Social-emotional characteristics of preschool-aged children referred for Child Find screening and assessment: a...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Early identification of social-emotional behavior is crucial for young children.
• Child Find screening and assessment services aim to identify developmental delays and disabilities.
• Parental ratings are a key component in assessing preschool-aged children's behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine differences in parent-reported social-emotional behavior between children referred for Child Find and nonreferred children.
• To evaluate the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS) as a tool for differentiating these groups.
• To provide validity evidence for the PKBS in the context of early intervention services.

Main Methods:

• A matched-group design comparing 64 preschool children referred for Child Find (CF group) with 64 nonreferred children (Comparison group).
• Parental ratings using the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS) to assess social skills and problem behaviors.
• Randomized block procedure used for matching groups by gender and age.

Main Results:

• The PKBS accurately classified children into their respective groups.
• Children in the CF group demonstrated significantly greater social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses compared to the Comparison group.
• Referred children were approximately four times more likely to have social deficits and six times more likely to have problem behavior excesses.

Conclusions:

• Parental ratings on the PKBS effectively differentiate children referred for Child Find services from their nonreferred peers.
• Children undergoing Child Find screening exhibit notable social-emotional behavioral differences, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
• The study provides new validity evidence for the PKBS and suggests implications for clinical practice within the Child Find population.