Overview
The Student Externalizing Behavior Screener (SEBS; Cook, 2012) is a 7-item brief measure of externalizing behavior problems, modeled after the Student Risk Screening Scale (Drummond, 1994). The 7 items include (a) Defiant or oppositional to adults, (b) Fights or argues with peers, (c) Bullies others, (d) Gets angry easily, (e) Lies to get out of trouble, (f) Disrupts class activities, and (g) Has difficulty sitting still. Each item is arranged on a four-point response scale to assess the frequency with which a teacher observers the target behaviors. Previous research has demonstrated that the SEBS possesses strong reliability, validity, and classification accuracy (Cook, 2012; Cook, Volpe, & Gresham, in press).
Key Details
Grade Level
Assessment Type
Domains Assessed
Respondent
Method
Cost
No Cost
Time per Student
1-2 min
Items
7.0
Item Format
Frequency
Approach
Risk
Populations
Cook et al. (2012) presented preliminary data on the SEBS using two student samples in the Western region of the United States, one of 947 elementary school students and the other of 4,194 middle and high school students. Hartman et al. (2017) provided additional evidence with a sample of 154 elementary students in the southeastern United States.
Scoring
Overall Scores
Total Score
Subscale Scores
None
Scoring Procedures
Self-scored
Interpretive Information
Degree of Risk (higher scores indicate higher rtisk)
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
The internal consistency estimate was alpha = .82 (Cook et al., 2015). Test-retest reliability was r=.85 (Hartman et al., 2017).
Validity
Strong concurrent validity coefficients were found for the BESS and SSIS-PSG. Strong correlations were found between risk status and grade point average. There were moderate correlations between ODRs and risk status on the SIBS/SEBS combined score (Hartman et al., 2017).
References
Primary Citation
Cook, C. R. (2012). Student Externalizing Behavior Screener (SEBS) [Database record]. APA PsycTests.
https://doi.org/10.1037/t42705-000
Additional Citations
Hartman, K., Gresham, F. M., & Byrd, S. (2017). Student Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Screeners: Evidence for Reliability, Validity, and Usability in Elementary Schools. Behavioral Disorders, 42(3), 108-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742916688656
Cook C., Volpe R., Gresham F. M. (2012). Technical adequacy, classification accuracy, and social validity of the Student Externalizing Behavior Screener. Unpublished manuscript.