Investigation of a Multiple-Gated Screening System for Preschool Behavior Problems

The problem of behavioral disorders in preschoolage children is ever increasing. With the exponential rise in the utilization of child care compounded by growing social problems such as poverty and child abuse, methods for the early identification and remediation of behavioral disorders in preschool children are needed. In the May 1993 issue of Behavioral Disorders, Sinclair, Del'Homme, and Gonzalez reported a pilot study using the Walker/Severson Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) with preschool children. While their results were encouraging, they found that changes were needed to make the SSBD more appropriate for the preschool population. The present research extensively revised the SSBD for preschool children. The revision consists of three hierarchical stages of increasingly time-consuming methodologies: (a) teacher rankings, (b) teacher ratings, and (c) direct behavioral observations. Subjects for this study were 121 children, aged 3 to 6 years old, enrolled in several typical and specialized preschools (e.g., programs for children with behavior problems). The Behar Preschool Behavior Questionnaire and the Conners Teacher Rating Scale were included to examine concurrent validity. The results show significant reliability and validity coefficients. The screening procedures select those children with emotional/behavioral problems accurately.