26:T4d7,

Prevalence estimates suggest that up to 20% of students in schools experience significant internalizing behaviors that impact behavioral, social, or academic functioning. School-based interventions have great potential to promote student mental health; however, validated and feasible brief assessments are needed to progress monitor students’ responses to these supports. The purpose of the current study was twofold: to (a) develop and validate teacher-completed brief rating scales for progress monitoring internalizing concerns in elementary-age students and (b) determine the reliability of the resultant measures. First, item content was generated and subjected to evaluation by two panels of school-based consumers and researchers. Within the second phase of development, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to reduce the initial number of items and ensure that the items were indicators of one latent factor. Teachers in Grades K–3 (N = 307) each completed ratings for one randomly selected student in their classroom. Results of factor analysis for each scale indicated one-factor solutions for the 4-item Anxious/Depressed (ω = .88) and 4-item Socially Withdrawn (ω = .87) scales.

27:T4f8,

This article reports on the development and initial psychometric properties of the School Interference Questionnaire (SIQ), a questionnaire designed to assess both academic functional impairment related to mental health problems and the type and frequency of school refusal behavior. Participants were 110 youth ages 13 to 18 years (M = 15.41 years, SD = 1.42) admitted to an adolescent partial hospitalization program. The majority of participants identified as female (57.3%), Caucasian (59.1%), and non-Latino (70.0%). Internal consistency of the 12 SIQ core interference items was excellent (Cronbach’s α = .91). The factor structure suggested that a single factor was appropriate for the 12 school interference items. Correlations between the SIQ and other measures in this study provided support for construct validity. The average SIQ core interference item score showed evidence of convergent validity via correlations with measures of school refusal, global disability, and internalizing symptoms. The SIQ also exhibited no significant association with timing of study enrollment, suggesting evidence for divergent validity. Results provide initial evidence supporting the psychometric properties of this novel measure.

28:T5ba,