HCSBS (Home and Community Social Behavior Scale)
Developer: Merrell, Streeter, Boelter, Calderella, & Gentry | Year: 2008.0
Overview
The Home and Community Social Behavior Scale (HCSBS) is a screening instrument that can be used to evaluate students’ social and emotional behaviors and to identify children with challenges.
Key Details
Grade Level
Assessment Type
Domains Assessed
Respondent
Method
Cost
Fee for Service/Manual; $39.95 per 25 forms
Time per Student
10 min
Items
64.0
Item Format
Likert
Approach
Risk
Populations
Evidence is based on three separate samples of children ages 6-18 from across the United States (Merrell et al., 2001)
Scoring
Overall Scores
Social Competence;
Antisocial Behavior
Subscale Scores
Peer Relations
Self-Management/ Compliance
Hostile/Irritable
Anti-Social/Aggressive
Scoring Procedures
Self-Scored
Interpretive Information
The HCSBS is standardized and norm-referenced. The norming sample included children from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of disabilities.
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Findings from research to date on the HCSBS have indicated that this instrument has (a) strong psychometric properties, as evidenced by high internal consistency coef®cients (.96 to .98 for the total scores) (Merrell & Caldarella, 1999).
Validity
HCSBS scores showed significant correlations in the expected directions with scores from the Social Skills Ratings System, Conners Parent Rating Scale, Child Behavior Checklist, and the BASC.Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to investigate the latent factor structure of the scales. The results revealed a meaningful three-factor solution for items within each of the following subscales: Peer Relations, Self-Management/Compliance, Defiant/Disruptive, and Antisocial/Aggressive. However, findings revealed some significant cross-loadings within each of the scales. (Hukkelberg & Ogden, 2016).
References
Primary Citation
Merrell, K. W., Streeter, A. L., Boelter, E. W., Caldarella, P., & Gentry, A. (2001). Validity of the home and community social behavior scales: Comparisons with five behavior-rating scales. Psychology in the Schools, 38(4), 313-325. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.1021
Additional Citations
Hukkelberg, S., & Ogden, T. (2016). The Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales (HCSBS): Dimensionality in social competence and antisocial behaviours. Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties, 21(4), 377–386.