This article and its Online Supplemental Material describe the development of the California School Wellness Index (CSWI), a tool to aid mental health research and practice in schools, specifically for wellness screening and monitoring. The CSWI is a 0-40 composite index derived from responses to the Brief Multidimensional Student Life…

While autism spectrum disorder screening tools provide a useful resource for practitioners, the reality is they are underused. The justifications often provided include the time required for administration and the training involved. A brief tool with good psychometric properties that require minimal training is required. This study examined the…

The importance of spatial ability for success in a variety of domains, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is widely acknowledged. Yet, students with high spatial ability are rarely identified, as Talent Searches for academically talented students focus on identifying high mathematical and verbal abilities.…

The purpose of the present studies was to provide the means to create brief versions of instruments that can aid the diagnosis and classification of students with learning disabilities and comorbid disorders (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). A sample of 1,108 students with and without a diagnosis of learning disabilities took part…

Using 65 items from a mental health screening questionnaire, the History Opinion Inventory-Revised (HOI-R), the present study compared three strategies of scale construction--(1) internal (based on factor analysis), (2) external (based on empirical performance) and (3) intuitive (based on clinicians' opinion)--to predict whether 203,595 U.S. Air…

The authors report the development and initial psychometric evaluation of gender-specific brief screening instruments to identify undetected psychiatric impairment on incarceration. Women and men completed the Correctional Mental Health Screen (CMHS), a 56-item screen derived from validated measures. Representative subsamples completed structured…

The Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP) is a new developmental screening tool for children aged 2 years 9 months to 5 years 8 months. The instrument, which has been standardized on 1,200 subjects representing nine geographic regions, identifies children who are functioning below the developmental level of their peers. The sampling method was…

Describes development, psychometric properties, and applications of the Wife Abuse Inventory (WAI). Preliminary reliability and validity data, based on 50 cases, are presented for this screening device designed to predict which women are at risk of being abused by their spouses. Potential applications of the WAI are suggested. (NRB)

Used multiple regression analysis to derive a short form for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised in a sample of 300 children receiving treatment and/or evaluation at a university-affiliated community mental health center. Results yielded several four- and five-subtest predictive equations with demonstrable predictive validity.…

A principal components analysis of the Teacher Rating Scale-Child (TRS-C) of the Behavior Assessment System for Children was conducted with a cross-sectional cohort of 659 children in Grades 1 to 5. A predictive validity study was then conducted with a 2-year longitudinal sample of 206 children. The results suggested that scores from the resulting…

Factor structure and predictive validity of a measure of vanity-motivated overspending were investigated based on a sample of 2,030 individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the relationship between vanity and poor spending habits, but further refinement of the scale is warranted. (SLD)

A major advance in the field of reading over the past 15 years has been the development and validation of screening measures that can detect with reasonable accuracy those kindergartners and first graders likely to experience difficulty in learning to read. Increasingly, these students now receive additional instructional support during the…

The Ohio State Instructional Preference Scale (OSIPS) was designed to identify persons suited or not suited for teaching. After identifying six areas covered in general secondary methods courses, two researchers independently constructed a series of statements representing attitudes, ideas, and dispositions about each area and jointly constructed…

The objective of this study was to develop a screen assessing domains in at-risk and substance-using adolescents. The Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) consists of four subscales: school, family, community, and individual or peer. A convenience sample of 6,661 youths was employed. Analyses included concurrent criterion validity, known…

In 1970, the Illinois Legislature passed bills requiring that elementary school districts institute procedures to identify and treat preschool children who, without such intervention, would not progress satisfactorily in a normal school environment. Efforts in this regard resulted in the screening instrument called Developmental Indicators for the…