Psychometric Testing of Behavior Assessment for Children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Psychometric Evaluation

Background:

• Behavioral problems in school-aged children require accurate assessment tools.
• The Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC) was developed to evaluate behavioral issues.
• Validation in diverse cultural contexts is crucial for standardized assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC).
• To assess the BAC's suitability for use with school-aged children in Taiwan.

Main Methods:

• A school-based sample of 248 parents and 15 teachers of third and fourth graders in Taichung City, Taiwan, participated.
• The study administered the Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).
• Psychometric properties including content validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The BAC demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including a content validity index of 0.98.
• Confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of the BAC's three subscales: attention, emotion, and self-control.
• The BAC showed significant concurrent validity with the CBCL, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from .78 to .92.

Conclusions:

• The Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC) is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The BAC is reliable and valid for assessing behavioral problems in school-aged children in Taiwan.