2016 Gatlinburg Conference Poster
PS-11
Title: The Agreement between the Child Behavior Checklist and Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community in Assessing Challenging
Behaviors in Children with Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Katelyn Canepa, Nathan Noble, Maria Valdovinos
Introduction: Many indirect assessments and direct assessments have been used to measure challenging behaviors to inform
behavioral treatment (Medeiros, Rojahn, Moore, & van Ingen, 2014). In determining accuracy of indirect assessments for
measuring behavior, research has found low validity for behavior-rating scales to assess children due to social-emotional
instabilities in development (Myers, 2013). Despite this low validity, rating scales are still commonly used. Two examples include
The Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) and Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Both scales are broadband
assessments designed assess the severity of problem behavior (e.g., stereotypy, aggression, etc.), and also measuring treatment
effectiveness (Warnick, Bracken, & Kasl, 2008). Though there is no existing literature correlating these two assessments, Myers
(2013) suggests a comparison method based on named constructs (i.e., hyperactivity sub-scale on ABC-C would be equivalent to
attention problem sub-scale of CBCL). This current study involves a comparison of the ABC-C and CBCL measures of externalizing
behavior and these measures ability to predict responses to behavioral treatment informed from brief functional analyses (BFA)
outcomes.
Methods: Eight children between the ages of 2-12 years were referred for behavioral assessments. The ABC-C and CBCL were
completed by the children's caregivers before a direct assessment (BFA) of challenging behaviors (e.g., elopement, biting, hitting,
etc.) were conducted. Operationally-defined behaviors were recorded during conditions designed to mirror everyday scenarios in
which challenging behavior might be likely. Based on the occurrence of challenging behaviors, treatment conditions were
developed targeting conditions in which behaviors happened most often. The data from the CBCL's externalizing domains (i.e.,
attention and aggression problems), including DSM-oriented scales (i.e., Autism Spectrum, ADHD, Conduct & Oppositional
Defiance Problems) and all ABC-C sub-scales (i.e., Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypy, Hyperactivity and Inappropriate Speech) were
compared. Participants were categorized according to the degree of change experienced from the initial assessment conditions
in the BFA to the corresponding treatment conditions. Participants that experienced decreases in behavior of at least 50% or
more in treatment conditions were considered to be responders to treatment and those who experienced less than 50%
decreases in behavior were considered non-responders.
Results: All participants experienced some degree of behavior reduction in treatment conditions of the BFA. However, our
analyses showed that for those with a decrease of greater than 50% (four out of seven participants), there was high agreement
between the CBCL's externalizing domains with DSM-oriented scales (i.e., Autism Spectrum, ADHD, & Oppositional Defiance
Problems) and all ABC-C subscales. For those individuals with behavior decreases of less than 50%, there was poor agreement
between the CBCL and ABC-C subscales.
Discussion: Our data suggest that particular externalizing behaviors, as captured by the CBCL and corroborated by outcomes on
the ABC-C, may be more amenable to behavioral interventions. Future research should be conducted to determine what, if any,
characteristics of challenging behavior predict response to behavioral treatment versus some other form of treatment (e.g.,
pharmacological).
References/Citations:
• Medeiros, K., Rojahn, J., Moore, L. L., & van Ingen, D. J. (2014). Functional properties of behaviour problems depending
on level of intellectual disability. Journal Of Intellectual Disability Research, 58(2), 151-161.
• Myers, C. L. (2013), Comparing Results from the Clinical Assessment of Behavior and Child Behavior Checklist with
Referred Preschoolers. Psychology in the Schools, 50: 1-12.
• Warnick, E. M., Bracken, M. B., & Kasl, S. (2008). Screening efficiency of the Child Behavior Checklist and Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire: A systematic review. Child And Adolescent Mental Health, 13(3), 140-147.