Examined whether features of preschool children's mutual friendships were associated with prosocial and aggressive behavior. Teacher reports of friendship features showed moderate interrater reliability and were associated with teacher reports of aggression and prosocial behavior, and with peer reports of acceptance and rejection. Friendship…

Provides a conceptual framework for child assessment, highlighting the role of behavior rating scales in screening students whose behavioral and emotional difficulties affect their learning and interpersonal relationships and students who pose significant management problems for teachers. The utility of specific uni- and multidimensional scales is…

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…

This study compared national samples of United States' 11- to 18- year-olds assessed in 1989 and 1999. Parent, teacher and self-report sources showed small improvements in competencies and adaptive functioning and small declines in problems over ten years. No significant differences on any scales were found for youths assessed shortly before and…

Parent-reported information on 159 children with learning or attention problems was obtained using the Parent Ratings of Everyday Cognitive and Academic Abilities (PRECAA) and compared to information from standardized psychometric assessments. The PRECAA was sensitive to group differences among children with reading disabilities, children with…

An observational checklist of age appropriate social behaviors was developed and applied to three functionally blind kindergartners in a mainstream kindergarten. The checklist pinpointed areas of deficiency for remediation. (Author/DB)

Examined the possibility that individuals may confound measures of temperament and behavior problems because of the conceptual overlap between the measures. The psychologists involved in the study considered temperament items to be better measures of temperament than of behavior problems. (Author/BB)

A taxonomy was created to measure skills used by consultants and time engaged in various consultation activities. A case study involving use of the taxonomy is reported, with data focusing on: (1) student outcome, and (2) the consultation process, which is described in terms of participants, phases, and behavioral activities. (Author/JDD)

The objective of this study was to develop a scale to assess college-level teaching effectiveness in order to provide effective feedback for faculty in a nonthreatening atmosphere. (JOW)

Individual Habilitation Plans for 32 persons with severe/profound mental retardation were developed in the Goal Attainment Scaling format. At the end of a designated intervention period (six months or one year) using Goal Attainment Scaling, only 14 percent of prescribed goals had been achieved at expected levels. (Author/JDD)

This study examined the construct validity of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory by comparing 41 maltreating and high-risk parents' CAP Inventory abuse scores to their behavior during observed interactions with their children. Correlational analyses revealed that CAP Inventory scores and observed parenting style yielded highly related findings…

Addresses the controversy regarding the conceptual overlap between difficult child temperament and behavior problems using treatment outcome study data. Forty mothers of preschool children were randomly assigned to either a temperament-focused parent-training program or a wait-list control group. Results suggest that the observed associations…

The Student Record of Behavior (StRoBe) is an instrument that provides information about students' behaviors in the classroom. Researchers had preservice teachers use the StRoBe during their field experiences. The students believed it helped them focus on specific school behaviors, clarify behavioral patterns, and integrate what they observed with…

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)

This study established content validity and reliability for the Infant Behavioral Summarized Evaluation, a rating scale for young children with autism. Analysis of videotapes for 89 children (ages 6-48 months) revealed a significant group of 19 items, including characteristic early autistic behaviors and some less commonly described (such as…