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Empirical Analysis of Creativity in Children and Adolescents with Internalizing and Externalizing Problem Behavior

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Abstract

Background

The association between problem behavior in children and adolescents and creativity has hardly been examined. The few studies available report contradictory findings. There is some empirical evidence that a low socioeconomic status coincides with lower creativity test achievements.

Objective

The current study addresses the question whether problem behavior is relevant to explain variance in creativity test achievements while controlling for socioeconomic status differences.

Method

The sample comprises N = 234 children and adolescents from Germany (age range 10–14, 115 female) including 193 above cut-off in a problem behavior screening (SDQ). Creativity is operationalized by a standardized nonverbal drawing test (TCT-DP). Hierarchic regression analyses are used to analyze the impact of problem behavior on creativity.

Results

Problem behavior explains considerable variance in creativity test performance. Whereas internalizing problems are negatively associated with creativity, there is a moderate positive correlation between dissocial problem behavior and creativity. Hyperactive-inattentive children and adolescents achieve better creativity test results than controls. Socioeconomic status and gender both have a moderating impact, but do not level out the link between problem behavior and creativity.

Conclusions

The results underline the potential importance of nonverbal creativity as a behavioral, cognitive and emotional feature of inattentive and hyperactive children and adolescents, which could be beneficial in school and other intervention contexts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Institute for Educational Science, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119, Wuppertal, Germany

    Sören Lüdeke, Friedrich Linderkamp, Tobias Baumann & Eva Julia Lembke

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  1. Sören Lüdeke
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  2. Friedrich Linderkamp
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  3. Tobias Baumann
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  4. Eva Julia Lembke
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Correspondence to Sören Lüdeke.

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All procedures performed in our study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The treatment of our study’s human participants also complies with APA ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Lüdeke, S., Linderkamp, F., Baumann, T. et al. Empirical Analysis of Creativity in Children and Adolescents with Internalizing and Externalizing Problem Behavior. Child Youth Care Forum 49, 603–621 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-020-09546-5

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