Universal screening serves to identify students at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties while their behavior is still amenable to treatment. However, there are few universal screeners available for middle school students who may be at heightened risk for developing emotional and behavioral difficulties due to major academic and social…

We report results of an exploratory validation study of the "Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing" (SRSS-IE) applied with the first sample of middle and high school students from nine middle and three high schools from three states. The "Student Risk Screening Scale" (SRSS) was modified to broaden the…

The measurement of treatment integrity is critical to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of evidence-based programs (EBPs) designed to improve the developmental outcomes of young children at risk of emotional/behavioral disorders. Unfortunately, the science of treatment integrity measurement lags behind the development and evaluation of EBP…

The present study examined the reliability, validity, and clinical utility of the "Oppositional Defiant Disorder Rating Scale" (ODDRS) in a population of children referred for ADHD evaluation. The diagnostic benefit of using a rating scale specific to Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), in addition to a broad range behavior scale, was…

In this article, the authors examine the psychometric properties of the Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS), including evaluating the concurrent validity of the SRSS to predict results from the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) when used to detect school children with externalizing or internalizing behavior concerns at three…

The "Restrictiveness of Living Environment Scale" has long been the primary way to conceptualize the "restrictiveness" of a child's living situation. However, changes in systems of care and other factors have created a need to revisit how restrictiveness is conceptualized and measured. A measure was created to assess an environment's level of…

A total of 1,446 elementary school children were screened with the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) procedure. Results indicated that the SSBD could accurately and efficiently identify children in need of special services, and was viewed as cost efficient because it could proactively screen all students in an acceptable amount of…

The Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD), a multistage screening system designed to identify elementary school--age children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, was evaluated for use with middle and junior high school students. During SSBD Stage 1, teachers identified 123 students in grades 6 through 9 with…

A study involving 103 children (ages 5-17) examined the clinical utility of the ADHD Symptom Checklist-4 (ADHD-SC4), a screening measure for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Findings support the internal consistency and validity of the ADHD-SC4 as a screening instrument for ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and aggressive…

A study examined the office disciplinary referrals of 103 children who met the borderline or clinical cut-off scores of the Teacher Report Form. Results indicate there was a low-to-moderate degree of correspondence between children identified via a systematic gating procedure that included the form and office disciplinary referrals. (Contains…

A functional screening and identification system for behavior problems among preschool children, ages 3 through 5, was assessed with 2,853 children from regular and special education preschool and kindergarten classrooms in 8 states. The Early Screening Project procedure was found to provide reliable, accurate, and cost-effective screening. (SW)

In this article, the authors report the psychometric properties of a parent-completed rating scale based on the criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision" ("DSM-IV-TR"). Mothers of 294 boys and 48 girls with…

A study investigated the effect of different diagnostic criteria on the identification of emotional or behavioral disorders in 3694 second-grade children. Results indicated the 13 different diagnostic combinations identified from 1.1% to 27.5% of the sample. Four of these combinations resulted in significant ethnic or gender bias. (Author/CR)

The Student Self-Concept Scale (SSCS) assesses self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, and subjective task value across academic, social, and self-image domains. This article discusses the scale's theoretical basis, standardization, reliability, and validity and offers a case study illustrating use of the SSCS with a child who had a…

A study of 984 families of children with emotional and behavioral disturbance used the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire to assess the effects of the shift of primary caregiving to the family due to deinstitutionalization. Results indicate the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, which also identified three related but unique dimensions of…