Reliability of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills in Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER)

Recently, the concepts of social competence and social skills have become important aspects of the evolving definitions of mental retardation. However, no psychometrically sound instruments exist for assessing social skills in lower functioning developmentally disabled people. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER)--a new scale designed to measure social skills in adults with severe developmental disabilities. The authors conducted a preliminary evaluation of the test-retest and interrater reliability of the MESSIER. It was determined that the MESSIER has high stability across raters and good stability over time. In addition, good internal consistency was established with coefficient alpha. Potential uses for the scale and directions for future research are discussed.