Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Open-Source Challenging Behavior Scale (OS-CBS)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Existing informant-report measures for challenging behaviors in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disabilities (DD) are often not brief or freely available.
• There is a need for accessible, reliable tools to assess challenging behaviors in these populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate the Open-Source Challenging Behavior Scale (OS-CBS), a new, brief, informant-report measure.
• To provide a freely-available instrument for assessing challenging behaviors in youth with ASD and DD.

Main Methods:

• Development and refinement of an 18-item scale, the OS-CBS.
• Psychometric evaluation using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) in a large sample (n=2004, including 169 with ASD, ages 2-17).
• Assessment of scale reliability, measurement invariance, and construct validity.

Main Results:

• ESEM revealed a clear five-factor structure (property destruction, aggression, elopement, conduct problems, self-injury) and a general factor.
• The OS-CBS demonstrated good scale reliability (subscales α=.66–.83, total scale α=.91).
• The scale showed measurement invariance across demographics and good construct validity.

Conclusions:

• The Open-Source Challenging Behavior Scale (OS-CBS) is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The OS-CBS is suitable for screening and monitoring intervention progress in youth with ASD and DD.
• This freely-available scale addresses a critical gap in assessment tools for challenging behaviors.