Describes the Spanish translation and field testing of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation, Preschool Edition, which assesses social competence, affective expression, and adjustment difficulties in children aged 2.5-6.5. Field tests with 639 children showed that the Spanish version has satisfactory reliability and internal consistency…

Data from the experimental functional analysis of challenging behaviors of 27 individuals with mental retardation were analyzed to assess agreement among three forms of interpretation. Results found that the methods of interpreting function from experimental assessment can give different results and that test-retest reliability of the experimental…

The relationship between self- and peer report on the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) (N. Endler and J. Parker, 1990) was studied with 163 pairs of friends (college students). Positive but modest correlations were found between peer and self-report for three types of coping. Findings that attenuate these correlations are…

The reliability and validity of state and trait forms of the Multiple Affective Adjective Checklist-R6 are investigated in a sample of seventh-grade public school students. High internal consistency and adequate validity are found for both forms. Test-retest reliability is higher for trait than for state. Appropriateness for use in research is…

Examined the psychometric properties of an assessment tool for measuring attitudes toward physician/nurse collaboration. Survey results from 208 medical students and 86 nursing students support the construct validity and reliability of the scale, which can be used to evaluate programs designed to foster physician/nurse collaboration. (SLD)

Presents data on the High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, a 27-item checklist for completion by lay informants when assessing symptoms characteristic of Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents with normal intelligence or mild mental retardation. Reliability and…

Developed a scale for measuring an individual's tendency to see himself or herself as an inner-directed agent or as a pawn, an outer-directed creature and tested the scale with 49 Norwegian college students. Reliability and validity results are promising. (SLD)

Disadvantaged Mexican dropouts aged 16-22 (n=25) and 25 Hispanic elementary students completed dropout-prediction instruments. Elementary students were unable to consider their future and self-report was not viable for them. Among dropouts, pregnancy and moving around were salient predictors. Modifications of the instruments were recommended. (SK)

The Tell-Me-a-Story (TEMAS) is analyzed, reviewed, and critiqued with regard to theoretical underpinnings and rationale for development, administration, scoring, psychometric properties, and research to date. TEMAS has evidence of reliability and validity, and may achieve more accurate assessment of Black and Hispanic children. Limitations of the…

Presents results from two computer-based knowledge-mapping studies developed by the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST): in one, middle and high school students constructed group maps while collaborating over a network, and in the second, students constructed individual maps while searching the Web.…

Used generalizability theory to investigate the impact of the number of raters and the type of decision (relative versus absolute) on the reliability of writing scores. Results from 251 middle school students and 20 intermediate grade students show that reliability coefficients decline as the number of raters declines and when absolute decisions…

Addresses generalizability theory (GT), which offers a flexible framework for assessing dependability of measurement. GT allows for consideration of multiple sources of error, allowing investigators to assess the overall impact of measurement error. Illustrative analyses demonstrate the special advantages of GT for planning studies in which…

The validity of the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was tested with a sample of 40 child physical abusers and 40 nonabusers in Argentina. More than 97% of subjects were correctly classified as abusing or nonabusing individuals. The article is in Spanish. (CR)

Questions whether parental reports of post treatment substance use and other treatment outcomes-related behaviors reliably reflect self-reports of adolescents; and if initially reliable, if the parental reports continue to reliably reflect adolescents' self-reports over time. Indicates that parents can give reliable proxy information regarding…

This study examined whether middle-class African American children (N=47 and ages 5-10) might improve their performance on the Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders (SCAN) when tested by an African American versus an Anglo American examiner. Examiner race did not appear to influence SCAN performance. However, a significant learning…