Behavioural assessment of childhood phobias: A multi-method approach

Abstract

As noted by Ollendick and Hersen (1984, 19931, child and adolescent behavioural assessment is defined as a hypothesis-testing process in which a range of specific procedures are used to understand a given child or social ecology and to formulate and evaluate specific intervention strategies. Furthermore, child behavioural assessment is multi-method in its approach, empirically based and developmentally sensitive. We argue that these precepts should be observed in the assessment of childhood phobias. Consistent with the notion of multi-method assessment, this paper examines a variety of assessment strategies used with phobic children, including the behavioural interview, diagnostic interview, self-report inventories, caregiver completed instruments, behavioural observations, self-monitoring and physiological assessment. Varying degrees of developmental sensitivity, reliability and validity are found. Nonetheless, we conclude that significant advances have been made in the behavioural assessment of childhood phobias.