Reviews research to derive cross-informant syndrome scales for 1991 profiles of Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher's Report Form, and Youth Self-Report. Summarizes studies of reliability and validity, as well as findings on cross-informant agreement, stability of parent ratings, cross-informant prediction, and comparisons of profile scores for…

A 45-item self-rating scale based on nine creativity fostering behaviors was developed and validated with a self-describing adjectives checklist. Analysis of the responses of 117 teachers found adequate construct and concurrent validities. Specific teachers' creativity fostering behaviors were found to correlate with sex and ethnicity. (Contains…

A study involving 453 pairs of Israeli parents and teachers used an item response theory measurement model(IRT) to examine the 28-item Conners Teacher's Rating Scale (CTRS) for diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. IRT analyses revealed structural inadequacies involving the inappropriateness of the 4-point Likert-type scale used by…

This article provides an overview of some of the recent developments in assessing social skills of children, as well as best practices in conducting assessment and linking assessment to effective intervention. Naturalistic behavioral observation and behavior rating scales are proposed as first-line choices for social skills assessment. (Contains…

The Classroom Communication Ease Scale was administered to 50 deaf college students. Fit of data to the measurement model resulted in a set of 42 items that empirically define the concept of "communication ease" in its cognitive aspects and a set of 21 items that elaborate the concept further in terms of its affective aspects. (Author/DB)

The Minnesota Child Development Inventory-Spanish Version, a parental report assessment, was completed for 1,043 Hispanic migrant worker children (ages 12-71 months). This assessment is widely used for screening and assessment within migrant early intervention programs. Overall, the assessment was a reliable instrument for children in the 24-…

Evaluated the construct validity of the parent version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS) and compared this version with the teacher version. Findings support the use of the PIPPS parent version. Parent version replicated the three-factor solution found with the teacher version, supporting the following constructs of peer play: Play…

Significant ethnic differences have been consistently documented on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) teacher rating scales. Whether these ethnic differences result from a teacher rating bias or reflect actual classroom behavior patterns is unknown. Ethnic differences between Caucasian and African American (AA) elementary…

Background: While a number of studies have examined the development of skills in children with intellectual disabilities (ID), most have been cross-sectional, most have been concerned with particular syndromes such as Down's syndrome or autism and few have attempted to identify factors associated with improvements in skills. Methods: From a sample…

This article explores psychometric characteristics of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), one of the most widely used instruments to assess the prevalence of violent and other high-risk behaviors in secondary school settings. Response patterns were analyzed for a subset of 414 youths who indicated that they had carried a weapon to…

Parental ratings of 695 adopted Chinese girls' internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behaviors were analyzed in 4 stages to: (1) Compare adjustment profiles of Chinese adoptee samples with relevant US normative data; (2) analyze age differences in behavioral adjustment differences of Chinese adoptees; (3) examine interrelationships among…

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd and 4th editions (WISC-III n = 586 and WISC-IV n = 118), profiles were compared for children with ADHD and normal intelligence. Mean Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Organization/Perceptual Reasoning Index (POI/PRI) scores were significantly higher than Freedom From…

The difficulty in understanding adolescent behavior often causes adults to react in unhealthy ways, leading to the deterioration of adult-child relationships. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of scaling constructs which adolescents use in their daily coping; constructs which can be understood, administered, and…

A simple way of comparing the more widely used measures of the outcomes of mental health treatment is offered through this list of measures that includes both practical information and information about psychometric considerations. Each review contains information about the format, practicality (administration time and scoring), reliability,…

An urban independent middle school grouped its 63 sixth and seventh graders into single-sex mathematics classes (SSMC) to improve girls' achievement in mathematics (AIM) and attitudes toward mathematics (ATM) with no negative impact on boys. Researchers analyzed AIM, ATM, and interactions/instruction. AIM measures included Metropolitan Achievement…