By three to four years of age the number of referrals for difficult behavior rises (Weiss & Hechtman, 1987). This is most likely because of society’s expectations for this age child, which rise and exceed the ability of a difficult child to conform to the expected norm. It is also the time when the mother encounters community rejection of her child’s behavior-e.g., in the neighborhood, play group, or preschool. Certainly the widespread publicity about children with behavioral difficulties in the lay press may also account for these referrals.
