Behaviors in Students with and without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Background: Students with learning disabilities, in comparison to normal students, have relatively more problems. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to compare the social support, aggression and self-injurious behaviors in students with and without learning disabilities. Patients and Methods: All students with and without learning disabilities from secondary schools of Ardabil, Iran constitute the research population. Sixty students were randomly selected by cluster sampling. Raven’s IQ Test, Social Support Scale, Aggression Questionnaire and Deliberate Self-harm Inventory were utilized for data collection. The MANOVA test also was applied for data analyzing. Results: The results of the present study indicated that students with learning disabilities, in comparison with normal students, have a inferior perceived social support and a higher rate of aggression as well as a higher self-injurious behavior. Analyses of regression also delineated that social support, physical aggression and verbal aggression can predict self-injurious behaviors in students with learning disabilities. Conclusions: Low social support and high aggression are two important factors which affect self-injurious behaviors in students with learning disabilities.