Overview
The Student Internalizing Behavior Screener (SIBS; Cook et al., 2011) was developed to identify students who have an internalizing behavior disorder or who are at risk for developing one. The SIBS was modeled after the Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS; Drummond, 1994) to include seven key behavioral indicators of internalizing behavior patterns. An extensive review of the literature on internalizing behavior patterns in children and youth was performed to identify the key behavioral indicators of internalizing behavior. The top seven indicators were then selected for inclusion in the SIBS. The seven behavioral indicators included in the SIBS are as follows: nervous or fearful, bullied by peers, spends time along, clings to adults, withdrawn, seems sad or unhappy, and complains about being sick or hurt. The indicators are rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale according to their frequency of occurrence. In a sample of a sample of elementary-age students and their teachers, the SIBS demonstrated adequate internal consistency and temporal stability reliability estimates, as well as acceptable criterion relatedness with a well-established general measure of internalizing behavior problems and a brief index of externalizing behavior measure.
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. (2011) presented preliminary data on the SIBS using a sample of 1,357 students across four elementary schools in the Western region of the United States. 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
Cook et al. (2011) found an internal consistency estimate of alpha = .81 and .79 across fall and winter screenings; test-retest reliability was .74. Hartman et al. (2017) found a test-retest reliability estimate of .79.
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., Rasetshwane, K. B., Truelson, E., Grant, S., Dart, E. H., Collins, T. A., & Sprague, J. (2011). Student Internalizing Behavior Screener (SIBS) [Database record]. APA PsycTests.
https://doi.org/10.1037/t21577-000
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. R., Rasetshwane, K. B., Truelson, E., Grant, S., Dart, E. H., Collins, T. A., & Sprague, J. (2011). Development and Validation of the Student Internalizing Behavior Screener: Examination of Reliability, Validity, and Classification Accuracy. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 36(2), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508410390486