A reliability study of the Spanish version of the Social Behaviour Schedule (SBS) in a population of adults with learning disabilities

The reliability of the Spanish version of the Social Behaviour Schedule (SB S) was tested in a vocational setting on a sample of 64 subjects with learn ing disabilities. Test-retest assessment showed a good percentage of agreem ent (80%) and adequate kappa values for most SBS items. The overall percent age of agreement of inter-rater reliability was 85% and kappa values were m oderate to nearly perfect for 52% of items. Inter-informant analyses produc ed poorer results, with an average agreement of 43% and inadequate kappa va lues on 42% of items. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.64 for test-retest, 0.76 for inter-rater assessment and 0.94 for inter-inform ant assessment The Spearman correlation coefficient was adequate on the tes t-retest and inter-rater analyses, but not on inter-informant analysis. Thi s low inter-informant agreement could be attributed to environmental factor s which alter the reliability of reports from different informants in commu nity settings with high levels of normalization. In such environments, an i nterview with a key informant may not suffice, and both a careful review of the clinical record and a direct interview with subjects may enhance the r eliability of the information attained.