Reliability of the social skills rating system with rural Appalachian children from families with low incomes

Reliability of scores on the parent and teacher forms of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) was examined with a sample of rural Appalachian, low-i ncome, K-2 students. Coefficients of internal consistency coefficients of s tability for parents, and cross-informant coefficients were calculated. Int ernal consistency coefficients based on SSRS Total Score ranged from .86 to .90 for parents' ratings and from .94 to .98 for teachers' ratings. Parent and teacher ratings on the Behavior problems supplementary scale averaged .87 and .92, respectively, and teacher ratings of Academic Competence had a median coefficient of .98. Long-term stability coefficients ranged from .3 2 to .72 for parent ratings. Cross-informant correlations on ratings by suc cessive teachers ranged from .43 to .57, whereas parent-teacher coefficient s ranged from .06 to .25.