Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to build on the emerging effort to produce a meaningful typology of classroom behavior for elementary school age children. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Teacher Rating Scales for Children (TRS-C) norming data were collected for 1,227 six- to eleven-year-old children at 116 sites representing various regions of the United States. The TRS-C has 148 items that are rated by the teacher on a 4-point scale of frequency, ranging from Never to Almost always. The Ward method of cluster analysis was used to identify the initial centroids or cluster seeds. An iterative clustering method, a K-means procedure, was used to refine the Ward cluster solution. A seven-cluster solution was selected based on both rational and empirical considerations. The resulting clusters were named well-adapted, average, learning disorder, disruptive behavior disorder, physical complaints and worry, severe psychopathology, and mildly disruptive. The seven-cluster solution resembles those of Achenbach (1991), Curry and Thompson (1985), and other researchers. The resulting typology points the way toward future cluster studies of child psychopathology by delineating additional research and theoretical questions.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Teacher's Report Form and 1991 Profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample: III. Transitions to young adult syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 658–669.
Adams, C. A., & Drabman, R. S. (1994). BASC: A critical review. Child Assessment News, 4, 1–5.
American Heritage Dictionary (1981). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
American Psychiatric Association (1994). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed). Washington, DC: Author.
Bates, J. E. (1991). Methodological and substantive lessons. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 56, 121–127, (Serial No. 225).
Blashfield, R. K., & Aldenderfer, M. S. (1988). The methods and problems of cluster analysis. In J. R. Nesselrode & R. B. Cattell (Eds.), International handbook of multivariate experimental psychology. New York: Plenum Press.
Cantwell, D. P. (1996). Classification of child and adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 3–12.
Caron, C., & Rutter, M. (1991). Comorbidity in child psychopathology: Concepts, issues, and research strategies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32, 1063–1080.
Coie, J. D., Watt, N. F., West, S. G., Hawkins, J. D., Asarnow, J. R., Markman, H. J., Ramey, S. L., Shure, M. B., and Long, B. (1993). The science of prevention: A conceptual framework and some directions for a national research program. American Psychologist, 48, 1013–1022.
Curry, J. F., & Thompson, R. J. (1985). Patterns of behavioral disturbance in developmentally disabled and psychiatrically referred children: A cluster analytic approach. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 10, 151–167.
Edelbrock, C., & Achenbach, T. M. (1980). A typology of child behavior profile patterns: Distribution and correlates for disturbed children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 8, 441–470.
Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, J. (1995). Predictive validity of categorically and dimensionally scored measures of disruptive childhood behaviors. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 477–487.
Flanagan, R. (1995). A review of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC): Assessment consistent with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Journal of School Psychology, 33, 177–186.
Frick, P. J., Kamphaus, R. W., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Christ, M. A. G., Hart, E. L., & Tannenbaum, L. E. (1991). Academic underachievement and the disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 289–294.
Garb, H. N. (1996). Taxometrics and the revision of diagnostic criteria. American Psychologist, 51, 553–554.
Ge, X., Lorenz, F. O., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H., & Simons, R. L., (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 30, 467–483.
Hoza, B. (1994). Review of the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Child Assessment News, 4, 8–10.
Huberty, C. J., DiStefano, C., & Kamphaus, R. W. (1997). Behavioral clustering of school children. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 32, 105–134.
Jensen, P. S., Koretz, D., Locke, B. Z., Schneider, S., Radke-Yarrow, M., Richters, J. E. & Rumsey, J. M. (1993). Child and adolescent psychopathology research: Problems and prospects for the 1990s. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 551–580.
Jones, K., & Witt, J. (1994). Rating the ratings of raters: A critique of the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Child Assessment News, 4, 10–11.
Kamphaus, R. W., & Frick, P. J. (1996). Clinical assessment of child and adolescent personality and behavior. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Kazdin, A. E. (1995). Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kline, R. B. (1994). New objective rating scales for child assessment. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 12, 289–306.
Lahey, B. B., Applegate, B., McBurnett, K., Biederman, J., Greenhill, L., Hynd, G. W., Barkley, R. A., Newcorn, J., Jensen, P., Richters, J., Garfinkel, B., Kerdyck, L., Frick, P. J., Ollendick, T., Perez, D., Hart, E. L., Waldman, I., & Shaffer, D. (1994). DSM-IV field trials for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1673–1685.
Martin, R. P. (1988). Assessment of personality and behavior problems: Infancy through adolescence. New York: Guilford Press.
McDermott, P. A., & Weiss, R. V. (1995). A normative typology of healthy, subclinical, and clinical behavior styles among American children and adolescents. Psychological Assessment, 7, 162–170.
Meehl, P. E. (1995). Bootstraps taxometrics: Solving the classification problem in psychopathology. American Psychologist, 50, 266–275.
Milligan, G. W., & Cooper, M. C. (1987). Methodology review: Clustering methods. Applied Psychological Measurement, 11, 329–354.
Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (1992). Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). Circle Pines, MN: AGS.
Sandoval, J., & Echandia, A. (1994). Behavior Assessment System for Children. Journal of School Psychology, 32, 419–425.
Speece, D. L. (1994). Cluster analysis in perspective. Exceptionality, 5, 31–44.
Spivak, G., Swift, M., & Prewitt, J. (1972). Syndromes of disturbed classroom behavior: A behavioral diagnostic system for elementary schools. The Journal of Special Education, 5, 269–292.
Thompson, R. J., Kronenberger, W., & Curry, J. F. (1989). Behavior classification system for children with developmental, psychiatric, and chronic medical problems. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 14, 559–575.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kamphaus, R.W., Huberty, C.J., DiStefano, C. et al. A Typology of Teacher-Rated Child Behavior for a National U.S. Sample. J Abnorm Child Psychol 25, 453–463 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022681630818
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022681630818