BERS-2 (Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale)
Developer: Buckley & Epstein | Year: 2018.0
Overview
Designed for use in schools, mental health clinics, juvenile justice settings, and child welfare agencies, the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale – Second Edition (BERS-2) helps to measure the personal strengths and competencies of children ages 5-0 through 18-11.
Key Details
Grade Level
Assessment Type
Domains Assessed
Respondent
Method
Cost
Fee for Service; $47 for 25 forms
Time per Student
10 min
Items
52.0
Item Format
Likert
Approach
Protective
Populations
Nationally representative normative sample of 927 parents and 1,301 youth
Scoring
Overall Scores
Strength Quotient
Subscale Scores
Interpersonal Strength
Family Involvement
Intrapersonal Strength
School Funcitoning
Affective Strength
Scoring Procedures
Scoring Manual and Software Provided
Interpretive Information
Norm-Referenced on a Nationally Representative Sample
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Subscale internal consistency estimates ranged from 0.84 to 0.92. Test-retest coefficients (across six weeks) ranged from 0.84 to 0.98.
Validity
Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to explore dimensionality of the instrument. Evidence supporting the subscales was mixed (Liao, Holden, & Epstein, 2002; Buckley, Ryser, Reid, & Epstein, 2006).
BERS-2 showed evidence of discriminant validity in two separately conducted studies (Epstein, 2004; Reid, Epstein, Pastor, & Ryser, 2000). Students with emotional disturbance scored systematically lower than students without emotional disturbance, and BERS scores could be used to identify students with behavior disorders and learning disabilities. BERS scores correlated positively with scores from instruments measuring similar constructs, including the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (Walker & Severson, 1992) and BERS scores correlated negatively with scores measuring behavior problems or deficits, including the Scale Assessing Emotional Disturbance (Epstein & Cullinan, 1998).
References
Primary Citation
Buckley, J. A., & Epstein, M. H. (2004). The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 (BERS-2): Providing a Comprehensive Approach to Strength-Based Assessment. California School Psychologist, 9, 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340904
Additional Citations
BERS-Student Form