Citation

Halperin JM, McKay KE, Grayson RH, Newcorn JH. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2003; 42(8): 965-971.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Queens College of the City University of New York, USA. jeffrey_halperin@qc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/01.CHI.0000046899.27264.EB

PMID

12874499

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To provide preliminary psychometric data on the Children's Aggression Scale-Teacher Version (CAS-T), which was designed to assess severity and frequency of aggressive, as distinct from nonaggressive, disruptive behaviors. METHOD: The CAS-T has 23 items representing five domains: Verbal aggression, Aggression against objects and animals, Provoked physical aggression, Unprovoked physical aggression, and Use of weapons. The CAS-T was completed for 273 nonreferred boys and 67 clinically referred children (60 boys; 7 girls). Coefficient alpha was assessed separately in clinical and nonreferred groups. Validity was evaluated by comparing CAS-T scores of children with different disruptive behavior disorder diagnoses and by examining the relationship of CAS-T scores to other parent and teacher ratings. RESULTS: The scale as a whole had excellent reliability as measured by coefficient alpha. Children with conduct disorder were rated significantly higher than those with oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and no disruptive behavior disorder diagnosis. Further, patterns of correlations with other rating scales provide strong support for the convergent and discriminant validity of the CAS-T. CONCLUSIONS: The CAS-T may fill a gap in that it distinguishes among various types and severity of aggression, as distinct from oppositional-defiant behaviors.

Language: en