The Development and Validation of a Scale to Assess the Emotional and Behavioral Strengths of Children and Adolescents

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 258-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Family Services ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Valid Instrument ◽  
Validity Studies ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Emotional Rating

Strength-based assessment has received considerable attention from parents and professionals in child welfare, family services, education, mental health, and other social services. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: A Strength-Based Approach to Assessment was developed to provide parents and professionals with a standardized, norm-referenced, reliable, and valid instrument to measure strengths. Several pilot studies were conducted to establish the validity of the scale prior to the scale being normed on a nationally representative sample. The purpose of the present article is to report on these validity studies.

Strength-Based Assessment of Rural African American Early Adolescents: Characteristics of Students in High and Low Groups on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Farmer ◽  
Jason T. Clemmer ◽  
Man-Chi Leung ◽  
Jennifer B. Goforth ◽  
Jana H. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Early Adolescents ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Emotional Rating

Comparing Behavioral and Emotional Strengths of Students With and Without Emotional Disturbance

2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110384
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Lambert ◽  
Stacy-Ann A. January ◽  
Jorge E. Gonzalez ◽  
Michael H. Epstein ◽  
Jodie Martin
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Multivariate Multiple Regression ◽  
Students With Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Primary Hypothesis ◽  
Emotional Rating ◽  
Representative Samples

The present study investigated evidence of the construct validity of scores from the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-3), which is a multi-informant assessment designed to measure the behavioral and emotional strengths of school-aged youth. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the degree to which BERS-3 scores differed between students with school-identified emotional disturbance and students without disabilities. Two nationally representative samples were used in this study: (a) 1,575 students rated by teachers and (b) 793 youth who provided self-ratings. The results of multivariate multiple regression analyses supported the primary hypothesis that students with emotional disturbance would have lower scores on each of the five BERS-3 subscale scores compared to peers without disabilities. This finding held for both samples; however, differences between students with emotional disturbance and the peers without disabilities were substantially smaller for the youth self-ratings compared to teacher ratings. Implications for practice and directions for future research are also discussed.

The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: Long Term Test-Retest Reliability

2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Epstein ◽  
Melody A. Hertzog ◽  
Robert Reid
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Emotional Rating

Most assessment is conducted from a deficit perspective and is intended to identify deficits, problems, and pathologies of the individuals who are assessed. However, deficit-based assessment may present a biased picture that limits or ignores a child's strengths. In this article we report data on long-term (6-month) test-retest reliability of the Behavior and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS), which is a strength-based assessment instrument. Participants included 95 randomly selected children from general education classrooms and 26 children identified as having or being at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders. Moderate to high test-retest correlations ranging from .527 to .787 were found across the instrument's subscales. Moreover, the lack of significant differences between ratings indicate that rater drift did not occur. Results suggest that BERS scores are stable over a 6-month time frame. Implications for the use of the BERS are discussed.

Strength-Based Assessment of African-American Adolescents with Behavioral Disorders

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Friedman ◽  
Karen A. Friedman ◽  
Virginia Weaver
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Behavioral Disorders ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Emotional Rating

The study examined consistencies and differences between 60 parents and their adolescent children with behavioral problems when rating the adolescents' strengths. The parents and teenagers agreed on most of the strength categories of the Behavior and Emotional Rating Scale. However, caretakers rated the adolescents as more involved in family life, while the adolescents rated themselves as more involved in school activities.

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