This review of instruments for assessing psychopathology and behavior problems in people with mental retardation characterizes evaluation tools in such terms as age groups encompassed, levels of mental retardation, number of domains, and types of raters used. The structure of maladaptive behavior is described, and several instruments are…

This study compared responses to a survey on critical social behaviors completed by 79 persons who had prior experience with employees with mental retardation and 59 persons without such experience. Findings revealed that prior experience did not appear to affect ratings though other factors, such as knowing the purpose of the survey, did…

Approaches to the analysis of utterance disruptions are reviewed, and a system is proposed for analyzing disruptions in spontaneous language, with four disruption categories (pauses, repetitions, revisions, and orphans). Use of the system is illustrated using language samples from 10 traumatically brain-injured and 10 normally developing speakers…

This study investigated methods for accurately identifying sexually abused children (n=26), mental health clinic-referred children (n=37), and community children (n=39), ages 6-12. Results suggest limited support for the Louisville Behavior Checklist but caution in using the Emotional Indicator Scoring System for Human Figure Drawings in the…

The appropriateness of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) was investigated with 199 youngsters with dual diagnosis of mental retardation and psychiatric disturbance. With some cautions, the ABC is recommended, based on the robustness of its factor structure, clinically meaningfulness of the subscale scores, and internal consistency of the…

The Behavior Evaluation Scale-2 was designed to identify students in grades K-12 with behavior disorders/emotional disturbance. It measures five dimensions: learning problems, interpersonal difficulties, inappropriate behavior, unhappiness/depression, and physical symptoms/fears. This paper describes the instrument's administration, summation of…

Investigated construct validity of Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (BIRS) to develop instrument to measure teachers' perceptions of treatment acceptability and perceived effectiveness of classroom interventions. Oblique factor analysis revealed three factors (Acceptability, Effectiveness, Time of Effect). Correlational analysis demonstrated…

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…