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The Behavior Assessment System for Children – Second Edition (BASC-3) is a comprehensive multifaceted assessment of behaviors and internal perceptions of individuals aged 2 through 25 years. The system assists professionals with clinical differential diagnosis, educational classification, and planning of treatment services for individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders. The BASC-3 is comprised of rating scales and forms which include a Self-Report of Personality (SRP) scale, Parent Rating Scales (PRS), Teacher Rating Scales (TRS), a Structured Developmental History (SDH) form, and a Student Observation System (SOS) form. The rating scales are organized by rater type and specific age group and include a broad range of behavioral and emotional composites and scales which measure both positive (adaptive) and negative (clinical) aspects of behavior. When interpreting results raw scores are converted to T scores with corresponding percentiles.
-Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, Randy W. Kamphaus, PhD
The MMPI-2 and MMPI-A may be administered to an adolescent between 14 and 18 or an adult 18 and above to assess emotional profiles and personality characteristics providing insights into an individual’s level of emotional distress. This measure can play a role in making a diagnostic decision as to whether an individual experiences a mood or anxiety disorder. The MMPI does not provide data related to normal populations but items were rather gathered from psychiatric populations in comparison with “normals.”
-Carolyn Williams
The RCMAS-2 is a self-report rating scale used to measure specific types of anxiety and associated severity in children ages 6 to 19 years. The RCMAS-2 is straightforward and can be completed quickly requiring only 10 to 15 minutes to complete. There are 49 items divided across six total scales. A Total Anxiety Scale with 40 items is part of the Anxiety Scale. There are three anxiety scales; Physiological Anxiety, Worry, and Social Anxiety which each have 12, 16, and 12 items respectively. The RCMAS-2 converts total raw scores from each of the six scales to respective T scores and corresponding percentiles. Each score can be plotted for three distinct age groups; 6 to 8, 9 to 14, and 15 to 19.
-Cecil R. Reynolds, Ph.D., Bert O. Richmond, Ed.D.
The Roberts-2 is an assessment of social cognition via expressive language used with children and adolescents with social and emotional adjustment difficulties. The test is used as a supplement with other measures and evaluates two primary functions: developmental differences and differences in performance between groups. An age range of 6 to 18 years is appropriate for administration. The Roberts-2 is comprised of 16 card pictures each illustrating various social situations that are used by the examinee to tell a complete story. Scoring guidelines are used for each story with scales that probe different aspects of social cognition. The cards are used to assess both developmental changes as social experience increases and problems in these categories determined by unusual content. 28 scales are organized into seven scale categories for interpretation and include: Theme Overview, Available Resources, Problem Identification, Resolution, Emotion, Outcome, and Unusual or Atypical Responses. Raw scores from these scales are converted to T scores which are used to decide if an area is of clinical significance or concern.
-Glen E. Roberts, PhD
This assessment tool measures adaptive behaviors from birth to 90 years of age. It is administered as a survey interview forms which can be provided to the individual, parents or caregivers, and teachers. Information on the individual’s communication, socialization, daily living skills, and motor skills are all provided as well. Psychologists use the Vineland to determine individuals’ practical, everyday skills needed to function in the world and how they compare to individuals of similar age. Overall the VABS-II contains 11 sub-domains which are grouped into the four broad domains above. Numerous scores are utilized and include raw scores, standard scores, stanines, v-scale scores, adaptive levels, age equivalents, and percentiles. Each sub-domain uses a v-scale score which are summed to yield respective composite scores.
-Sara S. Sparrow, PhD, Domenic V. Cicchetti, PhD, David A. Balla