Development of the teacher rating scale of interpersonal problem solving in adolescents

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the teacher rating scale of interpersonal problem solving ability. It is a teacher report measure of an adolescent’s problem solving ability. The 40-item measure was structured into five subscales: Interpersonal problem behavior; Negative problem solving behavior; Rational problem solving behavior; Impulsive behavior; and Avoidance behavior. The scale was administered to a preliminary high school student sample that consists of 133 students with disruptive behaviorss. The pilot sample of 133 adolescents who were in the age range from15 to 18, with interpersonal difficulties or disruptive behaviors, was used to establish the psychometric properties of the instrument. The reliability of the scale was reported by calculating internal consistency. The construct validity of the scale was investigated by analyzing the inter-subscale correlations. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the expected correlated five-factor model of scale. The results suggest that the scale has acceptable internal consistency and construct validity.