ERIC Number: EJ896530
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Sep
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-5084
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Screening Young Children's Risk for Mental Health Problems: A Review of Four Measures
Feeney-Kettler, Kelly A.; Kratochwill, Thomas R.; Kaiser, Ann P.; Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Kettler, Ryan J.
Assessment for Effective Intervention, v35 n4 p218-230 Sep 2010
Accurate identification of young children at risk for mental health problems is a key step in establishing early childhood preventive intervention programs. Without psychometrically valid identification procedures, children in need of early intervention may not be identified and may not receive appropriate care. This article provides a review of universal screening measures to help teachers, school psychologists, and other mental health professionals make informed decisions about selecting tools to assist in identifying preschool-age children at risk for mental health problems. A review of the literature on broadband measures designed to screen the social and emotional functioning of children age 3 to 5 years old yielded three published measures that met predetermined inclusionary criteria. An additional unpublished measure was also included. Selected measures were reviewed according to the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing". Special attention was given to predictive validity indices, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. The results of the review provided information on the measures that were most psychometrically sound and cost-effective for screening young children for mental health problems. Recommendations are made for routine screening, so young children can be referred for prevention programming before their problems worsen and negatively affect their development. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Early Intervention, School Psychologists, Mental Health Workers, Psychological Testing, Mental Health, Predictive Validity, Disability Identification, Young Children, Screening Tests, At Risk Persons, Mental Disorders, Child Health, Social Development, Emotional Development, Test Validity, Psychometrics, Behavior Problems, Evaluation Methods, Literature Reviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A