Adaptive Behavior Inventory For Children Research Articles

The relationship between adaptive behavior and intelligence for special needs students

This study employed the technique of factor analysis to study the relationship between social system adaptive behavior, as measured by the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children, and intelligence, as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, in a sample of 100 special needs students, ages 6–11. The results clearly supported the existence of two distinct factors among the WISC-R and ABIC subscales, with each factor composed primarily of either intelligence or adaptive behavior subscales. Thus, the data supported the discriminant validity of the two measures. Implications for the evaluation of special needs students are discussed.

Children's Adaptive Behaviors: Measure and Source Generalizability

This study examined the in- and out-of-school adaptive behavior of 154 randomly selected Black, Hispanic and White 7-year-old children. Six mea sures of adaptive behavior were used, two ad ministered to each of three sources of information (parents, teachers, and children themselves)— Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children; Mer cer's Teacher Questionnaire; Children's Adaptive Behavior Scale; and Behavior Rating Profile- Parent, Teacher, and Child. Overall, there was a consistent pattern of within-source correlations among adaptive behavior ratings higher than between-source correlations for the parent and teacher measures. That pattern was particularly clear for the minority samples, an indication of the relative independence of children's adaptive be haviors in home and school settings and the need to obtain information from both sources. The two children's measures were not correlated with each other and were not related strongly to other measures of adaptive behavior from other informa tion sources. Examination of intercorrelations among adaptive behavior measures and between adaptive behavior and indices of ability and school achievement provided some evidence of domains that were being addressed by these measures, with indications of both convergent and divergent validity for the various measures. Finally, multivariate analyses resulted in gender and ethnic group differences, and examination of correlation matrices for each ethnic group suggested possible differential meaning of adaptive behavior scores for the three groups.

The Relationship Between Learning Deficits and Social Adaptation in Children with Leukemia

The purpose of the study described was to assess patterns of sociallv adaotive behavior s~ecific to leukemic children who received cranih irradiation as part bf their treatment and to distinguish these patterns from those of nonirradiated leukemia patients. The subjects were 45 children (mean age, 8 years) -31 were treated with cranial irradiation, and 14 were not. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Wide Range Achievement Test were administered to the children. Parents supplied the child's developmental history and completed the Deasy-Spinetta Behavioral Questionnaire (DSBQ) and the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children. Information was obtained from the children's teachers via interviews and the DSBQ. The findings indicated that, as a group, the children treated with cranial irradiation seemed to be at higher risk for subsequent behavioral problems than were nonirradiated children. Also, there was a clear relationship between the lower academic achievement scores of these children and their apparent learning and information-processing deficits, on the one hand, and their social and adaptive difficulties on the other.

Identification of mental retardation by the system of multicultural pluralistic assessment: Nondiscriminatory or nonexistent?

The effects of applying the dual-criterion classification system for mental retardation in connection with the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) were investigated by using the SOMPA standardization sample as subjects. Average scaled scores on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) were paired (a) with Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised or (b) with the SOMPA-derived Estimated Learning Potential (ELP). The children performing below the third percentile on either combination of measures were thus classified as “mentally retarded.” By the FSIQ and ELP procedures, 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, of the children were so classified; the overwhelming majority of the children were of minority background. The implications for the diagnostic category of mild mental retardation and the further use of the SOMPA are discussed.

Dimensional Structure of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC): Analyses and Implications

The Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) was intended to be a multidimensional measure of children's adaptive behavior. Using the original ABIC standardization data, a variety of statistical analyses portray the ABIC as a unidimensional index of overall adaptive function ing. Implications of this portrayal are presented for the measurement and classification of adaptive behavior.

Relation between parent-rated adaptive behavior and school ratings of students referred for evaluation as educable mentally retarded.

This study investigated the relation among parents' perceptions of the adaptive behavior of students considered for placement in a class for educable mentally retarded, the self-ratings of those students, and ratings of those students by their teachers. Parents' ratings were gathered using the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children. Students' self-ratings and teachers' ratings were collected using the Behavior Rating Profile. Moderate association was found between parents' adaptive behavior ratings and the students' self-ratings of peer relationships. Significant but relatively low association was found between parents' adaptive behavior ratings and teachers' ratings. Implications of the findings for psychologists and special educators are mentioned.

Adaptive Behavior: Concurrent Validity

The concurrent validity of adaptive behavior was investigated for educable mentally retarded (EMR) and slow learners (SL). Fifty-seven EMR (N = 36) and SL ( N = 21) children completed the Children's Adaptive Behavior Scale (CABS) while teachers and parents completed the Adaptive Behavior Scale-School Edition (ABS-SE) and the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC). Moderate correlations were found between the ABIC and CABS when total mean scores were compared to the Comparison Score on ABS-SE. Part 1 of the ABS-SE tends to have higher and more consistent correlations (convergent validity) with the ABIC and CABS than does Part 2 of the ABS-SE (discriminant validity). The CABS and ABIG were found to be closely related. Implications of the findings in terms of assessment are discussed.

An Empirical Investigation of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children

The Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children was individually administered to the parents of 660 children of various ethnic groups from both urban and rural areas. In addition, the other measures of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment were also administered. Criterion-related validity coefficients were determined and the performance of children of different ethnic status and community type was explored. Low to moderate validity coefficients were found. No significant differences were found as a function of ethnic status although urban children scored significantly higher on all of the areas. Implications of these results regarding cautions and directions for research were discussed.

Evaluating subscale performance on the adaptive behavior inventory for children

Statistics are presented to allow ipsative interpretation of the scaled scores for the six subscales of individual children on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children. Included are the standard error of the difference between each part score and the mean of all scores and values required for statistical significance at the traditional significance levels of .05 and .01, with the Bonferroni adjustment for the number of comparisons included. The ready availability of this information should enhance application of the ABIC in clinical practice and facilitate research on its efficacy for educational planning and placement of children in various regular and special education programs.

IQ, SES, adaptive behavior, and performance on a learning potential measure

IQ, SES, and Adaptive Behavior (AB) were examined in relation to performance on the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), and the effects of practice and training were explored. Subjects included 30 special class eMR students aged 7 to 11 years, and 30 non-eMR third graders. Pretest score was the best predictor of posttest performance in all treatment conditions. When pretest score was controlled for, IQ was highly predictive, with SES and AB contributing only negligibly. Training enhanced the performance of both EMRs and non-EMRs, although it was no more effective than practice and it could not compensate for initial differences between the two ability groups. Non-EMRs gained more from pre to posttest then EMRs in all conditions, including control. Some discrepancy was noted between the competencies assessed by the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and the Learning Potential Assessment procedure. Characteristics of the present EMR sample were discussed in relation to a possible current trend in the identification and placement of youngsters in EMR classes.

Adaptive behavior inventory for children: The need for local norms

This study investigates the need for local and/or separate racial-ethnic group norms on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC). A random sample of 420 children from the Corpus Christi (Texas) Independent School District, was stratified according to gender, age, racial-ethnic group (Black, Mexican-American, and Anglo), and low or middle socioeconomic status. The parent of each child was interviewed with the ABIC. Results indicated a need for local norms for only the low SES Mexican-Americans.

A comparison of parent and teacher reports of selected adaptive behaviors of children

Assessment of children's adaptive behavior has been recommended for full multidimensional and nondiscriminatory evaluations. Additionally, previous research has reported discrepancies between teacher and parent reports on adaptive behavior. The purpose of this study was to compare mother and teacher reports on two scales from the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children of the System of Multicultural and Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA). Black students from second through fourth grades (N = 24; 4 males and 4 females per grade) in an urban, parochial school were selected. The interviewers were two trained female graduate students (one white, one black). Each child's mother and teacher were interviewed in accordance with SOMPA assessment procedures. The results indicated that there was little agreement (.38 to .64) between mother and teacher reports. Additionally, mothers tended to provide higher ratings of adaptive behaviors than did teachers, irrespective of grade level. Implications of these findings for the assessment of children's adaptive behaviors are discussed.

Comparisons of the Psychometric characteristics of the adaptive behavior inventory for children for different subgroups of children

Psychometric characteristics of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) are analyzed through five statistical procedures (internal consistency, item difficulty, correlations of item-total correlations, concurrent validity, and construct validity) using data on 436 elementary age children from three racial-ethnic and two social class groups. Data from these five statistical procedures are reported for nine demographic characteristics: children's race, social class, sex, age, birth order, health, family size, family structure, and urban acculturation. Few systematic differences are apparent on internal consistency, correlation of item-total correlations, and construct validity. Some differences are apparent on item difficulty and concurrent validity. On item difficulty the ABIC scores are higher for middle-SES, older, first- or second-born children, and from families whose structures are more typical. Regarding concurrent validity, lower correlations are noted for Mexican American and Black, for more healthy, and for less acculturated children. ABIC-achievement correlations generally are too low to be of practical value. The results are interpreted in terms of possible test bias on the ABIC.

Relationship of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and Intelligence

An issue in the literature relative to the System of Multi-cultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) has been the independence of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) (1, 2. 4). The inventory is purported to measure a child's nonacademic behavior and ability to function in everyday life situations (3). Measured by a parental interview are the child's performance within the family, peer community, nonacademic school activities; activities for independent functioning and social performance from the perspeeive of the home. The WISC-R scores are evaluated in the SOMPA model as a measure of school functioning, i.e., school achievement, and not as an over-all aptirude. Oakland (4) reported a .28 correlation between the inventory and WISC-R Full Scale IQ which is higher than correlations reported by Mercer and Lewis (3). Oakland (4) indicated, . . the ABIC does not correlate highly with intelligence or (p. 65). Oakland's findings are consistent with the view of Mercer and Lewis that the inventory is conceptually independent of achievement and intelligence and that there is minimal redundancy among measures (3). The intent of the present investigation was to study the relationship of scores on the inventory and the WISC-R Full Scale. Twenty-two male and 15 female clients of a Developmental Evaluation Center were tested. There were 11 black and 26 white children; their ages ranged from 62 mo. to 137 mo.; M age = 91 mo. and SD = 24 mo. The WISC-R wa administered by the clinic's psychological staff and scores on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory were obtained through parental interviews by a trained case worker. A Pearson correlation computed for the group for the two measures was significant (r = .50, p < .05). Mean scores for the group for the WISC-R Full Scale and inventory were 83 (SD = 16.3) and 37.9 (SD = 12.9), respectively. The correlations for the six sub-scales of the Ada~tive Behavior Inventow and the WISC-R Full Scale were: family, .46; community, .41; peer relations, .43; nonacademic school roles, 33; earner/ consumer, .45; and self-maintenance, .53. Such data do not support the notion of little relationship between the Adaptive Behavior Inventory and WISC-R Full Scale. The possible utility of the SOMPA model requires careful and repeated documentation of the assumptions. The present research is exploratory and heuristic; generalizations to other samples should be cautious. The contrast of these results with those of Oakland (4) and Mercer and Lewis (3) and the increasing use of the model for assessment of children require further examination of the relation between the two measures.

Research on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and the Estimated Learning Potential

(1979). Research on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and the Estimated Learning Potential. School Psychology Review: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 63-70.