BEHAVIORAL, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS This page intentionally left blank BEHAVIORAL, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS SECOND EDITION KENNETH W. MERRELL UNIVERSITY OF OREGON LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 2003 MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY LONDON Director, Editorial: Lane Akers Textbook Marketing Manager: Marisol Kozlovski Editorial Assistant: Jason Planer Cover Design: Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Textbook Production Manager: Paul Smolensk! Full-Service & Composition: UG / GGS Information Services, Inc. Text and Cover Printer: Hamilton Printing Company This book was typeset in 10/12 pt. Meridien, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic. The heads were typeset in Optima, Bold and Bold Italic. Copyright ©2003 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Merrell, Kenneth W. Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment of children and adolescents / Kenneth W. Merrell.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-3907-0 1. Psychological tests for children. 2. Child development—Testing. 3. Behavioral assessment of children. 4. Teenagers—Psychological testing. 5. Behavioral assessment of teenagers. I. Title. BF722.M45 2002 155.4'028'7—dc21 2002074235 Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 CONTENTS PREFACE xiii PART 1: FOUNDATIONS AND METHODS OF ASSESSMENT 1 FOUNDATIONS OF ASSESSMENT 3 Theoretical Foundations of Social and Emotional Behavior, 3 Social Cognitive Theory: An Integrated Orientation, 5 Finding a Theoretical Foundation That Works for You, 8 Understanding and Clarifying Assessment Referrals, 9 Assessment as a Problem-Solving Process, 10 A Model for Assessment as a Problem-Solving Process, 11 Legal and Ethical Issues in Assessment, 13 Basis for Legal Constraints on Assessment, 13 Specific Assessment Practices Affected by Ethics and Law, 14 Some Concluding Comments on Legal and Ethical Issues, 17 Philosophical Foundations of Assessment, 18 Nomothetic and Idiographic: Definitions and Historical Development, 18 Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches in Practice, 19 Empirical Approach to Assessment, 20 Designing a Multimethod, Multisource, Multisetting Assessment, 20 Criteria for Inclusion of Assessment Methods and Instruments, 22 Conclusions, 23 Review and Application Questions, 24 VI CONTENTS 2 ASSESSMENT AND CLASSIFICATION 26 Why Classify? 27 Differential Diagnosis and Classification Error, 27 Current Classification Systems, 28 DSM System, 28 Classification Under Special Education Law, 32 Behavioral Dimensions: An Alternative Approach to Classification, 39 Multiple Gating in Assessment and Classification, 42 Community and Clinic-Based Multiple Gating Procedure, 44 SSBD: A School-Based Multiple-Gating Procedure, 45 Concluding Comments on Assessment and Classification, 47 Conclusions, 48 Review and Application Questions, 50 3 DIRECT BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION 51 Behavioral Observation: Basic Principles and Concepts, 51 Direct Behavioral Observation and Ecological Assessment, 52 General Methods of Behavioral Observation, 53 Naturalistic Observation, 53 Analogue Observation, 54 Self-Monitoring, 55 Observational Coding Procedures, 55 Event Recording, 56 Interval Recording, 57 Time-Sample Recording, 59 Duration and Latency Recording, 61 Examples of Observational Coding Systems, 62 School-Based Observation Systems, 63 Home-Based Observations Systems, 64 Clinic-Based Observation Systems, 64 Validity Issues in Direct Behavioral Observation, 65 Defining the Observation Domain, 66 Observer Training and Reliability, 66 Use of Social Comparison Data, 67 Problem of Reactivity, 68 Situ at ion a I Specificity of Behavior, 69 Use of Inappropriate Recording Techniques, 69 Biased Expectations and Outside Influence, 70 Direct Behavioral Observation and Functional Behavior Assessment, 71 Direct Behavioral Observation and Decision Making, 73 CONTENTS vii Conclusions, 74 Review and Application Questions, 75 4 BEHAVIOR RATING SCALES 77 Characteristics of Behavior Rating Scales, 77 Definitions and Foundations, 77 Advantages of Behavior Rating Scales, 79 Problems Associated With Using Behavior Rating Scales, 79 Measurement and Technical Issues, 81 Review of Selected General Purpose Problem Behavior Rating Scales, 82 Behavior Assessment System for Children, 82 Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher's Report Form, 86 Conners' Rating Scales and Conners' Rating Scales-Revised, 90 Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, 95 Best Practices in Using Behavior Rating Scales, 97 Behavior Rating Scales and Decision Making, 98 Conclusions, 100 Review and Application Questions, 101 5 INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES 103 Role of Interviews in Assessing Children and Adolescents, 104 Developmental Issues in Interviewing, 105 Preschool-Age and Primary-Age Children, 105 Elementary-Age Children, 107 Adolescents, 108 Factors That May Affect the Quality of the Interview, 110 Interpersonal Context, 110 Ethnocultural Context, 111 Behavioral Context, 112 Physical Context, 113 Selecting an Appropriate Interview Method, 114 Traditional Interviewing Techniques, 115 Obtaining Relevant Background Information From Parents and Teachers, 115 Developing the Interview With Children and Adolescents, 117 Behavioral Interview, 118 Implementing the Behavioral Interview With Parents and Teachers, 120 Implementing Behavioral Interviews With Children and Adolescents, 123 Structured and Semistructured Interviews, 124 Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, School-Age Children, 124 Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, 125 Child Assessment Schedule, 127 viii CONTENTS Concluding Comments on Formal Interview Schedules, 127 Clinical Interviewing and Suicidal Ideation/Behavior, 129 Facts Regarding Suicidal Behavior Among Children and Adolescents, 130 Recommendations for Clinical Interviewing, 131 Interviews and Decision Making, 134 Conclusions, 135 Review and Application Questions, 136 6 SOCIOMETRIC TECHNIQUES 138 Sociometric Assessment: Its Importance, History, and Empirical Base, 138 Why Study Social Status? 139 Historical Development of Sociometric Assessment, 140 Validity of Sociometric Assessment, 141 Overview of Specific Sociometric Assessment Procedures, 143 Peer Nomination Procedures, 143 Peer Rating Procedures, 144 Sociometric Ranking Procedures, 148 Alternative Sociometric Procedures, 149 Ethical Concerns in Using Sociometric Procedures, 152 Sociometric Procedures and Decision Making, 154 Conclusions, 155 Review and Application Questions, 156 7 SELF-REPORT INSTRUMENTS 158 Foundations of Self-Report Assessment, 159 Historical Foundations of Personality Testing, 159 Psychometric Foundations of Objective Test Construction, 160 Three Approaches to Developing Objective Self-Report Tests, 161 Response Bias and Error Variance, 164 Reviews of Selected General Purpose Self-Report Tests, 165 Adolescent Psychopathology Scale, 166 Behavior Assessment System for Children: Child and Adolescent Self-Reports, 168 Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory, 170 Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory, 172 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Version, 174 Personality Inventory for Youth, 176 Youth Self-Report, 178 Self-Report Tests and Decision Making, 180 Conclusions, 180 Review and Application Questions, 182 CONTENTS IX 8 PROJECTIVE-EXPRESSIVE TECHNIQUES 183 Projective Assessment: An Introduction, 184 Thematic Approaches, 186 Thematic Apperception Test, 187 Children's Apperception Test, 188 Roberts Apperception Test for Children, 189 Reliability and Validity, 190 Concluding Comments on Thematic Approaches, 190 Drawing Techniques, 191 Draw-A-Person Technique, 192 Kinetic Family Drawing Technique, 196 Bender-Gestalt Test as a Measure of Social-Emotional Status, 200 Concluding Comments on Drawing Techniques, 204 Sentence Completion Tasks, 205 Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation, 207 Reliability and Validity, 208 Hart Sentence Completion Test for Children, 208 Washington University Sentence Completion Test, 209 Concluding Comments on Sentence Completion Tasks, 209 Best Practices, 209 Conclusions, 211 Review and Application Questions, 213 PART II: ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC PROBLEMS, COMPETENCIES, AND POPULATIONS 9 ASSESSMENT OF EXTERNALIZING PROBLEMS 217 Externalizing Disorders: An Overview, 217 Behavioral Dimensions Approach to Classifying Externalizing Disorders, 218 DSM Approach to Classifying Externalizing Disorders, 220 Subdimensions of Externalizing Problems: Classification Studies, 224 Prevalence, Etiology, and Prognosis of Externalizing Disorders, 225 Prevalence, 225 Comorbidity, 226 Etiology, 226 Developmental Course and Prognosis, 227 Methods of Assessing Externalizing Problems, 229 BehavioraI Observation, 229 Behavior Rating Scales, 231 Narrow-Band Rating Scales for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, 232 Interviewing Techniques, 236 Sociometric Techniques, 238