Abstract
Information from multiple sources is recommended when assessing students’ emotions and behaviors. Relatively few studies about cross informant agreement of behavioral and emotional strengths exist, especially for students with special education needs. The purpose of this study was to extend the cross informant agreement research of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-2) with a sample of Finnish parents, teachers and students. First, we studied the cross informant agreement of students’ behavioral and emotional strengths between informants. Second, we explored the agreement separately for students with and without special education needs. Finally, we studied the convergent and divergent (discriminant) correlations of the Finnish BERS-2. The results show that the cross informant agreement of students’ behavioral and emotional strengths were small to large with correlation coefficients ranging from .11 to .58 between different informants. The cross informant correlations, however, were higher in magnitude for students who receive special education support (r = .29 to .78) than for those students who do not receive support (r = −.02 to .45). Mean convergent correlations were higher than mean divergent correlations. The results suggest that the Finnish BERS-2 is a reliable measure in assessing student strengths across informants. The limitations, future research directions, and implications are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M., McConaughty, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213–232.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2007). Multicultural understanding of child and adolescent psychopathology. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (1999). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Benner, G., Beaudoin, K., Mooney, P., Uhing, B., & Pierce, C. (2008). Convergent validity with the BERS-2 teacher rating scale and the Achenbach teacher’s report form: A replication and extension. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17(3), 427–436.
Buckley, J. A., Ryser, G., Reid, R., & Epstein, M. H. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis of the behavioral and emotional rating scale–2 (BERS-2) parent and youth rating scales. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(1), 27–37.
Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2), 81–105.
Collishaw, S., Goodman, R., Ford, T., Rabe-Hesketh, S., & Pickles, A. (2009). How far are associations between child, family and community factors and child psychopathology informant-specific and informant-general? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(5), 571–580.
Epstein, M. H. (2004). Behavioral and emotional rating scale: A strength-based approach to assessment (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-Ed.
Epstein, M. H., & Sharma, J. (1998). Behavioral and emotional rating scale: A strength-based approach to assessment. Austin, TX: PRO-Ed.
Finnish Law 642/ (2010). Retrieved from http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2010/20100642.
Finnish Ministry of Education. (2007). Special education strategy (report no. 47). Helsinki, Finland: Erityisopetuksen kehittämisen ohjausryhmä.
Finnish National Board of Education. (2010). Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteiden muutokset ja täydennykset (amendments and additions to the national core curriculum for basic education; DNRO 50/011/2010). Helsinki, Finland: Finnish National Board of Education.
Friedman, K. A., Leone, P. E., & Friedman, P. (1999). Strengths-based assessment of children with SED: Consistency of reporting by teachers and parents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 8(2), 169–180.
Geisinger, K. F. (1994). Cross-cultural normative assessment: Translation and adaptation issues influencing the normative interpretation of assessment instruments. Psychological Assessment, 6, 304–312.
Gresham, F. M., Elliott, S. N., Cook, C. R., Vance, M. J., & Kettler, R. (2010). Cross-informant agreement for ratings for social skill and problem behavior ratings: An investigation of the social skills improvement system-rating scales. Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 157–166.
Halinen, I., & Järvinen, R. (2008). Towards inclusive education: The case of Finland. Prospects, 38(1), 77–97.
Hopkins, W. G. (2006). A scale of magnitudes for effect statistics. Retrieved from http://www.sportsci.org/resource/stats/effectmag.html.
Itkonen, T., & Jahnukainen, M. (2010). Disability or learning difficulty? Politicians or educators? Constructing special education in Finland and the United States. Comparative Sociology, 9(2), 182–201.
Lappalainen, K., Savolainen, H., Kuorelahti, M., & Epstein, M. H. (2009). An international assessment of the emotional and behavioral strengths of youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(6), 746–753.
Merrell, K. W. (2000). Informant reports: Theory and research in using child behavior rating scales in school settings. In E. S. Shapiro & T. R. Kratochwill (Eds.), Behavioral assessment in schools (2nd ed., pp. 233–256). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Obel, C., Heiervang, E., Rodriguez, A., Heyerdahl, S., Smedje, H., Sourander, A., et al. (2004). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire in the Nordic countries. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13, ii32–ii39.
OECD. (2009). PISA 2009 results: What students know and can do. Student performance in reading, mathematics and science. Retrieved from www.oecd.org/edu/pisa/2009.
Richardson, G. A., & Day, N. L. (2000). Epidemiologic considerations. In M. Hersen & R. T. Ammerman (Eds.), Advanced abnormal child psychology (2nd ed., pp. 33–45). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rothenberger, A., & Woerner, W. (2004). Editorial: Strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ)—Evaluations and applications. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13, ii1–ii2.
Savolainen, H. (2009). Responding to diversity and striving for excellence: The case of Finland. Prospects, 39(3), 281–292.
Sointu, E. T., Savolainen, H., Lappalainen, K., & Epstein, M. H. (forthcoming). Cross informant agreement of behavioral and emotional strengths between Finnish students and teachers. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.
Synhorst, L. L., Buckley, J. A., Reid, R., Epstein, M. H., & Ryser, G. (2005). Cross informant agreement of the behavioral and emotional rating scale-2nd edition (BERS-2) parent and youth rating scales. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 27(3), 1–11.
Uhing, B. M., Mooney, P., & Ryser, G. R. (2005). Differences in strength scores for youth with ED across the youth rating scales of the assessment and without and parent BERS-2. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 13(3), 181–187.
Watkins, A. (Ed.). (2007). Assessment in inclusive settings: Key issues for policy and practice. Odense, Denmark: European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education.
Wilson, M. S., & Reschly, D. J. (1996). Assessment in school psychology training and practice. School Psychology Review, 25(1), 9.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in grant from The Finnish National Board of Education.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sointu, E.T., Savolainen, H., Lappalainen, K. et al. Parent, Teacher and Student Cross Informant Agreement of Behavioral and Emotional Strengths: Students With and Without Special Education Support. J Child Fam Stud 21, 682–690 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9520-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9520-x