A preliminary investigation of the psychometric properties of the Integrated Teacher Rating Form (ITRF) in Greek school children

Abstract

ABSTRACT Given the dearth of technically adequate universal screening tools in the Greek language, the current study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a 67-item universal screener (i.e. Integrated Teacher Rating Form; ITRF), that was originally developed in American English and then translated and implemented in Greek primary schools. The ITRF, which was designed to identify students at risk and facilitate the planning of interventions targeting classroom behaviors that interfere with academic and social functioning, incorporates four constructs (i.e. Disorganized/Academic Performance Problems, Disruptive behavior, Anxious/Depressed behavior, Socially Withdrawn behavior). To test the classification accuracy of the ITRF, a multi-gated screening procedure was followed, consisting of a brief 4-item screening measure that Greek teachers completed for all students in classroom, followed by completion of the ITRF for those students whose first-gate ratings indicated concern. Results suggested that teachers reported the highest level of concern for students’ academic performance problems, followed by oppositional/disruptive behaviors, socially withdrawn behaviors, and anxious/depressed behaviors. Classification accuracy was found to be excellent for the Disorganized/Academic Productivity Problems Gate 1 measure, good for the Disruptive/Oppositional measure, fair for the Socially Withdrawn measure and poor for the Anxious/Depressed measure.