Psychometric Validation of the Preschool Outcome Questionnaire: A Preschool Treatment Outcome Instrument

Developing normed treatment outcome measures is important to research addressing treatment effectiveness and to improved clinical care. The Preschool Outcome Questionnaire (POQ) is a new measure designed for use with preschool children aged two to six. Designed in collaboration with parents and clinicians, the POQ is brief, easy to administer, score and interpret. This study reports on the instrument’s psychometric evaluation, contains preliminary normative data, and provides a clinical cut-off and a reliable change index to facilitate clinical use of the instrument. Results show that the POQ has acceptable test–retest and internal reliability, concurrent validity and criterion validity. Importantly, results also show that the instrument is sensitive to clinically relevant change. Clinical implications are discussed as well as suggestions for further research.     

Factor structure of the Preschool Personality Questionnaire in Iran

This study is of Triandis's pseudoetic variety, not a cross-cultural study per se. The Preschool Personality Questionnaire which was standardized in the SA and partially standardized in Colombia was administered to 600 preschool children in Iran. Data from the entire sample were analyzed by both principal components, maximum likelihood, and alpha factor analyses. 14 factors were derived. Odd and even records were likewise factored. Six of the first seven factors were found and matched from odd to even cases. At least five of the total sample factors were judged by inspection to match similar dimensions in the USA. Factor scores for children in the standardizing sample were created by postmultiplying the raw score matrix by the 14-factor "reduced" factor structure matrix. These raw factor scores were then converted to STEN scores. Utilizing the entire sample factor structure matrix, factor scores and sten scores were derived for each of the 4-, 5-, and 6-yr.-old groups. By use of the norms based on this sample of Iranian children, further experiments can be carried out to investigate development of preschool children and other variables in Iran similar to those studied in the West.     

Measuring Qualitative Aspects of Preschool Boys' Noncompliance: The Response Style Questionnaire (RSQ)

Child noncompliance is a core maladjustment factor in current clinical models of aggression and antisocial development. However, little is known about the relations among qualitative aspects of child noncompliance and aggressive maladjustment. The authors developed the Response Style Questionnaire, an instrument designed to measure the multidimensional qualities of child noncompliance, and tested its validity and reliability. Tests of internal validity provided a five-factor solution, featuring distinctions in noncompliance quality between and among skilled noncompliance (verbally skilled and emotionally regulated) and unskilled noncompliance (overt/confrontational, covert/sneaky, and emotionally labile). Theory-driven tests of external validity using peer-adjustment variables as criteria provided discriminant prediction (a) among qualitatively distinct aspects of noncompliance and (b) between noncompliance qualities and rate. Discussion focuses on a modified view of the nature and role of noncompliance in aggressive and antisocial development.     

3～6岁幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价分析

通过故事评定法分析了3～6岁幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价,结果表明:①此年龄段的幼儿对攻击性行为的认知已经达到一定的成熟度,开始考虑攻击性行为的条件与方式;②幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价存在一定的性别差异,主要表现在受到言语侵犯时的攻击性行为;③对攻击性行为的认知评价的年龄差异突出表现在5岁与6岁之间.④采用蒙特梭利教育法的实验班幼儿,对攻击性行为比非实验班幼儿评价得更消极.     

气质特征对学龄前儿童牙科治疗行为的影响

为探索气质特征对学龄前儿童牙科治疗行为的影响,本研究采用《中国学龄前儿童气质量表(CPTS)》测查了218名3~7岁首次接受牙科治疗儿童的气质特征,同时用Frankl Behavior Rating Scale(FBRS)对其牙科治疗行为进行评估。结果显示:适应性、趋避性及心境三个气质维度得分高的儿童出现牙科治疗行为问题几率大,其中适应性与牙科治疗行为问题相关性最大,气质类型为麻烦型、发动缓慢型儿童易出现牙科治疗行为问题,男孩较女孩更容易出现牙科治疗行为问题。本研究结果为临床儿童牙科医生如何应对有牙科治疗行为问题的儿童提供了理论依据,对如何进行牙科行为管理有一定的临床指导价值。     

Factors Associated with Transposition Behavior of Preschool Children

To assess ideas, derived from a contextual paradigm, stressing the influence of adolescents' perceptions of the physical and social components of their school environment on their self-esteems and academic performances, 183 black early adolescents (mean age = 12.1 years, SD = .5 years; 54.6% female) were administered five semantic differential scales. The first provided a measure of self-esteem, while the remaining four provided measures of perceptions of the social environment of the school (i.e., of peers and of teachers) and of the physical environment of the school (i.e., of the classroom and of the school building). There were few systematic sex differences in responses to the scales. As predicted, school environment perceptions were significantly related to self-esteem in both males and females. However, although self-esteem and a report of grade point average, as a measure of academic performance, were significantly related, there was no relation between school environmental perceptions and reported grade point average.     

The Social Behavior Scale for Preschool Children: Factorial Structure and Concurrent Validity

The aims of the present study were to examine the factor validity of a new social behavior assessment - the Social Behavior Scale (SBS) - using exploratory (sample 1, n = 169) and confirmatory (sample 2, n = 127) factor analysis, and to test factor invariance across gender in a sample of Italian preschoolers. The concurrent validity of the SBS was examined with measures of peer nominations and observed interactions (sample 3, n = 277). Findings confirmed the three-factor structure of the SBS: Emotional Competence, Social Engagement and Aggressiveness. Multigroup analysis provided evidence of factor invariance across gender. Concerning concurrent validity, results confirmed a great association between teacher-rating SBS and the other concurrent measures.     

学前与小学儿童母亲社会支持问卷的编制及测量学分析

1　问题提出　　社会支持 (socialsupport)是“给个体提供实际帮助 ,或能使个体感到属于一个社会系统的社会互动或关系”。社会支持是影响个体身心健康及行为方式的重要因素。从 2 0世纪70年代开始 ,心理学、人类学、流行病学、社会学等许多领域对社会支持进行了大量研究 ,利用社会支持实施了越来越多的治疗和干预计划。母亲社会支持 (maternalsocialsupport)是指母亲在抚养子女的过程中 ,其人际关系网络中的成员对母亲的支持与帮助 ,是以儿童母亲为中心 ,由儿童母亲、母亲周围与之有接触的人们以及他们之间的交往活动 (支持性活动 )所构成…     

Peer Rejection and Internalizing Behavior: The Mediating Role of Peer Victimization in Preschool

The author examined the relationship among peer rejection, peer victimization, and internalizing behaviors. The author hypothesized that physical and relational victimization would have a different indirect effect on the relationship between peer rejection and internalizing behaviors. Participants were 94 preschool children (37 girls; average age 49.97 months) from two university preschools located in the northern part of the United States. The results indicated that internalizing behaviors predicted the mediating variables only regarding relational victimization. Relational victimization indirectly affected the association between peer rejection and internalizing behaviors. The study provides evidence of the mediating effect of victimization behaviors on the relationship among peer rejection, victimization, and internalizing behaviors.     

Validity of the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire with Diverse Adolescents

Suicide and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) continue to be significant health problems for adolescents. Although there are many instruments available to assess self-harm behaviors, few have been validated for use with adolescents, and even fewer have been validated for use with different racial/ethnic groups. The Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ) assesses NSSI, suicidal ideation, suicide threats, and past suicide attempts. Data from 1,386 racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (57.5% minority) were collected to examine the validity of the SHBQ in this age group. Analyses supported the four-factor structure, revealed the SHBQ is internally consistent, and provided evidence for convergent validity within Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic adolescents. However, slight differences were noted. Overall, the findings suggest the SHBQ is a useful assessment tool appropriate for use with Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic adolescents.     

Interobserver and test-retest reliability of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire

Forty-five Swedish couples ( N =90) independently completed a translation of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) when their infants were 3 and 8 months of age. There was greater agreeement between mothers and fathers at 8 than at 3 months, perhaps because fathers became more involved as their children grew older. At neither age was agreement as great as that reported by Rothbart (1981) in the USA. Parents did not agree on the dimensions Duration of Orienting and Soothability. In the eyes of both parents, there was significant, although modest, stability over time on most dimensions of infant temperament. There was least perceived stability in Distress to Approaching Stimuli (Fear). These results suggest that the IBQ (even in a Swedish translation) may be a reliable and valid way of measuring parental perceptions of infant temperament.     

Development and Validation of the Performance Management Behavior Questionnaire

This study integrates literature on performance management and organizational behavior with input from managers to develop a 27‐item measure of performance management behavior. We used 8 samples, including multisource data, to develop a reliable multidimensional scale that replicated across samples. The scale demonstrated content validity, both convergent and discriminant validity, and incremental validity, and criterion‐related validity was established through the scale's relation with measures of management effectiveness and job attitudes. Overall, this study suggests that the Performance Management Behavior Questionnaire (PMBQ) is a reliable and valid measure and that performance management behaviors have important implications for both employees and organizations.     

Predicting Growth Curves of Externalizing Behavior Across the Preschool Years

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine 2 facets of externalizing behavior: its level at age 6 and its rate of change from age 2 to 6 among 299 boys from low-income families. As for age-6 level of externalizing behavior, maternal depressive symptoms, maternal acceptance of child behavior, parental conflict, and the interaction between maternal acceptance and maternal depressive symptoms were each uniquely associated with this outcome. Regarding the interaction, maternal acceptance was associated with externalizing behavior primarily when maternal depressive symptoms were low, and maternal depressive symptoms were related to externalizing behavior only when maternal acceptance was high. Externalizing behavior gradually decreased between ages 2 and 6; interactions between infant negative emotionality and maternal depressive symptoms and between parental conflict and maternal acceptance were associated with rate of change. Plots suggested a protective effect of low infant negative emotionality when maternal depressive symptoms were high and a larger effect of maternal acceptance when parental conflict was low compared to when it was high. Results add to a small but growing literature regarding predictors of continuity and change in early child externalizing behavior.     

Behavior Problems and Peer Rejection in Preschool Boys and Girls

The authors tested the hypothesis that deviant behaviors within a preschool peer group would be linked with peer rejection, irrespective of child gender. Seventy-six children, aged 3 to 5 years, participated. Teachers rated children's behavior on the Child Adaptive Behavior Inventory, and children provided sociometric ratings. For a subsample of children (n = 47), observers coded aggressive, noncompliant, and withdrawn behavior using a time-sampling system. For both boys and girls, noncompliance, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal were associated with peer rejection; overt aggression was associated with peer rejection for boys, but not for girls. Analysis revealed that approximately half of the variance in sociometric and teacher ratings of peer rejection was accounted for by aggression and social withdrawal for both boys and girls. The results suggest that the association between behavior problems and peer rejection emerges at a very early age.     

The Adolescent Unresolved Attachment Questionnaire: The Assessment of Perceptions of Parental Abdication of Caregiving Behavior

This article reports on the Adolescent Unresolved Attachment Questionnaire (AUAQ), a brief questionnaire that assesses the caregiving experiences of unresolved adolescents (as recipients of caregiving). The AUAQ was developed and validated in a large normative sample (n = 691) and a sample of 133 adolescents in psychiatric treatment. It is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 3 scales with Likert-type responses ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The Aloneness/Failed Protection Scale assesses the adolescent's perception of the care provided by the attachment figure. The Fear Scale taps the fear generated by the adolescent's appraisal of failed attachment figure care. The Anger/Dysregulation Scale assesses negative affective responses to the perceived lack of care from the attachment figure. All scales demonstrated satisfactory internal reliability and agreement between scores for adolescents (n = 91) from the normative sample who completed the AUAQ twice. Adolescents in the clinical sample also completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1984/1985/1996); the AUAQ demonstrated high convergent validity with the AAI.     

Development and initial validation of the Self-harm Behavior Questionnaire.

Evaluation of suicide-related behaviors and thoughts about suicide with a newly developed self-report instrument is described. The Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ; Gutierrez, 1998) generates detailed clinical information from an easy to administer and score self-report form. A sample of 342 participants were drawn from university undergraduate students enrolled in various psychology courses. Participants were then divided into a severe suicidal ideation group (n = 20) and a nonsuicidal control group (n = 20) to conduct subgroup and criterion-related validity analyses. Preliminary analyses indicate this new questionnaire is both valid and reliable when used with young adults drawn from a nonclinical population. The questionnaire should be of use to both clinicians and researchers due to the flexibility of the data generated.     

Factorial Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Innovative Behavior Questionnaire

The article presents an analysis of the factorial structure and measurement invariance of the Innovative Behavior Questionnaire, developed by Scott and Bruce. Although the instrument is widely used to capture individuals' innovative behavior, very little evidence concerning its psychometric properties is available. A time‐lagged study among 382 employees was conducted to check the factorial structure of the questionnaire, using confirmatory factor analysis, as well as its measurement invariance across gender and time. One‐factor structure (with correlated error terms of first three items) and strict invariance across time and across gender of the Innovative Behavior Questionnaire were demonstrated. As such, the measure can be used as a reliable tool for capturing individuals' innovative behavior by self‐report.     

Development and validation of the Subtypes of Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire

There is converging evidence that physical aggression, rule‐breaking, and social aggression constitute meaningfully distinct, if somewhat overlapping, components of the broader construct of antisocial behavior. Indeed, these subtypes appear to have different developmental trajectories, demographic correlates, and personological underpinnings. They also demonstrate important etiological distinctions. One potential limitation to accumulating additional scientific insights into the correlates and origins of these three types of antisocial behavior is the lack of an efficient self‐report assessment in the public domain. We developed the 32‐item Subtypes of Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire (STAB) to fill this gap. Our goal was to develop a brief measure that could reliably and validly assess each of the three major subtypes of antisocial behavior and that would be freely available for other researchers. The present series of studies provides initial evidence of the factorial validity, internal consistency, and criterion‐related validity of the STAB scales. In short, it appears that the STAB is a brief and useful measure that can be used to differentiate and assess physically aggressive, rule‐breaking, and socially aggressive forms of antisocial behavior. Aggr. Behav. 35:376–398, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Treatment Effectiveness of a Brief Behavioral Intervention for Preschool Disruptive Behavior

Parent management training is an evidence-based treatment for disruptive behavior. However, the number of treatment sessions can be high, contributing to high attrition rates. The purpose of this study was to examine post-treatment, 6-month, and 1-year treatment outcomes of the Brief Behavioral Intervention. One hundred twenty children aged 2–6.5 years demonstrating clinically significant disruptive behavior were referred to an outpatient clinic for treatment and participated in the study. Attrition was below reported rates in the literature. Significant decreases in child disruptive behavior and parent stress were found from pre-to-post intervention, and improvements were maintained at follow-ups. Significant pre-to-post intervention teacher reported decreases in behavior were reported.