Utility and Efficacy of Knowledge of Behavioral Principles as Applied to Children

Abstract

The instrument, Knowledge of Behavioral Principles as Applied to Children, was completed as pre- and posttests following a behavioral intervention by 19 parents with their own children. This paper describes and evaluates the test as a measure of parents' increased knowledge of general behavioral principles resulting from using a few behavior-management techniques at home. The emphasis is upon the utility and efficacy of the test and not on specifics of the child-management intervention. The test was sensitive to changes in parents' knowledge; parents showed gains in knowledge of behavioral principles after using behavior-management techniques. This research supports the test authors' evidence of psychometrically adequate internal consistency, and correlations between pre- and posttest scores.