Behavioral screening in well-child care: validation of the Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory.

OBJECTIVE: To provide additional normative and validity data on the TBSI, especially to examine differences in clinical and nonclinical samples. METHODS: The sample included 312 nonclinical and 50 clinical mothers of toddlers. Clinical participants consisted of mothers of toddlers who had been referred for outpatient psychological services. Mothers completed the TBSI, a 40-item behavioral screening measure for children 12 to 41 months old. The measure assesses frequency in which the behaviors occur and whether the mothers perceived the behaviors as problematic. In addition to the TBSI, mothers also completed several measures of maternal distress and social support. RESULTS: The findings support the reliability and validity of the TBSL. In addition, the study found that TBSI scores effectively discriminated clinical from nonclinical participants. CONCLUSIONS: The TBSI is a promising behavioral screening instrument that can be easily incorporated into a medical practice.

The development of the Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory.

The purpose of the present study was to develop the Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory (TBSI) for rapidly assessing maternal reports of toddler behavior problems. The TBSI is a 40-item measure intended for use by pediatricians, psychologists, and other child-care professionals. A group of mothers (n = 312) rated the initial 93-item TBSI in terms of behavior frequency and parental perception of the behavior as problematic. Following item elimination, 40 items were retained due to being both frequent and problematic at all toddler age levels. Data were obtained with a new sample of mothers (n = 581) and showed the TBSI to possess good reliability and validity.

Promoting academic performance in inattentive children. The relative efficacy of school-home notes with and without response cost.

The present study examined the effectiveness of two different school-home notes for increasing academic productivity and appropriate classroom behavior in five inattentive children. Using an alternating treatments design, students received a school-home note with or without response cost. Both notes required teachers to evaluate students and required parents to provide consequences on a daily basis. The notes differed as to whether reprimands and response cost were included. The results indicated that on-task behavior and academic work completion improved in all five elementary school-aged children. The majority of subjects achieved greater improvements in on-task behavior with the response-cost component added to the school-home note.

Attribution processes in mother-adolescent conflict.

Attributions reported by 115 mothers and 122 adolescents were examined as they related to family conflict. Subjects completed measures of parent-adolescent conflict (Issues Checklist, Conflict Behavior Questionnaire) and the Mother-Adolescent Attribution Questionnaire. The results revealed that parent-adolescent conflict correlated with mothers' and teenagers' negative attributions. Specifically, self-reported conflict was positively correlated with mothers' and teenagers' beliefs that one another's negative behavior was intentional, selfishly motivated, and blameworthy.