Despite the recent technical and theoretical advances in the investigation of children's social relations, the inherent complexity of these methods may prevent their easy integration into the classroom. A simple and effective tool can be valuable for teachers who wish to investigate students' social realities in the classroom. Therefore, the…

Three levels of screening procedures were used to identify the incidence and nature of learning disabilities. The first level involved the application by classroom teachers of the Classroom Screening Instrument (CSI), especially developed for the study, and of other measures; the second level involved psychoeducational differential diagnosis by…

Research examining autistic symptoms in Angelman syndrome (AS) is limited. The goal of this study was to further characterize the nature of stereotyped behaviors, social interaction deficits, and developmental disturbances in individuals with AS. Parents of 248 individuals between the ages of 3 and 22 completed a survey of autistic symptomatology…

Described is the Hahnemann High School Behavior Rating Scale (HHSB), a 45-item rating scale which includes a simple rating guide for the teacher and a detachable profile sheet. (SBH)

Individuals with developmental disability (n=400) were assessed with the "Dyskinesia Identification System: Condensed User Scale" (DISCUS), a 15-item tardive dyskinesia rating scale shortened from the "Dyskinesia Identification System-Coldwater." Based on interrater reliability, 2-week stability, and other analyses, DISCUS is…

A study attempted to replicate a previous study that presented reliability data from recordings of behavior state using a 13-category coding system. Replication was unsuccessful. Obtained mean percentage agreement on occurrence for individual behavior state and participants (n=34) ranged across observer pairs from 0 to 58 percent. (Contains 13…

Examines relations between Matthews Youth Test for Health ratings on hyperactive boys and diverse measures obtained from five sources: direct behavior observations; staff evaluations, nonparticipant observer ratings, peer nominations, and self-reports. (HOD)

This study compared parental assessments of problem behaviors among 81 alleged sexual abuse victims and 90 nonabused comparison subjects. Findings indicated that sexual abuse victims exhibit more problem behaviors, but caution must be exercised when interpreting individual behaviors because of their frequency in a nonabused sample. (Author/JDD)

The development of some psychometric indices of performance rating quality based in judgement is traced. The conceptual and analytical confusion that characterizes contemporary research in this area is described. The operational definitions of several criteria of rating quality, including leniency and severity of the rating effect, halo effect,…

Described is the Family Behavior Profile, a method for examining the social awareness of a mentally retarded person and his/her family. (Author/CL)

Eighteen medically diagnosed hyperactive boys, matched individually for age, sex, teacher defined ability, and school class, took part in a double blind, placebo controlled trial of the effects of Ritalin on social behavior as measured by global rating scales. Behavior ratings by parents and teachers improved significantly when Ss were given…

This study investigated methods for accurately identifying sexually abused children (n=26), mental health clinic-referred children (n=37), and community children (n=39), ages 6-12. Results suggest limited support for the Louisville Behavior Checklist but caution in using the Emotional Indicator Scoring System for Human Figure Drawings in the…