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Children suspected of having emotional-behavior disorders are referred for screening only after teachers become concerned
about these children's notable misbehaviors. Typically, behavior rating or inventory scales are used to provide a profile
for behavior analysis. Some of the widely-used screening tests are:
In addition to the above, projective tests are often used in the diagnosis of children with emotional and behavioral
disorders. These tests are developed to help individuals reveal inner wishes, conflicts, feelings, and/or fantasies. Some
projective tests are:
Behar & Stringfield's Behaviour Rating Scale:
The tool is designed for preschool children and provides a useful preliminary tool with high validity and reliability, to
identify preschool children with behavioral problems. Three factors were identified: Hostile-Aggressive, Anxious-Fearful, and
Hyperactive-Distractible. It uses a 36 item scale and identified these three as the major contributing factors to child
misbehavior as presented in preschool children.
Pre-School Behavior Checklist (PBCL) (McGuire & Richman):
Designed for children ranging from age 2 years, 0 months to 5 years, 11 months, this quick criterion-referenced 22-item screening
tool is designed to help pre-school professionals who may be concerned about a child's behavioral and emotional difficulties.
The PBCL provides an objective assessment of behavior, and thereby helps to decide when intervention is necessary. It is then
possible, at an early age, to identify children who may be at risk of later developing serious behavioral problems. The checklist
consists of a series of items within specific areas, including soiling, temper, fears, worries, and moods. The examiner describes
the degrees of usually observed behaviors. Scoring is completed quickly. The total scores can be compared to criterion cut-off
scores which indicate the possibility of behavioral or emotional problems. Individual item scores give information regarding
specific behavioral areas. Results from the PBCL assist with the planning of management programs for the individual child.
Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) (Little, et al):
The PSC is a one-page questionnaire listing a broad range of children's emotional and behavioral problems that reflects parents'
impressions of their children's psychosocial functioning. Cutoff scores for pre-school and school-age children indicating
clinical levels of dysfunction are empirically derived using Receiver Operator Characteristic analyses in studies comparing
the performance of the PSC to other validated questionnaires and clinicians' assessments of children's overall functioning. A
positive score on the PSC suggests the need for further evaluation by a qualified health or mental health professional. Both false
positives and false negatives occur, and only an experienced clinician should interpret a positive PSC score as anything other
than a suggestion that further evaluation may be helpful.
Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL):
The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 4-18 is designed to record in a standardized format children's competencies and problems
as reported by their parents or parent surrogates. It can be self-administered or administered by an interviewer. The CBCL
consists of 20 competence items (i.e. number of sports, hobbies, organizations, jobs, friendships, as well as parents' ratings
for amount and quality of participation in these activities and how well the child gets along with others and plays and works
alone; and school functioning). Each of the 118 specific problem items and two open-ended problem items are scored on a 3-step
response scale. These items concern behavioral/emotional problems (i.e. can't concentrate, can't pay attention; disobedient at
home, not liked by other children). The Checklist is intended as only one component of many, including teacher reports,
standardized tests, physical assessment and direct assessment of the child.
Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) Quay-Peterson:
The RBPC is used to rate problem behaviors observed in adolescents and young children. The 6 RBPC subscales measure conduct
disorder, socialized aggression, attention problems-immaturity, anxiety-withdrawal, psychotic behavior, and motor
tension-excess. The RBPC has been used for a wide variety of purposes:
- To screen for behavior disorders in schools
- As an aid in clinical diagnosis
- To measure behavior change associated with psychological or pharmacological interventions
- As part of battery to classify juvenile offenders
- To select subjects for research on behavior disorders in children and adolescents
It is appropriate for children and adolescents between ages 5 years and 18 years and takes about 20 minutes to administer.
Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD):
This test is used for students in regular elementary grades (K-6) who may be at risk for developing either externalizing or
internalizing behavior disorders. It provides a solution to the problems of under-referral of students who may develop behavior
disorders by giving regular classroom teachers uniform behavioral standards for use in reducing the idiosyncratic nature of
teacher referrals. This mass screening process, which occurs early in a child's school career, is a multiagent, multimethod
approach. The screening occurs in three stages: teacher nominations of groups of children whose characteristic behavior patterns
most closely resemble profiles of behavior disorders occurring in the school setting and ranking of those students; screening
of students in terms of behavioral severity and defining the content of their behavior problems using a series of ratings items
and systematic observation of students using a classroom code and a playground code. The screening process is proactive and
incorporates a three-stage, multigated process that takes into consideration both teacher judgments and direct observations.
Behavior Rating Profile 2nd Edition (BRP-2):
The BRP-2 is appropriate for students in grades 1 through 12 in the age ranges 6 years 6 months to 18 years, 6 months. It takes
about 20 minutes to administer. The BRP-2 is a unique battery of six norm-referenced instruments that provides different
evaluations of a student’s behavior at home, at school, and in interpersonal relationships from the varied perspectives of
parents, teachers, peers, and the individual themselves. The responses allow examiners to test different diagnostic hypotheses
when confronted with reports of problem behavior.
The BRP-2 can identify students whose behavior is perceived to be deviant, the settings in which problem behaviors are
prominent, and the persons whose perceptions of the student’s behavior are different from those of other respondents. Behaviors
at home are addressed by the Student Rating Scale: Home (which is completed by the students themselves), and the Parent Rating
Scale (which is completed by the student’s primary caregivers). Behaviors at school are evaluated by the Student Rating Scale:
School and the Teacher Rating Scale (which are completed by the student and by the student’s teacher). Interpersonal relationships
are addressed by the Student Rating Scale: Peer and the Sociogram (which are administered to classmates). The three Student Rating
Scales are embedded in a single 60-item format.
Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Plates:
The set of 10 "ink blot" test plates are among the most popular of all psychodiagnostic tools. The individual’s responses
provide a rich behavior sample of their motivations, impulses and personality. All responses are easily coded on the
comprehensive location chart/record blanks. Because reading is not required, this test can overcome language and other barriers
associated with reading and comprehension. It is administered to children aged 5 years and older.
Children's Apperception Test (CAT):
An adaptation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) for children ages 3-10, the Children's Apperception Test (CAT),
individually administered by a trained psychologist, assesses personality and maturity level and is often used for clinical
evaluation of psychological health. It is designed to reveal conflicts, emotions, attitudes, stressors, and aggressive
tendencies and to assess factors such as control of drives, judgment, and degree of autonomy. The child is shown 10 pictures
of animals in various human social contexts and asked to tell a story about each picture and describe how the characters are
feeling. There is no numerical score or scale for the test. Results are provided in the form of an examiner's summary of the
attitudes, traits, and conflicts illustrated by each of the child's stories.
Draw a Person - Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance:
Based on children's drawings of human figures, this test can be used with two different scoring systems for different purposes.
One measures nonverbal intelligence while the other screens for emotional or behavioral disorders. Drawings obtained from a
child during a single administration may be used with both systems. During the testing session, which can be completed in 15
minutes, the child is asked to draw three figures--a man, a woman, and him- or herself. Draw a Person:QSS (Quantitative Scoring
System) assesses intellectual ability by analyzing 14 different aspects of the drawings, such as specific body parts and
clothing, for various criteria, including presence or absence, detail, and proportion. In all, there are 64 scoring items for
each drawing. A separate standard score is recorded for each one, and a total score for all three. The use of a nonverbal,
nonthreatening task to evaluate intelligence is intended to eliminate possible sources of bias by reducing variables like
primary language, verbal skills, communication disabilities, and sensitivity to working under pressure. However, test results
can be influenced by previous drawing experience, a factor that may account for the tendency of middle-class children to score
higher on this test than lower-class children, who often have fewer opportunities to draw. Draw a Person:SPED (Screening
Procedure for Emotional Disturbance) uses the test's figure drawings as a means of identifying emotional problems.
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