THE NISONGER CBRF - A CHILD-BEHAVIOR RATING FORM FOR CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL-DISABILITIES

Although the rate of behavior and emotional problems of children with mental retardation is considerably higher than the rate among typicall y developing children, there is a shortage of tools for assessing pers ons with mental retardation. The Child Behavior Rating Form (CBRF) was modified by altering instructions and adding new items describing beh avior problems known to occur in children with mental retardation. The adapted scale was named the Nisonger CBRF. Three hundred sixty-nine c hildren being assessed at a University Affiliated Program for MR/DD we re rated on the CBRF by their parents and teachers. Independent factor analyses of parent and teacher ratings produced two Social Competence subscales and sir Problem Behavior subscales. These results were larg ely consistent across rater types and similar to prior findings with t he CBRF. Internal consistency was generally high, parent-teacher agree ment was satisfactory, and subscales from the Nisonger CBRF correlated highly with analogous subscales from the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. The Nisonger CBRF appears to be a promising new tool for assessing be havioral and emotional problems in children with mental retardation; h owever; further psychometric work is warranted.