YSR/11-18 - Youth Self-Report 11-18

The Youth Self-Report (YSR) is a widely used child-report measure that assesses problem behaviors along two “broadband scales”: Internalizing and Externalizing. It also scores eight empirically based syndromes and DSM-oriented scales, and provides a summary of Total Problems. The measure assesses "Total Competency,” which is a scale comprised of competency in activities, social functioning, and school performance. It is a parallel form to the caretaker-completed Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and teacher-completed Teacher Report Form (TRF). Cross-informant reports are available.

Overview

Achenbach, Thomas, M.

Achenbach, T.M., & Rescorla, L.A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms & Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.

Contact Information: Cost Involved Copyrighted: Domain Assessed: Relationships and Attachment Measure Type: General Assessment Measure Format: Questionnaire

Administration

Number of Items: Average Time to Complete (min): Reporter Type: Average Time to Score (min): Periodicity: 6 months. Intervals can be shortened. See manual for instructions Response Format:

1. Open-ended questions
2. 3-point Likert-type scale 0=Not true, 1= Somewhat or Sometimes true, 2=Very true or Often true

Materials Needed: Paper/Pencil Sample Items:

Domains	Scale	Sample Items
Overall Functioning	Activities	Please list hobbies, activities, and games, other than
sports.
Social	Please list any organizations, clubs, teams, or groups you belong to.
Mood and Anxiety	Anxious/Depressed	I am nervous or tense.
Withdrawn/Depressed	I would rather be alone than with others.
Somatic Complaints	Rashes or other skin problems.
General
symptomotology	Social Problems	I am too dependent on others.
Thought Problems	I hear sounds or voices that other people think aren’t there.

Information Provided: Areas of Concern/Risks Clinician Friendly Output Continuous Assessment Diagnostic Info DSM IV Graphs (e.g. of elevated scale) Percentiles Raw Scores Standard Scores Written Feedback From a Computer Program

Training

Training to Interpret: Manual/Video

Parallel or Alternate Forms

Parallel Forms: Alternate Forms: Different Age Forms: Altered Version Forms: Alternative Forms Description:

Youth Self-Report (YSR), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Teacher Report Form (TRF) are similar questionnaires used.

Psychometrics

Notes on Psychometric Norms:

The normative sample for the 2001 YSR revision consisted of 1,057 youth with the following characteristics: 52% boys and 48% girls, 32% upper-class,
53% middle-lass, 16% lower-class, 60% non-Latino White, 20% African American, 8% Latino, 11% mixed or other; 17% Northeast, 19% Midwest,
41% South, and 23% West.

Clinical Cutoffs: Clinical Cutoffs Description: Reliability:

Type:	Rating	Statistics	Min	Max	Avg
Test-Retest	Acceptable	Pearson's r	0.67	0.91	0.79
Internal Consistency	Acceptable	Cronbach's Alpha	0.71	0.95	0.83
Inter-rater	Acceptable	Correlation between YSR &CBCL	0.37	0.6	0.49

References for Reliability: References for Content Validity:

Preparation for the measure included extensive literature searches, consultation with mental health professionals, and pilot testing. Content validity for this measure has been strongly supported by research, consultation, feedback, and evidence that all items are significantly discriminant between demographically similar referred and non-referred youth.

Construct Validity:

Validity Type	Not known	Not found	Nonclincal Samples
Convergent/Concurrent	Yes	Yes	Yes
Discriminant	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sensitive to Change	Yes	yes	Yes
Intervention Effects	Yes
Longitudinal/Maturation Effects	Yes	Yes
Sensitive to Theoretically Distinct Groups	Yes	Yes
Factorial Validity	Yes	Yes

References for Construct Validity:

1. Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995). Six year predictors of problems in a national sample of children and youth: I. Crossinformant syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 336-347.

2. Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample: III. Transitions to young adult syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 658-669.

Criterion Validity:

Not Known	Not Found	Nonclinical Samples	Clinical Samples	Diverse Samples
Predictive Validity:	Yes	Yes	Yes
Postdictive Validity:	Yes	Yes

References for Criterion Validity:

80% correctly classified, 14% false positive, Notes: 7% false negative.

Overall Psychometric Limitations:

1. The psychometric information is from the manual. (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001).

2. Psychometrics for this measure are very good.

Translations

Translation Quality:

Language:	Translated	Back Translated
1. Spanish	Yes	Yes
2. French	Yes
3. Tagalog	Yes
4. Vietnamese	Yes
5. Chinese	Yes
6. American Sign Language	Yes
7. Farsi	Yes
8. Polish	Yes
9. Russian	Yes
10. Urdu	Yes

Population Information

For Specific Population: Complex Trauma Populations with which Measure Has Demonstrated Reliability and Validity: Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Medical Trauma Domestic Violence Use with Diverse Populations:

Population Type:	Measure Used with Members of this Group	Members of this Group Studied in Peer-Reviewed Journals	Reliable	Good Psychometrics	Norms Available
1. Developmental disability	Yes	Yes
2. Disabilities	Yes	Yes
3. Lower socio-economic status	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
4. Rural populations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Pros & Cons/References

1. Provides DSM-IV diagnostic information.

2. Ability to obtain cross informant information from caretakers and teachers if administered in conjunction with the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form.

3. Separate norms for boys and girls.

4. Inexpensive to purchase.

5. Clinician-friendly feedback, especially with the information from graphs and narrative provided by the computer software.

6. A computer utility called “A2S” is available from ASEBA to easily export data to SPSS.

1. Can be time-consuming due to the large number of questions.

2. Potential for self-report bias due to face validity.

3. No validity scales are included with the profiles.

References:

To obtain a full list of references, please contact ASEBA or refer to Bérubé, R.L., & Achenbach, T.M. (2001). Numbers provided are based on the manual and the author.

Below is a sampling of the articles:
1. Achenbach, T.M., Dumenci, L., & Rescorla, L.A. (2001). Ratings of relations between DSM-IV diagnostic categories and items of the CBCL/6-18, TRF, and YSR. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.

2. Bérubé, R.L., & Achenbach, T.M. (2001). Bibliography of published studies using ASEBA instruments: 2001 Edition. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.

3. Crijnen, A.A., Achenbach, T.M., & Verhulst, F.C. (1997). Comparisons of problems reported by parents of children in 12 cultures: total problems, externalizing, and internalizing. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
36(9):1269-1277.

4. Ferndinand, R.F., Verhulst, F.C., & Wiznitzer, M. (1995). Continuity and change of selfreported problem behaviors from adolescence into young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 680-690.

5. Hudziak, J.J. (1998). DSM-IV Checklist for Childhood Disorders. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.