Objectives: Bangladeshi children are less frequently referred to a child psychiatric clinic than their British peers. This study aimed to ascertain if teachers observed less psychological symptoms in Bangladeshi than British children.
Method: Teachers completed a Rutter B2 Scale on samples of 113 'Bangladeshi' and 61 British children aged between 5 and 11 years.
Results: Teachers recognised less symptomatology in the Asian children than their British peers. This trend was significant in children under the age of 8, but there was no significant difference in those aged 8-11 years. Only 13% of Bangladeshi children were fully fluent in English.
Conclusions: Two alternate hypotheses are put forward to explain these findings: (a) because more of the younger children could not speak English and communicate freely with their teachers, their symptoms were not noted by teachers; (b) the symptoms of the older children were a response to the pressures both the children and families faced as new immigrants. This study clearly needs to be replicated with a larger sample and also with interviews with both children and parents in order to validate the Rutter B2 questionnaires as an appropriate measure of disturbance in Bangladeshi children. It should be replicated with validated assessments of the children's fluency in English. It is also important to discuss with Bangladeshi parents what support they would like from both the school and from child psychiatric services, to promote their children's psychological health.