Few tools are available to comprehensively describe the unique social-emotional skill profiles of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study describes the usability, reliability, and validity of SELweb, a normed, web-based assessment designed to measure four core social-emotional domains, when used to measure these skills in a…

The authors consider mature make-believe play a critical component of childhood that helps children develop new skills and learn to communicate. They argue that, although theoretical accounts of play have emphasized the importance of make-believe play for children to achieve social and academic competence, the absence of a reliable and valid…

In recent years, the construct of character has received substantial attention among developmental scientists, but no consensus exists about the content and structure of character, especially among children and early adolescents. In a study of positive development among racially diverse Cub Scouts in the greater Philadelphia area, we assessed the…

The purpose of the present study was to examine psychometric properties of the Staff Behavior toward Clients questionnaire (SBC), a self-report measure for care staff working with children and adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities in residential care. Ninety-nine care staff completed the SBC and the Strengths and…

Referred children were rated as significantly less self-controlled on the self control rating scale (SCRS) than were matched nonreferred children. Significant differences were found on the SCRS, Matching Familiar Figures test latencies and behavioral observations. The SCRS appeared to be a reliable and valid index of self-control. (Author)

The construct validities of the Self Description Questionnaire I, the Perceived Social Competence Scale, and the Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perceptions of Control were assessed, using 508 seventh through ninth graders in Sydney (Australia). Factor analysis, multitrait-multimethod analyses, and patterns of correlations with additional…