Ninety-four toddlers in child care were rated by parents on the Child Behavior Checklist/2-3. A comparison of scores for the present sample with scores for a normative sample and prevalent data in literature found fewer children with behavior problems in the present sample than the normative sample, suggesting the importance of contextual factors…

Responds to previous article by McConaughy by discussing key issues and assumptions which underlie use of behavior rating scales for assessing children's emotional problems. Advances three arguments supporting use of structured informant reports in social-emotional assessment: informant reports initiate intervention efforts; reliable instruments…

Reacts to previous article by McConaughy by reviewing many uses of rating scales in delivery of school psychological services, provides guidelines for selecting and using rating scales, examines Achenbach scales in some detail as way to illustrate points about usage and development, and concludes with discussion about advancements in development…

Responds to previous article by McConaughy on use of behavior rating scales to assess children's behavioral and emotional problems. Analyzes advances in syndromal assessment described by McConaughy with respect to two related themes: what can be said with confidence and what can be said that might be helpful. (Author/NB)

Author of article (this issue) describing research program to advance assessment of children's behavioral and emotional problems; presenting conceptual framework for multiaxial empirically based assessment; and summarizing research efforts to develop cross-informant scales for scoring parent, teacher, and self-reports responds to commentaries on…

A study used the Questions about Behavior Function Scale to examine the functions of five severe problem behaviors (self-injurious behavior, aggression, stereotypies, pica, and rumination) in 417 institutionalized persons with mental retardation. The most common function for all behaviors except aggression was nonsocial. Aggression was maintained…

This study tested the predictive validity of the Communication Composite of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales with 58 children (ages 17 to 34 months) functioning at the prelinguistic stage of language development. Evaluation of expressive vocabulary 1 year later found that the Communication Composite and all tested clusters were…

Investigates validity of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) measuring characteristics of individuals with autism, and the Pervasive Developmental Disorder Rating Scale (PDDRS) measuring pervasive developmental disorders. Results showed both instruments significantly discriminated between participants with autistic disorder and children with…

A study of 41 preschool males with fragile X and 16 age- and IQ-matched controls were rated by their mothers on behavior rating scales. The males with fragile X syndrome were distinguished from controls in the following areas: motor skills deficits, increased initial avoidance, decreased social withdrawal, and positive mood. (Contains references.)…

An Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R) was conducted with parents of 11 children with early infantile autism and 16 with a language disorder, along with a standardized Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-G). Ten children with autism were correctly classified on both measures. One child with a language disorder was falsely classified on…

The Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS) was designed to differentiate among the disruptive behavior disorders through administration to teachers and parents. Four studies are presented here to provide a technical analysis to fathers' responses to the DBRS-Parent Version. Reliability and construct and criterion-related validity of father…

Social behavior of 122 students in grades 6-8 who participate in a prevention program for behaviorally at-risk youth was rated by a parent, general education teacher, and at-risk program teacher. Parents and special program teachers were more likely to provide positive ratings of behaviors than their general education teachers. (Author/CR)

Comparison of scores on a time management behavior (TMB) scale with academic achievement of 192 predental and dental students found generally high levels of TMB for both groups, but virtually no relationship of TMB dimensions to undergraduate grade point average and only a small relationship between TMB dimensions and first-year dental GPAs. (DB)

This study examined the normative and construct equivalence of the teacher IOWA Conners Rating Scale (IOWA) with 3,998 elementary school children in an urban school district. Risk odds ratios were calculated by gender and ethnicity. Significant racial differences suggested that, although there is construct equivalence across racial groups, there…

The term "controversial" has been used in the professional literature to describe children and adolescents who have the seemingly paradoxical quality of being both socially skilled and antisocial. Although there have been some widely influential studies regarding controversial children and youth, there has been relatively little research in this…