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Article
Convergent Validity of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Youth in Community Mental Health Settings
Journal of Child and Family Studies
  • Matthew C. Lambert, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Stacy-Ann A. January, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Michael H. Epstein, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Mary Spooner, ICF International
  • Tesfayi Gebreselassie, ICF International
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0191-x
Abstract

Traditionally, assessment of youths’ emotional and behavioral functioning within community mental health is conducted from a deficit-based approach, often excluding the measurement of strengths. Assessing youths’ emotional and behavioral strengths can provide a comprehensive understanding of youths’ functioning and better inform treatment planning. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-Second Edition (BERS-2) is a standardized, norm-referenced assessment of the behavioral and emotional strengths of youth ages 5–18. The psychometric properties of the BERS-2 scores are well established; however, most previous studies have focused on youth within school settings. As such, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the convergent validity of the scores from the caregiver version of the BERS-2 with a large, diverse sample of youth referred for community mental health services. The correlation coefficients between the BERS-2 scores and scores from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Columbia Impairment Scale were moderate to large, and in the expected directions. Thus, findings support the convergent validity and use of the BERS-2 scores for youth receiving community mental health services.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Journal of Child and Family Studies, v. 24, p. 3827-3832

Citation Information
Matthew C. Lambert, Stacy-Ann A. January, Michael H. Epstein, Mary Spooner, et al.. "Convergent Validity of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Youth in Community Mental Health Settings" Journal of Child and Family Studies Vol. 24 (2015) p. 3827 - 3832
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stacy-ann-january/4/