Screening for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems at Kindergarten Entry: Utility and Incremental Validity of Parent Report

Abstract

.The current study examined the utility and incremental validity of parent ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Disruptive Behavior Disorders rating scale completed at kindergarten registration in identifying risk status as defined by important criterion variables (teacher ratings, daily behavioral performance, and quarterly grades). The participants were 252 kindergarten students from one school district. Receiver operating characteristic analyses and area-under-the-curve values indicated that most subscales had low to moderate utility in identifying children showing at-risk academic performance and social, emotional, and behavioral problems. However, forward linear regression analyses indicated that parent ratings provided incremental validity relative to the academic screening tool used by the school district, accounting for an additional 3.69% to 22.37% of the variance in kindergarten outcomes. Implications for the use of parent ratings in universal screening for social, emotional, and behavioral problems at kindergarten entry are discussed.