Behavioural assessment

PSYC 3370 Behavioural Assessments C. Brannen 1

Behavioural AssessmentA few observations and much reasoning lead to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth.

- Alexis Carrel


Learning Objectives• Be able to discuss the different situations that require behavioural

observation• Describe different types of behavioural observation• Discuss the various uses of behavioural observation with children• Summarize the behavioural observation activity that we did in class• Describe commonly used assessments of childhood behavioural and

emotional problems.


Assessing Behaviour• We all engage in the assessment of behaviour on a

regular basis• We observe others behavior, or perhaps our own, and make

inferences about internal processes (e.g., thoughts, emotions, motivations)

• Two major uses:• When the goal is to measure overt behavior• When it is difficult or impossible to evaluate the underlying

processes guiding behavior (emotions and thoughts)


Behavioural Assessment• Behavioural assessments help practitioners and

researchers determine:• The degree to which specific behaviours cluster together• The associations between behaviours and covert processes

(emotions and thoughts)• Behavioural assessments can be used to predict

outcomes, such as the likelihood of a clinical diagnosis


Behavioural Rating Scales• Behaviour rating scales can measure:• The frequency of a behavior• The intensity of a behavior

• Can be completed by:• A trained observer• A reliable informant• The person of interest


Behaviour Rating Scales, cont’d.• Inventories that ask informants to rate an individual on

a number of dimensions• Informants may be parents, teachers, a spouse, or

health care worker• Often used with children and adolescents


Benefits of Behaviour Rating Scales• Children may have difficulty reporting feelings and

thoughts• Cost-effective and time-efficient • Having informants complete the scales allows

evaluation of less common behaviours, across different settings• Multiple raters/informants provide a broad sample of

behaviours across settings and times


Benefits of Behaviour Rating Scales, cont’d.• Facilitate accurate diagnosis• Predicts future behaviour and learning problems• Helps detect changes in behaviour• Predicts what types of interventions are likely to be

effective • Crucial for clinical child interventions• Important in the practice of evidence-based treatments


Weaknesses of Behaviour Rating Scales• Subject to response sets• May be less helpful when assessing “internalizing”

problems• Ratings of behaviour are impressionistic


Direct Observation• Oldest method of behavioural assessment; still widely

used• Observe the examinee in natural setting • Behaviours are specified and counted • Provides true ratio scale data • Adds another dimension to assessment• Observer can note antecedents, as well as

consequences.


Direct Observation• Can occur with or without a standardized recording

scheme• Standardized observation forms:• Enhance observer training• Observer impartiality• Improve consistency and accuracy • Do limit the flexibility of direct observation• Advantages seen as outweighing the limitations


Behaviour Assessment of Children: Direct Observation• Behaviour specialists observe behaviour and count the

frequency and intensity of target behaviours.• Two types:• Structured interaction between a child and a caregiver

(usually the mom).• Observation of the child performing various tasks, sometimes

in different settings• Used in research settings, early childhood primary

health programs, clinical diagnostic approaches, schools


Behavioural Assessment of Children: Direct Observation, cont’d.• Evaluation of the mother-child relationship• Attachment style is a vital predictor of developmental outcomes• Identifying at-risk children early in life permits appropriate supports

to be put in place• A wide variety of behavioural assessment tools are available to

evaluate the quality of mother-child interaction• The Strange Situation test that evaluates attachment style of the child

is widely used


Assessment of Mother-Child Relationship Quality• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is based on direct behavioural

observation of the quality of the mother-child relationship and then uses direct observation coaching to make corrections in the mother’s behaviour• Many benefits of the early evaluation/early intervention approach to

child, family and society, but much resistance to widespread population health programs • More commonly used in the U.S. and across the U.K.


Behavioural Assessment: Depressed Mothers and Their Children

Measure Age Method Context Content Comments

Global Rating Scales of Mother-Infant Interaction (Murray, Fiori-Cowley, Hooper, & Cooper, 1996)

2 to 6 months

Face-to-face free play, without toys (5 minute)

Home or lab setting

Mother: sensitivity, intrusiveness, withdrawn style, depressive behavior Infant: engagement/ communicative, inertness, distress Dyad: flow of interaction, enjoyment, satisfaction, quantity and quality of engagement

Specifically developed to assess PPD mothers and their infants. Minimal coding time (30-40 minutes for the experienced coder). Used extensively cross-culturally. Sensitive to changes following treatment, to range of maternal psychopathology, and to social and economic adversity


Behavioural Assessment: Depressed Mothers and Their Children, cont’d.Interaction Rating Scales (Field, 1980)

3 to 6 months

Face-to-face free play (and feeding)

Home or lab setting

Mother: state, physical activity, head orientation, gaze, silence during infant gaze aversion, facial expressions, vocalizations, imitative behaviors, contingent responsivity, game-playing Infant: physical activity, head orientation, gaze behavior, facial expressions, vocalizations, and fussiness.

Inconsistent differentiation between depressed and non-depressed mother-infant interactions in high risk groups.

Maternal Behavior State System (Cohn, Matias, Tronick, Connell, & Lyons-Ruth, 1986)

2 to 6 months

Face-to-face free play (3 minute)

Lab setting Mother: intrusive (anger/poke, elicit), withdrawn (disengage), or good interaction (none of the above or positive/play) Infant: protest, look away, attend, and play

Categorizations of depressed mothers as Intrusive or Withdrawn are very widely used.


Behavioural Assessment: Depressed Mothers and Their Children, cont’d.

Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (Clark, 1985, 1999)

2 to 62 months

Face-to-face free play, structured task, feeding (each 5 minutes). Many have only coded free play episodes.

Home or lab setting

Mother: 29 items reflecting positive affective involvement and verbalization, negative affect and behavior, and intrusiveness, insensitivity and inconsistency Infant: 28 items reflecting positive affect, social and communicative competence, quality of play, interest, and attentional skills, and dysregulation and irritabilityDyad: 8 items reflecting mutual enjoyment and reciprocity, and disorganization and tension

Can be used with mothers and fathers. Requires intensive coding time. The ERA has been used extensively with at-risk populations, but as not much with PPD mothers specifically. The measure enables assessment across a very wide infant age-range.


Behavioural Assessment: Depressed Mothers and Their Children, cont’d.

Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970)

11 to 18 months (maybe up to 24)

Separation and reunion episodes

Lab setting

Infant: attachment behaviors (distress, soothability, proximity seeking, and attention to caregiver) coded to categorize infants as Securely or Insecurely (Avoidant or Resistant). Infant is given an additional categorization as Organized or Disorganized.

Extremely widely used in the developmental literature. Requires intensive coding time and set-up of an artificial situation. Not appropriate for use with infants < 11 months.


Parent-Child Preliteracy Activities Rating Scale• Proposed adjunct to the Read to Me! Program• Pilot study evaluated mother-infant relationship while reading• Used The Global Rating Scales of Mother-Infant Interaction• Activity: PaCPARS video coding


Indirect Behavioural Assessment of Children• Usually relies on parent and teacher reports• The most widely used approach to evaluating childhood behavioural

and emotional troubles• Child Behavior Checklist is the most common


Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)• Child behaviour Checklist (CBCL)• Teacher Report Form (TRF)• Scales contain two basic sections• The first section collects information about the child’s

activities and competencies in areas such as recreation, social functioning, and school. • The second section assesses problem behaviours.


ASEBA• Computer-scoring software is available• Strengths• Relatively easy to use• Time efficient• Have a rich history of clinical and research applications


BASC 3rd Edition• Behavioural Assessment Scales for Children• A Pearson product…like the text book• An integrated set of instruments that includes:• Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) • Parent Rating Scale (PRS) • Self-report scales • A classroom observation system • The Parenting Relationship Questionnaire • A structured developmental history


BASC-3, cont’d.• Authors recommend that interpretation follow a “top-

down” approach• The clinician starts at the most global level • Then progresses to more specific levels

• Most global measure is the behavioural symptoms Index (BSI)• Reflects the overall level of behavioural problems • Provides clinicians nonspecific index of pathology


BASC-3, cont’d.• The clinician then proceeds to the four lower order

composite scores• The third level of analysis involves examining the 16

clinical and adaptive scales.• Finally, clinicians may examine the individual items.• The TRS and PRS have several unique features that

promote their use.• Contain a validity scale• Assess both negative and adaptive behaviours• Provide three norm-referenced comparisons


FIGURE 11–1 An example of a completed TRS profile.


Student Observation System (SOS)• A component of the BASC-3• Allows for the observation of 14 dimensions of

behaviour• Useful in any structured setting that has educational

goals• Uses a momentary time sampling (MTS) procedure


Student Observation System (SOS)• Important to have good operational definitions of

behaviours • This contributes to good inter-rater reliability


Student Observation System (SOS)• MTS is also important in making direct observation

practical, as well as accurate.• The observer watches the target individual for a specified

period then marks the relevant behaviours. • BASC-3 SOS MTS is set to be a total of 15 minutes.

• Learn more: BASC website• Learn more: BASC-3 webinar

http://www.pearsonclinical.com/education/products/100001402/behavior-assessment-system-for-children-third-edition-basc-3.html#tab-scoring

https://www.brainshark.com/pearsonassessments/vu?pi=zGszQemJYzC5WMz0


Omnibus Rating Scales• Measure a wide range of symptoms – examples:• BASC-2 TRS and PRS• The CBCL and TRF

• Sensitive to symptoms of both internalizing and externalizing disorders• Should always be used for initial screening and

assessment


Single-Domain Rating Scales• Provide a more thorough assessment of a specific

domain or syndrome• Resemble the omnibus scales in format, but focus on a

single disorder or behavioural dimension• Can be useful in supplementing more comprehensive

assessment techniques


Single-Domain Rating Scales• Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)

• Designed to help identify autism • Adequate reliability and validity evidence

• BASC Monitor for ADHD• Designed for use with children suffering from ADHD• Contains a teacher’s and parent’s rating scale• Good reliability and validity evidence

• Pediatric Behaviour Rating Scale• Contains a teacher’s and parent’s rating scale• Help identify early onset bipolar disorder • Adequate initial reliability and validity evidence


Adaptive Behaviour Rating Scales• Adaptive behaviour• Conceptual skills• Practical skills• Social skills

• Important in the assessment of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities• The Vineland Adaptive behaviour Scales –

Second Edition (Vineland-II)


Adult Behaviour Rating Scales• Clinical Assessment Scales for the Elderly (CASE)• Omnibus behaviour rating scale • Completed by a caregiver with frequent contact with examinee• Contains separate self-report scale for cognitively intact seniors

to complete• Various clinical scales focus Axis I or clinical disorders

• Three validity scales are provided with the full-length scales.• Screening versions of the CASE are also available.• Typically completed in 30 minutes or less


The Brief Child and Family Telephone Interview (BCFPI)•Helps to reduce self-report problems•Not a clinical interview but the scores are highly predictive of childhood mental illness•Activity: BCFPI discussion


Other Types of Assssment• Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs)• Specific type of behavioural test originally designed to

measure the following:• Vigilance• Attention• And more generally, executive control

• Different CPT paradigms have been devised


CPT• Typically, a CPT requires an examinee to view a

computer screen.• Respond when a simple stimulus or sequence of stimuli

appear on the screen • Inhibit responding at all other times

• Can be complex and use auditory presentation• Highly sensitive to problems with self-regulatory and

executive control systems


CPT• A recent CPT added working memory assessment to the

standard CPT paradigms.• Tasks of Executive Control (TEC)• Consists of a set of six different tasks • Manipulates working memory as a component of:

• Attention • Vigilance • Response inhibition


Psychophysiological Assessments• Typically involves recording physical changes in the

body • Lie detector or polygraph is perhaps the best-known

example• Other examples:• Electroencephalographs (EEGs) • Electromyographs

Date post:	24-Jan-2017
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Behavioural assessment

Health & Medicine