ABSTRACT
This chapter defines mental health as growth in the ability to perform effectively in and out of school, in work, in play, and in interpersonal relations, as evidenced by objective measures of achievement and increased feelings of self-worth and well-being as an outcome of learning. Many of the mental-health problems of children are related to school work. It is the child with limited ability for school work who is the most susceptible to emotional problems. The strength of an emotion varies with the severity of the stress situation that provokes it, but the emotional reaction one makes to a stress situation provides clues to his personality. Defense mechanisms are the systematic ways in which the individual handles disturbing events or information in order to maintain an acceptable self-concept. One consequence of aggression in school is that it usually antagonizes the very people whose acceptance and recognition the aggressive child seeks.
