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INTERNALIZING/EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
STUDY OF EARLY CHILD CARE AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Measure: Internalizing and Externalizing
Background
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECC-YD) also used the Social Skills Ratings Scale (SSRS, Gresham & Elliot, 1990) to assess internalizing and externalizing behavior and included a composite scale for total behavior problems.
The NICHD SECC was initiated by and is funded by NICHD and is directed by a Steering Committee and Advisory Board. The research team is comprised of researchers from a wide variety of child development and policy disciplines and represents over 24 institutions in the U.S. and London.
Population Assessed
The NICHD SECC-YD is not a nationally representative sample. Participants were recruited shortly after the birth of a child, in 10 sites across the United States. Within selected 24-hour periods, all women who had given birth in specific hospitals were screened for willingness to participate and eligibility. The conditional sampling plan for inclusion was based on the creation of a sample where 60 percent of mothers planned to work or go to school full-time in the child’s first year, 20 percent planned to go part-time in the child’s first year of life, and 20 percent planned to stay at home with their child. Families were also selected to reflect demographic diversity of the sites (e.g., economic, educational, and ethnic), and both single- and two-parent families were included. Families in which mothers were less than 18 years of age, planned on leaving the study site within 3 years, or were not conversant in English were excluded from the study. Families with children who were born with obvious physical or mental disabilities or who remained at the hospital for more than 7 days were also excluded from the study.
Of the original 8,986 women who were first approached in the hospitals at the time of their respective child’s birth, 5,416 met the criteria and agreed to be contacted 2 weeks later, as well as met eligibility requirements (see above). From this number, 3,015 women were “conditionally, randomly” sampled to meet proposed sample specifications (see above), and 1,526 met eligibility requirements and agreed to participate. When contacted, 1,364 mothers participated in the first round of data collection (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1996, 1997, 2003a). The original sample was diverse, including 24 percent minority children. Similarly, maternal characteristics showed some variability, with 11 percent of mothers not completing high school, and 14 percent of the sample being composed of single mothers. On average, families showed incomes of 3.24 times the poverty rate (i.e., 1.0 being poverty). Because the NICHD SECC-YD is an ongoing, longitudinal study, some attrition was expected. From the original sample of 1,364 when the child was 1 month old, the most recent NICHD SECC publication reports that 1,058 (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2003a) families were still involved in the study once the children had reached kindergarten. The most current available sample data (children in kindergarten) significantly differed from the sample at the study’s inception when children were 1 month of age. Mothers remaining in the sample when the children reached kindergarten were found to be more educated, more likely to have a husband, and less likely to be Black, non-Hispanic than those in the original sample. The remaining sample also showed a higher income-to-needs ratio
Periodicity
The SSRS was given to both mothers and fathers when the child was 54 months of age (1996) and again to both during the child’s first-grade year. It was administered to only mothers during the child’s kindergarten year. Only teachers rated children during the kindergarten years, and teachers and after-school caregivers both made ratings during the child’s first-grade year. SSRS Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problem Behavior scores were assessed for only the mother- and father-rated versions of the SSRS at 54 months (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2003d) because the CBCL was intended to be the main measure of problem behavior and kept to ensure an identical measure over time. Thus, only the positive behavior scales of the SSRS were calculated for the remaining assessment points.
Subscales/Components
Both age versions of the SSRS tap various constructs, including (in addition to the measures of Internalizing, Externalizing and Total Behavior Problems) measures of Cooperation, Assertiveness, Self-Control, and Responsibility. Only the Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Behavior Problems are addressed here as relevant to this section.
The following lists the SSRS item numbers used to create the Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Behavior problems scales in the NICHD SECC-YD 3:
Parent Version (mother and father)
Internalizing: Sum of the following items—44, 45, 48, 49
Externalizing: Sum of the following items—40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47 Total Behavior Problems: Sum of the following items—40 through 49
Caregiver/Teacher Version
Internalizing: Sum of the following items—44, 45, 48, 49
Externalizing: Sum of the following items—40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47 Total Behavior Problems: Sum of the following items—40 through 49
Procedures for Administration
SSRS questionnaires were given to mothers, fathers, caregivers, and teachers, with the
venue for collection varying by data collection period and respondent (see periodicity section). The
time needed to assess children using the SSRS in the NICHD SECC-YD data collection was not
stated in available documents, but the SSRS manual estimates 15 to 25 minutes to administer the
full instrument for these ages.
Psychometrics/Data Quality
SSRS reliability data based on the NICHD sample are reported below.
Reliability
Internal reliabilities for relevant SSRS (based on the NICHD SECC-YD sample) are as follows:
Mother Reported Scales
Internalizing: Cronbach’s alpha = .56
Externalizing: Cronbach’s alpha = .69
Total Behavior Problems: Cronbach’s alpha = .69
Father Reported Scales
Internalizing: Cronbach’s alpha = .55
Externalizing: Cronbach’s alpha = .69
Total Behavior Problems: Cronbach’s alpha = .71
Validity
The SSRS is a reportedly highly valid measure of social skills and problem behavior.
Detailed convergent and discriminant validity information is reported by the SSRS Manual
(Gresham & Elliot, 1990), and the SSRS has been found to effectively discriminate children with
social problems from those without. Validity information based on the NICHD sample is not
available.
Missing Data and Variability of Data
Study level data is restricted and not available.
Languages Available
The SSRS is only available in English.
Items Included
Depending upon the respondent and the age of the child, the SSRS questionnaire consists of between 40 and 57 items in which the respondent answers questions regarding various aspects of the child’s behavior. For the problem behavior scales (i.e., Internalizing, Externalizing, Total Behavior Problems), respondents are asked to note “How Often” child does the behavior (i.e., “never,” “sometimes,” “often”). For other SSRS scales (not problem behavior), respondents are also asked how important that behavior is for the child’s development (i.e., not important, important, critical). At 54 months of age, mothers were given the SSRS questionnaire in the NICHD SECC laboratory. Fathers responded in the home.
Item numbers included within the SSRS constructs are provided above, under the
Subscales/Components section. Because of copyright issues, actual items need to be sought from the manual or publisher (Gresham & Elliot, 1990).
References and Source Documents
Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment. (2003). Cross-Cultural Applications of ASEBA. ASEBA. Retrieved July, 31, 2003, from http://www.aseba.org/ABOUTUS/cross_cultural.html
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000a). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000b). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Bridges, L. J., Berry, D. J., Calkins, J., Zaslow, M. J., Margie, N. G., Cochran, S. W., & Ling, T. J. (2003). Early Childhood Measures Profiles. In M. J. Zaslow (Ed.), Early Childhood Measures Profiles. Washington, DC: Child Trends.
Gresham, F. M., & Elliot, S. N. (1990). The Social Skills Rating System. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Systems.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1996). Characteristics of Infant Child Care: Factors Contributing to Positive Care Giving. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 11, 269–306.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1997). Familial factors associated with characteristics of non-maternal care for infants. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 389–408.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003a). Does amount of time in child care predict socio-emotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten? Child Development, 74, 976–1005.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003b). NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Research Triangle Institute. Retrieved August, 8, 2003, from http://secc.rti.org/summary.cfm
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003c). NICHD Study of Early Child Care: Phase I Instrument Document. Research Triangle Institute. Retrieved August, 7, 2003, from http://secc.rti.org/instdoc.doc
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003d). NICHD Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development: Phase II Instrument Document. Research Triangle Institute. Retrieved 7/31, 2003, from http://secc.rti.org/Phase2InstrumentDoc.pdf
http://secc.rti.org
3 For copyright issues, only item numbers are provided. Further information about item content is available from Gresham and Elliot (1990). (back)
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