Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are commonly conceptualized with a three-factor model, as used in the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale--20 (PBSS-20). However, inconsistencies exist between factors and drinking outcomes. The current study used factor analysis to test a two-factor structure directly via controlled consumption…

Identifying student strengths is central to transition planning. However, school personnel use few assessments that operationalize behavioral and emotional strengths, and the psychometric functioning of those measures have not been established with transition-age students. In this two-part study, we used a national sample of transition-age…

The paper describes the "Early Social Communication Scales" designed to assess social and communication skills typically acquired in the first 30 months of life. Stressed is the role of the tester as an interactive partner for the infant. Reliability data suggesting reliability over time with the same partner are presented. (Author/DB)

The psychometric properties of the Motivation Assessment Scale were examined using 90 ratings of different problem behaviors among 86 individuals with mental retardation. Although reliability and internal consistency were generally poor, the results depended upon topographies of problem behavior and methods of calculation. The construct validity…

The article presents a protocol for the assessment of prelinguistic intentional communication with young and/or severely language-impaired children. A set of tasks and scoring procedures are presented for the elicitation of proto-declarative and proto-imperative behaviors. Data are presented to support reliability. (Author/CL)

In a comparison of two systems used for evaluating the skills of medical students in relating to patients, the one utilizing interaction analysis yielded more reliable ratings and seems to have potential as an instructional method. The other system used traditional types of judgments registered on a 10-point continuum. Both systems were used with…

Described is the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, a measure for evaluating the infant's motor, emotional, social, and cognitive development by providing typical interactive situations. (SBH)

A study of 71 students (ages 7-17) with disabilities investigated the interrater agreement of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA), a behavior rating scale used in school settings. Participants were rated by 29 educational professionals in 24 classrooms. Results found ASCA produced acceptable levels of interrater agreement.…

Four staff members completed 3 questionnaires evaluating quantitative and qualitative aspects of compulsive and autistic behaviors of 17 young autistic adults in a farmstead residential facility. Results affirmed the utility and applicability of obsessive-compulsive assessment devices in evaluating behavior of autistic adults. (Author/DB)

This study examined the relationship between scores on the Behaviour Disorder Scale (BDS) and other assessments of challenging behavior in 100 adolescent and adult Australians with intellectual disabilities. The study found that the BDS was reliable and could be used to identify people with intellectual disabilities who exhibit behavioral…

A study tested the psychometric properties of the Stereotyped Behavior Scale, an empirically developed behavior rating scale for adolescents and adults with mental retardation. Forty-five adults with mental retardation and various rates of stereotypies participated. Results found the scale had high rates of reliability, validity, and interrater…

Evaluations were made of 46 mentally retarded residents (mean age=18.32 years) in a central Ohio state institution using part one of the American Association on Mental Deficiency's Adaptive Behavior Scale. A significant overall setting effect was not revealed in the multivariate analysis of variance for repeated measures. (Author)

Two studies evaluated the PDD Behavior Inventory, (PDDBI), a rating scale designed to assess adaptive and maladaptive behaviors of children having a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). It was concluded that the PDDBI is both reliable and valid and is useful in providing information not typically available in most instruments used to assess…

A study involving 95 retarded persons (16-66 years old) revealed that the Objective Behavioral Assessment-OBA-, a behavioral system for assessing self-care, social, sheltered domestic, prevocational, and sheltered work performance skills, has a high degree of objectivity and acceptable standards of inter-rater and test-retest reliability. (CL)

The Behavior Summarized Evaluation (BSE) measures changes in behavioral parameters in autistic children over time and treatments. Tests of reliability and validity suggest that the BSE is an acceptable tool for the assessment of autistic behaviors, is easy to handle, and is accessible to both professional and paraprofessional medicoeducative…