Overview
The School Social Behavior Scale- 2 (SSBS-2) is a screening instrument that can be used to evaluate students social and emotional behaviors, identify children with challenges, and plan targeted classroom interventions.
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 teacher ratings of 1,858 students in grades K-12 from 22 different public school districts across the United States.
Scoring
Overall Scores
Social Competence;
Antisocial Behavior
Subscale Scores
Peer Relations
Self-Management/ Compliance
Academic Behavior
Hostile/Irritable
Anti-Social/Aggressive
Defiant/Disruptive
Scoring Procedures
Self-Scored
Interpretive Information
The measure is standardized and norm-referenced. The norming sample included children from diverse backgrounds and children with a wide range of disabilities.
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Internal consistency was estimated for the overall scales (0.98) and the six subscales (ranged from 0.94 to 0.96). Test-retest reliability was estimated over a three-week interval, and estimates ranged from 0.60 to 0.82. Inter-rater reliability was estimated by correlating teacher ratings with classroom aide ratings (0.53-0.83) (Merrell, 1993).
Validity
Initial development of the SSBS was based on literature review of behavioral descriptors and a review of existing instruments. These descriptors and items were reviewed by teachers, graduate students, and parents of children in grades K-12 (Merrell, 1993).
Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to find empirical evidence for distinct constructs (Merrell, 1993).
SSBS scores correlated in the expected directions with scores on similar scales on the Waksman Social Skills Ratings Scale, the Connors Teacher Ratings Scales, and the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment. SBSS scores correlated significantly with independent behavioral observations (Merrell, 1993). Separate studies have found evidence that scores of special education students diverged from regular education students (Merrell, 1992)
References
Primary Citation
Alfonso, V. C., Rentz, E., Orlovsky, K., & Ramos, E. (2007). Test review: School Social Behavior Scales, Second Edition. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 25(1), 82-92. https://doi.org10.1177/0734282906291793