Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 164

Many clinicians ask adults to evaluate children’s behavior and social–emotional functioning using checklists or rating scales. Older children and adolescents will also be asked to evaluate themselves. The most widely used rating scales include the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA; Achenbach, 2015), the Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales (Conners, 2019), and the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2015).

For example, the BASC-3 can be administered to parents, teachers, and older children and adolescents across home and school settings. Each informant independently rates multiple aspects of the child’s behavior and social–emotional functioning on five broad dimensions: (1) externalizing behavior, such as aggression and hyperactivity; (2) internalizing behavior, such as anxiety and depression; (3) school problems, such as attention and learning difficulties, (4) adaptive skills, such as communication and social functioning; and (5) an overall behavioral symptoms index.

The clinician can compare the ratings of each informant to the responses of other parents or teachers with children of the same age and gender. Similarly, an adolescent’s self-report ratings can be compared to the reports of other youths of the same age and gender. The results are shown as T scores that reflect the degree to which the child’s functioning deviates from other youths. Problem scores two or more standard deviations above the mean (≥70) or adaptive skill scores two or more standard deviations below the mean (≤30) indicate clinically significant difficulties that may merit treatment (Kamphaus & Dever, 2018).

Sara’s mother and homeroom teacher completed the BASC-3 to assess Sara’s functioning at home and school, respectively (Table 4.3). Her mother’s ratings suggested that Sara is experiencing significant anxiety and somatic complaints at home compared to other girls her age. In contrast, her teacher reported few problems at school. These data indicate that Sara might manifest anxiety in terms of physical problems, like headaches and stomachaches, and that she might be worried about her family.