Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reliability and Validity of a Brief Clinician-Report Scale for Screening Behavioral Inhibition

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Given the implications of behavioral inhibition (BI) on social anxiety and depression, several cost-effective methods have been developed to detect this trait. However, there is no instrument for obtaining a systematic measurement of BI that uses the reports of mental health professionals. The present study aims to explore the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Inhibition Observation System (BIOS), a brief tool enabling clinicians to provide a quick measure of BI. Parents and teachers of 361 preschool children provided measures of BI and psychopathology. Clinicians completed the BIOS after an individual meeting with every child. Seventy-four randomly selected children were exposed to standardized observation. Two researchers completed the BIOS after standardized observation. The results show that the BIOS is structured in one dimension that explains 60 % of the total variance. It shows good internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .88) and good test-retest reliability. The BIOS scores moderately converge with observational measures of BI and adequately distinguish constructs not related to BI (such as aggressiveness, disruptive behavior, or peer conflict). The results support that the BIOS, an 8-item scale that takes 3 min to complete, is valid and reliable for capturing a clinician’s measure of BI. The BIOS may help to detect temperamental disposition to social anxiety.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Inventario del Comportamiento de niños(as) de 1½-5 años para padres (CBCL/1½-5) y para maestros-cuidadores (C-TRF) (Unitat d’Epidemiologia i de Diagnòstic en Psicopatologia del Desenvolupament, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Trans). Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T. M., Dumenci, L., & Rescorla, L. A. (2002). Ten-year comparisons of problems and competencies for national samples of youth: self, parent and teacher reports. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 194–203. doi:10.1177/10634266020100040101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, & the National Council on Measurement in Education. (1999). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: E.E.U.U.: AERA.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asendorpf, J. B. (1990). Development of inhibition during childhood: evidence for situational specificity and a two factor model. Developmental Psychology, 26, 721–730.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asendorpf, J. B. (1994). The malleability of behavioral inhibition: a study of individual developmental functions. Developmental Psychology, 30, 912–919. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.30.6.912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asendorpf, J. B., & Meier, G. H. (1993). Personality effects on children’s speech in everyday life: sociability-mediated exposure and shyness-mediated reactivity to social situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 1072–1083. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.64.6.1072.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ballespí, S., Jané, M. C., Riba, M. D., & Domènech-Llaberia, E. (2003). Preschool Behavioral Inhibition Scale—Teacher’s form (PBIS-T): psychometric properties. Psicothema, 15, 205–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballespí, S., Jané, M.C., & Riba, M.D. (2012). Parent and teacher ratings of temperamental disposition to social anxiety: the BIS 3–6. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94(2), 164–174. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2011.645929

    Google Scholar 

  • Beidel, D. C., & Turner, S. M. (2007). Shy children, phobic adults: Nature and treatment of social anxiety disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Biederman, J., Rosenbaum, J. F., Hirshfeld, D. R., Faraone, S. V., Bolduc, E. A., Gersten, M., et al. (1990). Psychiatric correlates of behavioral inhibition in young children of parents with and without psychiatric disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 21–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, G., Spence, S. H., & McDonald, C. (2003). Can parents and teachers provide a reliable and valid report of behavioural inhibition? Child Development, 74, 1899–1917. doi:10.1046/j.1467-8624.2003.00645.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boelen, P. A., & Reijntjes, A. (2009). Intolerance of uncertainty and social anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 130–135. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.04.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Broberg, A., Lamb, M. E., & Hwang, P. (1990). Inhibition: its stability and correlates in sixteen- to forty-month-old children. Child Development, 61, 1153–1163. doi:10.2307/1130883.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Broeren, S., & Muris, P. (2010). A psychometric evaluation of the behavioral inhibition questionnaire in a Non-clinical sample of Dutch children and adolescents. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41, 214–229. doi:10.1007/s10578-009-0162-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calkins, S. T., & Fox, N. A. (1992). The relations among infant temperament, security of attachment, and behavioral inhibition at 24 months. Child Development, 63, 1456–1472. doi:10.2307/1131568.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chronis-Tuscano, A., Degnan, K. A., Pine, D. S., Pérez-Edgar, K., Henderson, H. A., Díaz, Y., et al. (2009). Stable early maternal report of behavioral inhibition predicts lifetime social anxiety disorder in adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 928–935. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181ae09df.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Los Reyes, A. (2011). Introduction to the special section: more than measurement error: discovering meaning behind informant discrepancies in clinical assessments of children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40, 1–9. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.533405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Los Reyes, A., & Kazdin, A. E. (2005). Informant discrepancies in the assessment of childhood psychopathology: a critical review, theoretical framework, and recommendation for further study. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 483–509. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.4.483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dennissen, J. J. A., Asendorpf, J. B., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). Childhood personality predicts long-term trajectories of shyness and agressiveness in the context of demographic transitions in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 76, 67–100. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00480.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Domènech-Llaberia, E., Jané, M. C., Canals, J., Ballespí, S., Esparó, G., & Garralda, E. (2004). Parental reports of somatic symptoms in preschool children: prevalence and associations in a spanish sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 598–604. doi:10.1097/00004583-200405000-00013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Shepard, S. A., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, B. C., & Guthrie, I. K. (1998). Shyness and children’s emotionality, regulation, and coping: contemporaneous, longitudinal, and across-context relations. Child Development, 69, 767–790. doi:10.2307/1132203.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fordham, K., & Stevenson-Hinde, J. (1999). Shyness, friendship quality, and adjustment during middle childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 757–768. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, N. A., Heather, A. H., Rubin, K. H., Calkins, S. D., & Schmidt, L. A. (2001). Continuity and discontinuity of behavioral inhibition and exuberance: psychophysiological and behavioral influences across the first four years of life. Child Development, 72, 1–21. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Coll, C., Kagan, J., & Reznick, J. S. (1984). Behavioral inhibition in young children. Child Development, 55, 1005–1019. doi:10.2307/1130152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gest, S. C. (1997). Behavioral inhibition: stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 467–475. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.467.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gladstone, G., & Parker, G. B. (2006). Is behavioral inhibition a risk factor for depression? Journal of Affective Disorders, 95, 85–94. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2006.04.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. New Haven: Yale University Department of Sociology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutteman, R., Dennissen, J. J. A., Asendorpf, J. B., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2009). Changing dynamics in problematic personality: a multiware longitudinal study of the relationship between shyness and aggressiveness from childhood to early adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 1083–1094. doi:10.1017/S0954579409990058.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jané, M. C., Canals, J., Ballespí, S., Viñas, F., Esparó, G., & Domènech-Llaberia, E. (2006). Parents and teachers reports of DSM-IV psychopathological symptoms in preschool children: differences between urban–rural Spanish areas. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41, 386–393. doi:10.1007/s00127-006-0038-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, S. J., & Snidman, N. (1987). The physiology and psychology of behavioral inhibition in children. Child Development, 58, 1459–1473. doi:10.2307/1130685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, S. J., & Snidman, N. (1988a). Biological bases of childhood shyness. Science, 240, 167–171. doi:10.1126/science.3353713.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., Snidman, N., Gibbons, J., & Johnson, M. O. (1988b). Childhood derivatives of inhibition and lack of inhibition to the unfamiliar. Child Development, 59, 1580–1589. doi:10.2307/1130672.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, S., & Gibbons, J. (1989). Inhibited and uninhibited types of children. Child Development, 60, 838–845. doi:10.2307/1131025.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Snidman, N., & Arcus, D. (1998a). Childhood derivatives of high and low reactivity in infancy. Child Development, 69, 1483–1493. doi:10.2307/1132126.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Snidman, N., & Arcus, D. (1998b). The value of extreme groups. In R. B. Cairns & L. R. Bergman (Eds.), Methods and models for studying the individual (pp. 65–82). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Snidman, N., Zentner, M., & Peterson, E. (1999). Infant temperament and anxious symptoms in school age children. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 209–224. doi:10.1017/S0954579499002023.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kashdan, T. B., & Hoffman, S. G. (2008). The high-novelty-seeking, impulsive subtype of generalized social anxiety disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 535–541. doi:10.1002/da.20382.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kashdan, T. B., & McKnight, P. E. (2010). The darker side of social anxiety: when aggressive impulsivity prevails over shy inhibition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 47–50. doi:10.1177/0963721409359280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, M., Lambert, W. W., Stuttin, H., & Klackenberg-Larsson, I. (1994). Stability of inhibition in a Swedish longitudinal sample. Child Development, 65, 138–146. doi:10.2307/1131371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G. (1991). Patterns of inhibition to the unfamiliar in children of normal and affectively ill mothers. Child Development, 62, 250–263. doi:10.2307/1131001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1992). Inhibition in toddlerhood and the dynamics of the child’s interaction with an unfamiliar peer at age five. Child Development, 63, 325–335. doi:10.2307/1131482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, J. M., Pérez-Edgar, K., Henderson, H. A., Chronis-Tuscano, A., Pine, D. S., & Fox, N. A. (2009). A history of childhood behavioral inhibition and enhanced response monitoring in adolescence are linked to clinical anxiety. Biological Psychiatry, 65, 445–448. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.10.043.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, M., Snidman, N., & Kagan, J. (1993). Free-play behavior in inhibited and uninhibited children. Infant Behavior & Development, 16, 383–389. doi:10.1016/0163-6383(93)80043-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., Meckelbach, H., Wessel, I., & van-de-Ven, M. (1999). Psychopathological correlates of the self-reported behavioral inhibition in nomal children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 575–584. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00155-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., Meesters, C., & Spinder, M. (2003). Relationships between child- and parent-reported behavioural inhibition and symptoms of anxiety and depression in normal adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 759–771. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00069-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., van Brakel, A. M. L., Arntz, A., & Schouten, E. (2011). Behavioral inhibition as a risk factor for the development of childhood anxiety disorders: a longitudinal study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20, 157–170. doi:10.1007/s10826-010-9365-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nachmias, M., Gunnar, M., Mangelsdorf, S., Hornik, R., & Buss, K. (1996). Behavioral inhibition and stress reactivity: the moderating role of attachment security. Child Development, 67, 508–522. doi:10.2307/1131829.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oosterlaan, J. (2001). Behavioral inhibition and the development of childhood anxiety disorders. In W. K. Silverman & P. D. A. Treffers (Eds.), Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Research, assessment and intervention (pp. 45–71). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oosterlaan, J., & Sergeant, J. A. (1996). Inhibition in ADHD, aggressive, and anxious children: a biologically based model of child psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24, 19–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parareda, M., & Ballespí, S. (2004). Comorbidity between aggressiveness and shyness: Is it a clinical reality or a conceptual confusion? In E. Domènech-Llaberia, J. E. Obiols, M. C. Jané, & S. Subirà (Eds.), Updates on Clinical Psychopathology (pp. 7–31). Barcelona: Màsters Psicopatología UAB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, S. Y., Belsky, J., Putnam, S., & Crnic, K. (1997). Infant emotionality, parenting and 3-year inhibition: exploring stability and lawful discontinuity in a male sample. Developmental Psychology, 33, 218–227. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.2.218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-Edgar, K., Reeb-Sutherland, B. C., McDermott, J. M., White, L. K., Henderson, H. A., Degnan, K. A., et al. (2011). Attention biases to threat link behavioural inhibition to social withdrawal over time in very young children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 885–895. doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9495-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeifer, M., Goldsmith, H. H., Davidson, R. J., & Rickman, M. (2002). Continuity and change in inhibited and uninhibited children. Child Development, 73, 1474–1485. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00484.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reznick, J. S., Kagan, J., Snidman, N., Gersten, M., Baak, K., & Rosenberg, A. (1986). Inhibited and uninhibited behavior: a follow-up study. Child Development, 57, 660–680. doi:10.2307/1130344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Hastings, P. D., Steward, S., Henderson, H. A., & Chen, X. (1997). The consistency and concominants of inhibition: some of the children, all of the time. Child Development, 68, 467–483. doi:10.2307/1131672.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, F. R., Blanco, C., Antja, S. X., & Liebowitz, M. R. (2002). The social anxiety spectrum. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25, 757–774. doi:10.1016/S0193-953X(02)00018-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schofield, C. A., Coles, M. E., & Gibb, B. E. (2009). Retrospective reports of behavioural inhibition and young adults’ current symptoms of social anxiety, depression and anxious arousal. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 884–890. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.05.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, C. E., Snidman, N. I., & Kagan, J. (1996). Early childhood temperament as a determinant of externalizing behavior in adolescence. Developmental Psychopathology, 8, 527–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snedecor, G. W., & Cochran, W. G. (1989). Statistical Methods. Ames: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spielberger, C. D. (1966). Theory and research on anxiety. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety and behavior (pp. 3–20). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sportel, B. E., Maaike, H. N., Hullu, E., Jong, P. J., & Hartman, C. A. (2011). Behavioral inhibition and attentional control in adolescents: robust relationships with anxiety and depression. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20, 149–156. doi:10.1007/s10826-010-9435-y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sprafkin, J., & Gadow, K. D. (1996). Early Childhood Inventories Manual. Stony Brook: Checkmate Plus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprafkin, J., Volpe, R. J., Gadow, K. D., Nolan, E. E., & Kelly, K. (2002). A DSM-IV-referenced screening instrument for preschool children: the Early Childhood Inventory-4. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 604–612. doi:10.1097/00004583-200205000-00018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • SPSS, Inc. [computer software]. (2007). SPSS versió 17.0. Chicago: SPSS, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, D. J., Ono, Y., Tajima, O., & Muller, J. E. (2004). The Social Anxiety Disorder Spectrum. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65(supp 14), 27–33.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson-Hinde, J., & Shouldice, A. (1995). 4.5 to 7 years: fearful behaviour, fears and worries. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 1027–1038. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1995.tb01348.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tillfors, M., El-Khouri, B., Stein, M. B., & Trost, K. (2009). Relationships between social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and antisocial behaviours. Evidence from a prospective study of adolescent boys. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 718–724. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.02.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Brakel, A. M. L., & Muris, P. (2006). A Brief Scale for Measuring “Behavioral Inhibition to the Unfamiliar” in children. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 79–84. doi:10.1007/s10862-006-7485-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Brakel, A. M. L., Muris, P., & Bögels, S. M. (2004). Relations Between Parent- and Teacher-Reported Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Observations of This Temperamental Trait. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 579–589. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3303_15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Viñas, F., Jané, M. C., Canals, J., Esparó, G., Ballespí, S., & Domènech-Llaberia, E. (2008). Assessment of psychopathology in preschool age children through the Early Childhood Inventory-4 (ECI-4): agreement among parents and teachers. Psicothema, 20, 481–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, L. K., McDermott, J. M., Degnan, K. A., Henderson, H. A., & Fox, N. A. (2011). Behavioral inhibition and anxiety: the moderating roles of inhibitory control and attention shifting. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 735–747. doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9490-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Campus de Bellaterra, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

    Sergi Ballespí & Ma Claustre Jané

  2. Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Campus de Bellaterra, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

    Ma Dolors Riba

Authors
  1. Sergi Ballespí
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ma Claustre Jané
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ma Dolors Riba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergi Ballespí.

Appendix A

Appendix A

BEHAVIORAL INHIBITION OBSERVATION SYSTEM (BIOS)

This scale is designed for the clinician to measure the child’s behavioral inhibition (BI). Use the scale in the first meetings with the child (e.g., first visits, assessment session). First meetings mean the exposure to a strange/uncertain situation with an unfamiliar person. The scale should be completed after observing the child in an interview situation. Please use the questions below, following Asendorpf’s (1994) procedure. To encourage spontaneous speech, ask every question after the child has remained silent for 10 s.

figure a

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ballespí, S., Jané, M.C. & Riba, M.D. Reliability and Validity of a Brief Clinician-Report Scale for Screening Behavioral Inhibition. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 35, 321–334 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9344-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9344-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation