Mental health screening in kindergarten youth: a multistudy examination of the concurrent and diagnostic validity of the Impairment Rating Scale.

Abstract

Using a multistudy approach, we examined the utility of the Impairment Rating Scale (IRS; Fabiano et al., 2006) as a screening tool for detecting kindergarten children who are at risk for social, emotional, academic, and behavioral problems. In Study 1 (N = 568), we evaluated the concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and diagnostic efficiency of the parent and teacher IRS test score inferences in relation to scores from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). In Study 2 (N = 242), we addressed limitations in Study 1 and evaluated the concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and diagnostic efficiency of the parent and teacher IRS test score inferences in relation to scores from BASC-2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007), quarterly grades, kindergarten reading competency tests, and daily behavior outcomes on a classwide discipline system. Results indicate moderate to strong concurrent and diagnostic validity utility for the teacher IRS test score inferences and low to moderate concurrent and diagnostic validity utility for the parent IRS test score inferences. IRS scores of 3 or 4 may represent appropriate cutpoints for determining risk status in kindergarten youth depending on school districts' intended use of the tool for screening. Implications for future research and practice in universal school-based screening are discussed.