AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELIABILITY AND STABILITY OF THE MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT SCALE IN ASSESSING THE CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS OF PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL-DISABILITIES

One assessment instrument that was developed to evaluate the motivatio nal factors that may instigate or maintain challenging behaviors in pe rsons with developmental disabilities is the Motivation Assessment Sca le (MAS) (Durand & Crimmins, 1992). Although the MAS is increasingly b eing used in applied settings, questions remain concerning its reliabi lity and validity (Crawford, Brockel, Schauss, & Miltenberger, 1992). The purpose of this research study was to further assess the intra-rat er and inter-rater agreement of the MAS and expand the results of prev ious research by evaluating this across additional time and administra tions. A total of 20 persons with mental retardation and 19 raters par ticipated in the study. The results indicated variable moderate-low in tra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Conclusions and the need for fu ture research are discussed.