TITLE:
Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of the Arabic Version of the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors (SRSS-IE)
AUTHORS:
Sumayah A. Alrubayie, Keetam D. F. Alkahtani
KEYWORDS:
The Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors (SRSS-IE), Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties, Screening Tools, Systematic Screening
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
17,
2024
ABSTRACT: School-based universal screening for behavioral/emotional risk is a necessary first step to providing services in an educational setting for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). Psychometric properties are critical to making decisions about choosing a screening instrument. The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the student risk screening scale for internalizing and externalizing behaviors (SRSS-IE). Participants included 3145 students and their teachers. Item-level analyses of the current sample supported the retention of all items. The internal consistency of the SRSS items ranged from 0.83 to 0.85. Convergent validity between the SRSS-IE and a well-established screening tool, the strength and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), was found for the total score (r = 0.70). Additionally, the results of this study demonstrate strong social validity, suggesting the SRSS-IE to be a useful and functional screening tool. We conclude that the SRSS-IE is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the level of emotional and behavioral difficulties among elementary students.