Table Of ContentBEHAVIORAL, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL
ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS
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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
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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
