title: Identification of preschool children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: development and validation of a universal screening system.
abstract: Three studies were designed to measure various indicators of the reliability and validity of the Preschool Behavior Screening System (PBSS) as a screening instrument for emotional and behavioral disorder risk status of children of preschool age. Study 1 and Study 2 served to establish evidence for content validity. Study 3 investigated one type of reliability evidence (i.e., internal consistency) and four types of validity evidence (i.e., internal structure validity, validity evidence based on external relations, concurrent validity, and cross-informant agreement).Teachers and parents of children (N=113) enrolled in preschool and childcare programs completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the PBSS and the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-2). Cross-informant agreement between parent and teacher ratings on the PBSS was generally moderate, and internal consistency was high. PBSS Phase 1 and PBSS Phase 2 were correlated in the expected directions, and sensitivity and negative predictive value were high. Results suggest that the PBSS may yield psychometrically sound scores for helping states meet child-find requirements. Directions for future development of the PBSS are provided.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Department of Special Education, Peabody 228, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States. kelly.feeney-kettler@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Kelly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Feeney-Kettler
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kratochwill
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Kettler
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005178:Faculty; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D010290:Parents; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires